NCAA rules suck

[TigerHoya]

Read this link for situational background:
tinyurl.com/rou4u

Read this one for why the NCAA rules suck:
tinyurl.com/pneg5

[TigerHoya]

Bumping this to the top for the morning crowd.

[Gold Hoya]

any chance you can describe links in a sentence or two so I have a better sense of what's out there?

[Deleted]

Read up, its worth it, Gold. Basically, this kid and his multiple siblings were in foster homes for their whole lives, both parents drug addicts, now he's at Clemson, has legal custody of his youngest (?) brother, they live together, kick ass in their respective schools (the brother is in elementary school), look out for each other, the defense has named a play after the little brother... great story.

The second article is a follow-up. Essentially, after the first article ran there were emails, phone calls, letters, etc. all expressing an interest in helping this kid out, and asking how the common man/woman on the street could do so. Because of NCAA rules, Clemson is not taking any gifts and instructing the player to follow suit. While they are looking into how to help the kid and his brother out, it doesn't look promising, NCAA being heartless and all.

Great find, Tiger. I'd love to be able to buy these kids groceries for a couple weeks (after giving to the Hoop Club, of course), but alas... the NCAA sucks it.

[TigerHoya]

Bringing this back to the top:

The ACC has ruled that Clemson can't set up a trust fund under NCAA rules. That situation apparently only applies when the player loses his parents. Clemson is trying to get an NCAA waiver now that will allow members of the staff to do things like give the brother a ride to school and things like that.

tinyurl.com/l9s4d

[hifigator]

Here is a very pointed editorial and I think the writer hits the nail on the head.

www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=sports&tableId=105195&pubDate=8/30/2006

Does anyone still have the original story? For some reason the link no longer works.

[TigerHoya]

A local talk show host in Clemson weighs in on it:
thetigernet.com/blogs/page/plyler?entry=no_help_from_the_acc

[hifigator]

That's good stuff Tiger. Do you by chance still have the original story? I can't find it in the Charlotte archives and the link doesn't work anymore.

[TigerHoya]

Let me try to find the article on the Charleston Post & Courier website where the original ones ran (the above links were to their site.)

They recently redid their website and they've always had issues with archiving old stories, so it may be gone.

[TigerHoya]

Google cache of the original story:
tinyurl.com/r748t

[hifigator]

Thanks Tiger, that is a great story. Let's hope it has a happy ending.

[TigerHoya]

The plot thickens... sounds like some back-pedaling to me:
thetigernet.com/view/story.do?id=6112

[AustinHoya03]

Maybe the thread should now be retitled "NCAA rules suck unless the media gets wind of the injustices they create and the rules become a PR problem for the NCAA."

I don't know what's worse, enforcing stupid rules or changing the rules in this one instance once a media-driven story gets legs. I mean, I think in a perfect world this guy should get some assistance, but if the NCAA is truly going to look at everything on a case-by-case basis, won't that a) create a huge paperwork backlog that ensures the players who need help most don't get it; and b) open a huge door for schools to exploit the NCAA? Either decide that this case fits the rule/doesn't fit the rule, or change the rule permanently to avoid stupid situations like these.

[TigerHoya]

Despite the NCAA claiming this was the first they heard of the situation, people in the Clemson compliance dept. emailed fans back last week saying that they were working with the NCAA and ACC to try to do something.

Roundup of today's news articles including the USA Today one that probably sent the NCAA scrambling after they got media calls yesterday:
tinyurl.com/gw3uq

[TigerHoya]

Some sort of waiver has now been granted:
thetigernet.com/view/story.do?id=6147

[hifigator]

That's great news Tiger. I was thinking about this just last night and was going to ask if you had heard anything more.

One more question: if you get a more detailed account, I would be curious if the NCAA simply made a particular exception in thin instance, in which case I would expect that any disbursements fall under some very strict and specific criteria, or did the NCAA more or less acknowledge the need for exceptions to this rule and formulate a structure making such requests practical. Just curious.

[TigerHoya]

No other details yet.

At the very least they're letting the coach's wife who lives near them take the brother to school and then back home - those kinds of things.

Not sure yet about how far it goes for other financial assistance.

[hifigator]

Here is the article I found:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NCAA grants McElrathbey waiver to care for 11-year-old brother

September 11, 2006

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Clemson received permission Monday from the NCAA to provide assistance to a freshman football player who is taking care of his younger brother.

Ray Ray McElrathbey, 19, has temporary custody of his 11-year-old brother, Fahmarr, because of his mother's continuing drug problems and his father's gambling addiction. The brothers have moved from foster homes and now share an apartment near the Clemson campus.

"I want to thank the Clemson family for all their support in this situation. That includes my teammates and the Clemson student body," McElrathbey said after practice Monday. "I can't tell you how many students came up to me and said they were willing to help."

The school had asked the NCAA for a waiver of its rule prohibiting athletes from obtaining gifts, cash or other benefits not provided to the general student population.

"Once the NCAA became aware of the circumstances, we immediately began working with the Atlantic Coast Conference and Clemson University to address this unique situation," said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of membership services. "NCAA extra benefit rules are designed to ensure student athletes do not receive financial or other benefits that are not readily available to all students.

"If there is a special circumstance, like this case, the institution and conference may seek a waiver."

McElrathbey will be allowed to receive assistance, such as local transportation and child care for Fahmarr.

"That will be great for my brother and relieve me of some worries about providing for him," McElrathbey said.

The most important thing for McElrathbey has been finding people who can pick his brother up from school and getting "some help from grown-ups looking after Fahmarr," Clemson athletic department spokesman Tim Bourret said.

Some of McElrathbey's friends at school stayed with Fahmarr back in South Carolina when the team played at Boston College last weekend.

Now, that task likely will be taken over by the wives of assistant coaches, Bourret said.

"I might be more excited about the ability of the Clemson athletic department staff being able to give Fahmarr a ride to and from school, and to be able to take care of him when I am on the road with the team," McElrathbey said. "That will solve a lot of problems. That was a constant worry."

The brothers had been living solely off McElrathbey's scholarship, but Clemson plans to establish a trust fund to coordinate financial contributions to help pay for normal living expenses, Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips said in a release.

Bourret said details of how the trust will be set up and how it will collect money have not been finalized, but added that the university is prohibited from coordinating a fundraiser with a football game.

McElrathbey has said he sought custody because he was tired of worrying what might happen to Fahmarr if he lived with their mother in Atlanta.

"I wasn't going to let him go back to a foster home, back to the system," McElrathbey said.

[Deleted]

hifi - for future reference, I'd consult one of the moderators before posting an entire article. They have rules for posting copyrighted material. All I know is they prefer links to be posted to cut-and-pasted articles.

That aside, its good to hear this situation is resolving for the BEST. Not something you hear everyday with those scumbags over at the NCAA.

[hifigator]

Fair enough, I actually just copied it from our forum where someone else had posted it and there wasn't a link given on that thread. If I post an article I always post the link ... if I have it.