What Should the Georgia Bulldogs Expect from the NCAA Regarding Jarvis Jones's Eligibility?
by T Kyle King on Jul 27, 2011 10:35 PM EDT
in Georgia Bulldogs Football
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PrintBetween investigations taking place in the Yellowhammer State, probations being levied on annual rivals, and coaches making the news in all the wrong ways in the Carolinas, it’s easy for fans of the Georgia Bulldogs to start feeling pretty good about themselves and their team if they’re not careful. Fear not, though, Bulldog Nation; I am here to chase away any delusions you might have that the Athenians will be spared.
In recent days, the site header here has kept track the number of days the ‘Dawgs have gone without losing a running back, after the fashion of the signs seen in plants ticking off the days since the last industrial accident. As it turns out, I may need to change that to keep track of losses in the linebacker corps, instead.
Brandon Burrows, currently listed on the depth chart as third string behind Christian Robinson and Michael Gilliard at weakside inside linebacker (or "Mike," for those of you on a first-name basis with player positions), reportedly could miss the season due to shoulder surgery, though I have not yet seen this confirmed. Jarvis Jones, about whose eligibility issues Georgia informed the NCAA and the SEC approximately a month ago, technically remains eligible, but the school hopes to have a clear answer on Jones’s availability for the coming season before practice begins early next week, in order to avoid the uncertainty about A.J. Green that undoubtedly contributed to the Bulldogs’ 1-4 start last season.
Since it appears undisputed that Jones was provided with airplane tickets to and from Los Angeles, the primary question is whether the coach who gave him the tickets qualified as a de facto "father figure." (Your Cecil Newton jokes go here.) Reports out of Columbus strongly suggest the existence of a longstanding close relationship between Jones and AAU coach Tony Adams, which is a solid point in Jones’s favor. A gift from a mentor looks a whole lot more like an act of generosity than an impermissible benefit offered by a would-be go-between acting with ulterior motives, and the relationship between Adams and Jones appears genuine.
That, though, is only half the battle. As Seth Emerson reports, two additional payments totaling $700 also were unearthed. That, obviously, is not good---the more money that changed hands, the worse it looks---but it could still just be a difference of degree, not of kind. The problem appears to be the source of the money, which, you may recall, was an illegally-maintained bank account controlled by officials in the Parks and Recreation Department. (Your Amy Poehler jokes go here.) If Jones didn’t know the source of the money, will his ignorance excuse his acceptance of the benefit, or does the shady source of those funds taint every use to which the money was put?
It is tempting to look at the Cecil Newton situation and say, "Father, father figure, what’s the difference?" However, based upon the publicly-reported evidence, the situations are distinguishable, because here we know benefits passed from one hand to another, and we know the ultimate recipient of those benefits was the player himself. It appears uncontested that Jarvis Jones received the plane tickets, so his eligibility turns on the nature of his relationship with the gift-giver and the significance of the sullied source of the money. The former factor appears to work in Jones’s favor; the latter does not.
I hope, but do not expect, Jones is determined to be eligible. Failing that, I hope, but do not expect, that his suspension will not be long. If, however, Jones received benefits totaling approximately $800 in airplane tickets, $400 in the form of a laptop, and $300 in some other form, and he is absolved neither by his ignorance nor by his relationship with Adams, we’re looking at a four-game suspension in the absence of mitigating circumstances. I really can’t see the Adams-Jones relationship being a mitigating factor; either the relationship was such that the benefits were not improper, and Jones is eligible, or the relationship did not prevent the benefits from being deemed improper, and that relationship has no impact on the length of the suspension.
I am prepared for the worst, and, under the circumstances as they presently are known to us, I can’t really claim the worst is unjustified. If I had to guess, I’d bet Chase Vasser will be starting at strongside outside linebacker (or "Sam," for those of you on a first-name basis with player positions) for the first four games of the season, but, as always, I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised rather than proven correct.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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Correction:
I called Tony Adams an AAU coach. In fact, he is the former parks and rec director. My bad.
Go 'Dawgs!
Correction to the correction:
Wait, the first Seth Emerson story linked to above says he’s the former parks and rec director, but the second Seth Emerson story linked to above says he also coached the Georgia Blazers AAU team. I knew I got that idea from somewhere.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Jul 27, 2011 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Let me get this straight
The benefits were paid while he was playing for USC but UGA is going to get punished. As usual we will bend over and in the manner of “Animal House” call out to the NCAA Thank you sir may we have another. This is just too damn snake bit even for Mark Richt. He is Jonah and the sooner he goes to the mission field the better for all concerned. God loves Mark Richt but he sure is doing his part to get him fired.
Well, I wouldn't equate God with the NCAA, though the boys in Indianapolis sometimes . . .
. . . make that mistake.
I share your frustration, but, strictly speaking, Jarvis Jones will be the one who gets punished; Georgia just happens to be the team for whom he is playing. Had USC paid benefits to Jones, the Trojans could face punishment for that, but reports thus far indicate that Adams and Jones legitimately had a relationship. It doesn’t appear that Adams was some sort of go-between for the Men of Troy. The problem is that Jones shouldn’t have taken the plane tickets; we just happen to be the team on whose roster his name appeared when it came to light.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Jul 27, 2011 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions
There is only one answer to the question, "How severely will (insert player name here) for Georgia be punished?"
The answer is, “he will be punished in the most severe and punitive manner possible, in spite of the Georgia athletic department’s 100% open cooperation with the NCAA investigation.”
So I voted #4 above.
2 games.
Two games is the “you are really dumb” penalty. It is what AJ should have received, but he got four games instead. The NCAA will realize that it screwed up the AJ sitche-ashun and impose two games here.
Notice that none of this requires me to pay attention to any facts at all. Therefore, I hope the NCAA will please accept this as my application for employment.
by first and thom on Jul 27, 2011 11:21 PM EDT reply actions
How about we take what should have been 2 games for AJ and 2 for Jarvis and credit them all to AJ's 4
It’s only fair, right?
The 984 Has Spoken!
by The984 on Jul 28, 2011 12:15 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Expect?
No ky jelly and certainly no dinner, movie, or dancing first. They’ll have their way with us, or not, as they so desire. Such is the beauty of being in the NCAA’s harem.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
You know
those scenes in “The Shawshank Redemption” when Red kept getting his parole denied?
Might as well tell the NC2A to get their little rubber stamp inked up and quit wasting our time. We’re cursed.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
The NCAA is one of the most corrupt organizations in the world!
As far as I’m concerned at least.
I guess on one hand, knowing the NCAA, we have no hope. Observing the facts however, tells a different story. By all accounts I have read, there should be no question of the pre-existing relationship. I heard dude was dating his momma. I’ve read that they have been close for quite some time. So, I see no logical, let me repeat, logical reason why the NCAA would rule against that.
Now the situation gets sticky. The whole thing was shady. This is where Richt and McGarity sit down with JJ and say “look, here is how Cam got out of it, just say ya didn’t know anything about it.” Honestly though, how can it be proven that he knew the money was shady. This father figure of his is paying for his flights, which is a very normal thing. If my dad paid for my transportation to and from school, I would not even begin to imagine that he stole the money.
I know the NCAA is inconsistent and crooked, but looking at purely the facts, how could they reasonable justify a suspension much less a lengthy one. Are we truly expecting a suspension or just being overly pessimistic?
Well no matter how much more the find, it wont factor in if he's eligible or ineligible
If they find that Tony Adams is a father-figure with a pre-existing relationship, he could have given him a million dollars and it wouldn’t have mattered.
This is how much I hate Auburn
I am willing to sacrifice 4 games for JJ if it means that Auburn gets the death penalty.
Let me say. I do not want to have Richt and Co. tell JJ how to “do what Cam” did. That would make us as bad as Auburn. If we have to bend over and take it by having JJ have a 4 game suspension, and that means that Auburn is toast, I am all for it.
This point takes into account the fact that just because JJ gets 4 games in no way means the NCAA will be just or that Auburn will get what it deserves. But that is the inconsistency of the NCAA and the bewilderment fans must go through when dealing with these situations. The mere fact that we are unsure of what the NCAA will do is laughable.
I know TKK will hammer for this but is this any different than our court systems. People who deserve a certain punishment will get off because of the media circus surrounding the trial, or the lack of common sense of the jury pool or the ineptitude of lawyers to be concerned with the “spirit” of the law rather than the legality and how to get around something, which garnishes them some pocket money. We could spend hours debating this and come to a logical conclusion that the punishment will be “X or Y.”
But the NCAA will think of something unfathomable. Like well since Cam was from Georgia the fact that there is a closer proximity to Athens than Auburn we will give Georgia the death penalty. Not to give them any ideas. But we, the fans, and most likely, the institutions, coaches and players have no context to grade one’s behavior. If one cannot properly understand the connection or lack thereof between action and reward (in a negative sense) then why would that deter any action. So the fact that some institutions look at this inconsistency and choose to do the right, honorable thing by following the rules should give them a tremendous amount of goodwill with the NCAA.
I know this rambled and I am sorry, but man this situation has just gotten me out of sorts. I have a Masters in Philosophy with an emphasis in Symbolic Logic and I can’t wrap my head around this junk.
Someone needs to give these kids a lesson in
“Never put it on a computer, email, twitter, internet in any way.” and the most important lesson: Cash only.
“How did you fly to X?” I broke my piggy bank and bought tickets. As much as I want Auburn burned, I have serious, no kidding problems with the NCAA looking at kids bank accounts and personal documents or transactions. When did the NCAA get to violate the constitution? It seems they have freedom of movement in the lives of football players than the FBI does looking into possible terrorist suspects. The don’t have to have a MO, or evidence, or a warrant. They only need suspicion.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
I hear your concerns, but the NCAA has a stock answer that usually carries the day:
There is no fundamental right to play NCAA sports. By playing, you consent.
by first and thom on Jul 28, 2011 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions
If I'm not mistaken...
the NCAA has no legal right to force those documents to be shown. They can ask, and the player can “cooperate” or be “uncooperative”, with the NCAA obviously taking that level of cooperation in to account when levying penalties. But the players are under no obligation to share those personal documents.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
It's just like the breathalyzer test rule, though.
If you refuse the breathalyzer (which you’re under no legal obligation to take), you’re automatically under arrest for DUI.
Likewise, if you refuse to cooperate with the NCAA investigation (to whom you’re under no legal obligation to obey), they’re still going to punish you, and potentially tell you that you can’t play for any of their teams anymore.
by vineyarddawg on Jul 28, 2011 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Somebody is going to tell the NCAA to shove it up their butt, and flip the switch publicly with an offensive PR move.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
true, but you keep your privacy
as first said, and my comments about removing them from twitter/facebook go, you don’t have a “right” to play, it’s a privelege.
It’d be great if a group of student athletes sued for unfair treatment or something to get them to act appropriately and even handidly, but that’ll never happen, so we’re left with this unchecked behemoth doing whatever it wants, whenever it wants.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
This is why I now advocate...
Scheduling all easy games early.* It’s idiot insurance. I want less Boise State and more New Mexico State; I want less South Carolina and more Vanderbilt (I realize we don’t set the SEC slate).
*Just kidding. Obviously, it’s a fluke our tough first 4 games the last 2 seasons have coincided with two huge suspensions. (Yes, I voted #4 above. It’s the only logical answer. UGA means nothing to the NCAA.)
"Don't go ninja'n nobody that don't need ninja'n!" ~ Kung Fu Hillbilly.
That's exactly what Florida has been doing, 2 cupcakes to start 2006 and 2008, and pretty much every year this decade.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
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