Alright, what the hell’s going on here? A day after Miami suspends four players for the Florida State game, Oklahoma points QB Rhett Bomar in the direction of the exit door because he took some money that he didn’t earn. Just bizarre. Dave Wannstedt isn’t earning his paycheck, either, but no one’s getting mad at him.
I just thought this sort of thing happened, and everyone knew about it, and that’s just the way things were. I’m not even opposed to it. Rhett Bomar was probably shocked to learn that he was committing an NCAA violation. What the hell’s going on when our college athletes can’t take a little money under the table now and then? Especially at a car dealership. Is there a car dealership in America that’s run honestly?
And isn’t this something that Oklahoma can just sweep under the rug? It’s not like Rhett Bomar killed someone here (even though he’d be completely justified in killing whichever parent wanted to name him Rhett). I mean, I knew that something like this violated NCAA rules, but much like statutory rape is the jaywalking of sex crimes, I thought this one was the jaywalking of NCAA violations.
This is a team that’s preseason Top-5, and they’re kicking their starting QB off the team, just weeks before the season starts. It’s either an honest attempt to run a clean program, or there’s something else going on at Oklahoma that’s so dirty and so shady that they’re willing to lose their starting QB, just to cover it up.
I’ll be honest, I’m bothered by the events of the last two days. Everything I thought I knew about college football is getting twisted. If some of the top programs in the country are actually doing things by the book, I’m going to have to shift my entire mental paradigm when it comes to college football.
Clean programs. I am baffled.
Mike
“Dave Wannstedt isn’t earning his paycheck, either, but no one’s getting mad at him.”
Classic line.
August 3, 2006 at 4:46 am
Bouj
The rumor is that Stoops had to throw Bomar off the team to throw the NCAA off the trail of the really bad stuff, like Adrian Peterson driving around in a loaned Escalade from a local dealership (maybe the same one, I dunno).
Hey, my faith in humanity is slightly restored. Now if I can just get the LA refugees to stop their crime wave in Texas, we might be getting somewhere…
August 3, 2006 at 11:00 am
Toku
I remember reading Brian Bosworth’s book (don’t ask) for a high school book report, and in it he bragged about never showing up for work and still getting his hourly.
The college-athlete-gets-paid-for-hours-he-was-banging-cheerleaders thing is as much of a non-issue as exists in college sports, so this tells me there’s something else going on
-T
August 3, 2006 at 12:14 pm
telly
All dude had to do was show up and get his paycheck. Show up and stay there during the hours he was punched in. Instead, he was punching in and then going to the gym or to practice, then returning to work and punching out. He’s an idiot. See-ya.
August 3, 2006 at 3:36 pm
Matt Moore
Telly – What good is a no-show job you have to show up for?
August 3, 2006 at 3:57 pm
Mark
Just another example of the atmosphere that the NCAA has created where athletes, programs, and universities are not allowed to sneeze unless the NCAA says that it’s okay. And look at the results!
I’m angry at the corrupt student-athletes who made the NCAA so anal-retentive in the first place, but anymore, I’m even angrier at the decided inflexibility of the NCAA. Look, I’ll believe the NCAA’s “slippery slope” argument to be valid from time to time, but when nothing’s changing about college athletics (except for how little a player needs to do to be penalized), it’s time to change the system.
Bottom line: the NCAA needs to loosen up or find some other way to control corruption. Nothing’s been fixed, probably because the only people who’ve been penalized by NCAA rules are the people who committed no violations in the first place (see: Michigan basketball).
August 3, 2006 at 5:05 pm
sal
Pretty cut and dry decision from Stoops and Oklahoma in my eyes. The coach has to worry about more than just 1 player, but an entire team and future players. No reason to let Bomar ruin the whole program by getting caught by the NCAA down the road.
August 4, 2006 at 2:00 am
Big Daddy
I heard the problem was that he was bragging about the no-work job. Since everybody (including the NCAA was hearing about it they had to throw him under the team bus – so to speak.
August 5, 2006 at 7:10 am