As I've stated many times since it seems we're hit with a new scandal every other week in college football, there probably isn't innocence, but no proof of guilt.
The Yahoo Sports! story to it's credit at least showed more burden of proof compared to most (excluding Ohio St tattoo story) expose's that have been published. The SI report on Oklahoma State looks to be falling apart at the seams. As I've said before and I think we can all agree, if you're going to go after something, bring some evidence to back it up.
As much as you may want to see the Tide Dynasty crumble at your feet or play the Bama conspiracy card, you can't deny that this is a serious allegation and it has documentation to back it. Also, Tennessee and Mississippi State also have a seat on this roller coaster.
You may think this is an open and shut case at this point, right? Wrong.
Dan Wetzel points out "The NCAA won't be able to get enough people to talk. They won't be able to access the paper trail. It's possible they won't even muster much of an effort. There isn't a direct tie to the coaching staffs. The schools involved, Alabama, Mississippi State and Tennessee, will solemnly declare their concern, even though the latter two are already on probation for previous things that produced solemn concern. Maybe Volunteers defensive lineman Maurice Couch, the only still-eligible participant, gets hit a little, but that'll be it."
His prediction is that little, if not nothing will come of this due to an uphill climb the NCAA has in regards of getting people to talk and actually acquiring the authentic documentation.
I have to say I agree with him.
To say that this is a smear campaign and declaring innocence would be foolish. The documentation sited by Yahoo Sports! is worth the attention, but it's not the key.
Jon Solomon from AL.com posted this article regarding the legal angle when it comes to Sports Agents laws in Alabama.
"Sports agents in Alabama are required to be licensed by the Alabama Athlete Agents Commission. It's a Class C felony for any agent who has intentionally not registered in the state of Alabama, punishable by one to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $5,000.
Initiating contact with a college athlete without being registered is a class A misdemeanor, punishable up to one year in prison and a fine up to $2,000. Current or former college athletes cannot accept anything from an agent without entering into a contract that conforms with state law."
He also quoted State Representative Jack Williams, who is also the co-chair of the Alabama Athlete Agents Commission:
"If illegal benefits were passed along by an agent, we're going to ask the attorney general's office to prosecute," Williams said. "You have to draw a line. When you start potentially affecting a student-athlete's eligibility or affecting a university's athletic department, it's a pretty serious thing."
Now, there have only a few prosecutions in regards to this law, one being a Virginia agent who had a runner contact Tyrone Protho after his horrifying injury in 2005 without registering in the state.
Litigation was also the gateway for the NCAA to look further into Reggie Bush. I think this may be the same for this situation.
At this point, it's up to the Alabama Attorney General if he wants to pursue this, and he could.
But will he is the ultimate question and it's not an easy answer.
As tin foil as it sounds, politics may be the ultimate thing that may keep this from going anywhere, at least for Alabama.
Does an Attorney General Luther Strange, who is elected by the people of Alabama, put his seat as the AG in peril to pursue a case (where state laws may have been broken), that involves the prestigious football program in the state?
I would like to think that the majority of the Alabama electorate is intelligent and well balanced. However, a few votes can determine wins or losses of and there are a few people that would vote based on their allegiance of Tuscaloosa or The Plains.
Don't believe me? Let's go back to the Solomon article:
"Does the state always prosecute after public allegations?
No. The reason sports agent laws were created throughout the country is to protect the university's interests. This was apparent when Alabama football player Andre Smith was suspended for the 2009 Sugar Bowl for his involvement with an agent, but the case was not prosecuted.
The University of Alabama submitted a report to the attorney general's office regarding the Smith case. Troy King, Alabama's attorney general at the time, later concluded there was no "probable cause" to believe anyone violated the state agent laws.
But a different tune was taken in 2010 by Saban during his rant comparing agents to pimps. "You know, we probably could have prosecuted the guy," Saban said, referring to an agent involved in the Smith case. "But in prosecuting the guy that did wrong, we would have put our institution in jeopardy -- possibly -- from an NCAA standpoint. We didn't do it. But then the same guy is standing in line trying to give our players money this past year and nothing gets done about it. It's not a good situation."
The state didn't prosecute anyone after Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus served a two-game NCAA suspension in 2010 for accepting nearly $2,000 in extra benefits from an agent on two trips to Miami. Then-Assistant Attorney General Don Valeska, who no longer works at the office, said in 2011 that he had no evidence showing what agent was involved with Dareus."
Andre Smith and Marcell Dareus we're suspended after allegations of agent contact came to light. Smith would go on to the NFL Draft and Dareus played 2 games later.
This is not an accusation, only an observation. I state this only to say that the NCAA will look into this, but does the Alabama Attorney General hold the key that opens the door to a much deeper investigation? I think he does, but he will keep that key to himself? It seems like too much of a gamble, and if you follow Alabama politics and Victoryland, Luther Strange is not a fan of gambling. I will be shocked if any of this snowballs, at least on the Alabama side.
