You cannot legislate against stupidity

There were more than 1,000 student athletes enrolled at The Ohio State University during the 2010-2011 athletic seasons.  Remarkably, more than 400 student athletes were recognized as Scholar-Athletes at OSU.

Conspicuous in his absence: one Terrelle Pryor.  Surprised?  Probably not.

Here are some other athletes that were not included on that honor roll: DeVier Posey, Dan Herron, and Mike Adams.  Those athletes will also not be playing football for The Ohio State University in September.  Along with fellow starter Pryor, those three were also found to violate NCAA rules last season.

I am not trying to imply that athletes which do not qualify as a Scholar-Athlete at Ohio State are ignorant.  Afterall, about 600 student athletes failed to meet the academic requirements (All of the Scholar-Athletes recognized at OSU have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better since the end of the winter quarter of their freshman year).  Personally, I wish more would be made out of the record number of Scholar-Athletes at The Ohio State University this year (413); but that would not attract viewers, listeners, or readers to media outlets.

A topic for another day.

Forty-one of just over 100 football players were recognized as Scholar-Athletes.  But the number I really want fellow Buckeyes to focus upon is this one: 99.5%.

A little more than 99.5% of the student athletes at The Ohio State University managed to avoid committing NCAA infractions over 2010-2011.  Conversely, less than .05% were caught breaking NCAA rules.

These are not the numbers an NCAA investigator would find indicative of a lack of institutional controls.  As Buckeyes, we should all feel proud of the record 413 Scholar-Athletes and 99.5% of the student athletes that did not cheat over the last academic year.

Again, those facts will not drive ratings for the media, so I turn to the slimey, smelly, sludge that is found at the bottom of the Buckeyes barrel.  So enter the alleged $40,000.00 man: Terrelle Pryor.

As a former graduate, student athlete, Scholar-Athlete, Big Ten Co-Champion, and Academic All-Big Ten Team member, why should I be saddled with the humiliation that the latest administration at my alma mater has permitted to fester?  May I suggest that this current administration compete with Penn State and Stanford (as major colleges devoid of recorded NCAA infractions) and separate themselves from the current state of the SEC by instituting consequences for the very few athletes that unfortunately run awry of the NCAA?

How about athletes such as Maurice Clarrett and Terrelle Pryor be made accountable for their illicit activities?  Most children experience consequences for actions as relatively innocent as sneaking a cookie before dinner.  Why not negatively reinforce real infractions that affect many?

If I may interject, please remember that over 99.5% of the student athletes at OSU will not be affected by these new consequences.  In fact, this new contract with the student athlete would lead to the very real possibility that those .05% of athletes that thumb their noses at the rest of us would find another campus to pollute with their presence.

In an effort to contradict my title, here is my new contract to enact with the student athlete:

Any student athlete found to violate NCAA rules and receiving any benefit from that crime equivalent to less than $5,000.00 will be suspended for the remainder of their respective sport season (as well as any subsequent season in another sport during that academic year [e.g., a two-sport athlete would be suspended for the season corresponding to the two sports]) and forced to complete several competencies including a NCAA conduct class, community service, demonstrate academic competence, and suffer no more academic or legal trouble.

During the suspension, the student athlete may continue to receive academic benefits provided to student athletes (e.g., free tutoring and preferential scheduling).  The student athlete, however, may not participate in any athletic endeavors with the respective varsity team (e.g., weightlifting or training with the team). 

If the student athlete in question completes all of the required work satisfactorily, the athlete may petition to be reinstated.  If the student athlete does not complete all of the required work satisfactorily, the athlete enters the second-level of punishment.

The second-level of punishment applies to athletes that violated NCAA rules as above and do not satisfactorily complete the requisites set forth by the university.  In addition, any student athlete that violates NCAA rules and receives a benefit valued at $5,000.00 or more will immediately be subjected to the second-level of punishment.  Any student athlete in the second-level will immediately be dismissed from the university and required to pay back the market value of the benefits received by that athlete as calculated by the university.

In other words, Terrelle Pryor would now be on the hook for the fair market value of the education he completed.  He would also be required to pay back The Ohio State University for the books, room and board, and the value of the other tangible benefits he received while on campus.

So Pryor would now owe OSU about $250,000.00.  By my primitive calculations, Terrelle would have made $40,000.00, but now be in debt for about $210,000.00.  Just like most students utilizing student loans to get through college.

Good luck with that career in pro football, heh?  Pardon the "heh", just practicing my Canadian.

But as the title points out: you cannot legislate against stupidity.  On the other hand, implementing such a policy may keep the riff-raff off the Oval.