NCAA says Facebook page a violation

There are those who believe that the NCAA is an iniquitous organization.

It takes advantage, they say, of unpaid student/athletes while large-stomached coaches enjoy huge deals from sneaker companies and colleges make their fortunes.

It's the equivalent of slave labor, so the story goes.

(Credit: CC Hyku/Flickr)

Surely not. Surely one can see this as an organization of America's brightest minds anticipating every downturn and recession and insulating itself smartly by ensuring the wages of workers are kept far beneath the level of inflation.

Which is why I was unsurprised to see that the NCAA's enterprising spirit has come down vehemently on Taylor Moseley.

Moseley is a North Carolina State student who had the temerity, the sheer mind-numbing gall, to set up a Facebook page which, he hoped, would encourage a high school player named John Wall to come to his school.

What on earth could he have been thinking? Using the dubious scourge of social networking to perhaps make Mr. Wall feel he might enjoy life at mere NC State rather than at those plush basketball academies such as North Carolina or Duke? Had Mr. Moseley taken leave of his faculties?

Thankfully, N.C. State, mindful of the intelligent and forward-thinking paragons of the NCAA, whispered into Mr. Moseley's ear.

Yes, the school sent him a cease-and-desist letter. You see, the NCAA believes that Facebook pages such as these--and there are many of them, because what else are students supposed to do when the college basketball season has finished?--are an attempt to influence the recruit's choice of college.

Indeed. And please let's not quibble about Mr. Moseley's First Amendment Rights. This is college basketball we're talking about.

I am sure a Facebook page can be far more powerful than, say, $30,000 stuffed in a paper bag and sent to the recruit's parents. Or, perhaps, a job on the college's coaching staff for the recruit's high school mentor. Or a party organized on campus when the recruit is introduced to a lot of rather attractive girls who seem to find him endlessly fascinating. Or even a lovely silver Acura provided by a tumbler-tummied booster.

I am sure there are those who hope that Mr. Moseley decides one day to be a lawyer, a fine one. A lawyer who finally takes on the NCAA in one of those John Grisham courtroom scenes and asks this intrepid, forward-thinking organization to take a little look in its funhouse mirror.

Or perhaps, for now, he could just set up a Facebook page called "let's ban the NCAA." Presumably that wouldn't be a violation at all.

[kramnosrac]

North Carolina is also a NC state school.

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

@kramnosrac,<br /><br />Apologies. I have amended. I just always thought of the Tar Heels as royalty.....<br /><br />Thank you for commenting.<br /><br />Chris

[LuvThatCO2]

I'm not seeing how the NCAA can think it has some sort of authority over Moseley. I'd have told the NCAA to kiss my donkey.

[biffhenerson]

Seriously? I would think that the NCAA only has power over John Wall as a prospect to the NCAA. They can shut him out. I would guess that they have no power over the free speech of Moseley. But his free speech may cause them to shut out John Wall because its not fair. lol. I am guessing that a prospective Coach can buy the kid a Viper car, but in doing so the kid can not play on the Coaches team. People are free to do whatever they want. But the NCAA does not have to let the kid play if they smell a rat. So, I find it odd that they would try an injunction against Moseley. The real complaint should be from Wall to Moseley by Wall saying "knock it off your going to make me ineligible."

[gopnick]

Too bad they don't have money for lawyers. The NCAA does.

[nschneeberger01]

Your post is technically incorrect. It is technically incorrect because in numerous places you imply that the NCAA ignores certain kinds of violations in favor of issuing cease and desist orders for other kinds of violations. This is a version of something I call the "kid in the candy store" fallacy. Four kids run into a candy store, grab a handful of candy and run out. The last kid gets caught by the clerk and looks up and says, "It's not fair. My friends got away, I should too." <br /><br />The problem with that statement (and the argument above) is that creating such a page is a violation of NCAA rules for recruiting. As a student at the university, Mr. Moseley is an "agent" of the university and must therefore adhere to NCAA rules FOR recruiting. The "Agent" piece is in the fine print of attending an NCAA Division I institution. He signed away his rights to recruit prospective student athletes the moment he matriculated. It's in the fine print. <br /><br />Every other thing that was listed in this post as an example of "things that happen" are also violations. The NCAA doesn't stop all of them from happening, but it does do a pretty good job of issuing sanctions for the ones it finds out about. <br /><br />Finally, the "slave labor" comment is loaded claptrap. A free college education and all the accoutrements that come with being a college athlete have a great deal of value.

[chili_picante]

nschneeberger01, I have some comments on your post: <br />- Why is Mr. Mosley an "agent" for the university? Has he been hired by the university? <br />- Although the North Carolina State action may meet strict legal requirements (I don?t know that it does), isn?t this action incredibly heavy handed? Should an institution of higher education be limiting free speech? <br />- The student athletes bring in a huge amount of money, and I doubt that the free tuition is fair compensation. To me, the NCAA seems more concerned with their sweet deal than with the individual student/athlete. (My opinion is based on a number of NCAA actions, not just this incident.)

[nonamepls]

I know this is waaaay past due but not all student athletes are on scholarship and almost no one gets a completely "free ride" at least not in athletics. I did know a couple of Chemical Engineering students that each got a couple of thousand a month to go to school. (NMST finalists)