Mike Williams will NOT be reinstated to the NCAA

[Nick]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1868537

I have to say I agree with the decision.

[sprtsmac]

I don't like this ruling. Mike Williams did not play professional football and did not get paid to play football. Yes, the kid made a mistake but don't we all. If I'm not mistaken, after the NFL won its appeal; Williams fired his agent and donated the money he had made from this ordeal to charity. Unfortunately the article does not have a comment by the NCAA; I would be very interested to hear their reasoning behind this. Maybe then it will make more sense to me because right now it doesn't.

[HUbison]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1868537

I have to say I agree with the decision.

I can't say I do.

[AvengerRam]

What a bunch of nonsense. Just another example of the NCAA's status as one of the worst governing bodies in sports.

[Nick]

According to NCAA rules, if you hire an agent or receive money from an agent, you lose your elligibility to play college football. Williams did both of these. Simple as that. How do you explain how he should be allowed back in, based on his violating NCAA rules? The NCAA had the right to either allow him back in and bend their own rules, or uphold their rules and not reinstate him. They chose to deny it, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

[r8rh8rmike]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer university. Didn't anyone at such a big time school let Williams know what would happen if he hired an agent and took money?? In the meantime he can get an education, then cash in when he gets drafted. Not exactly a bad deal.

[Nick]

Didn't anyone at such a big time school let Williams know what would happen if he hired an agent and took money??

I'm sure Williams knew. I'm sure every college player has been told at some point in time. I feel for the guy, because I'm sure he wasn't thinking about what would happen to his NCAA elligibility but rather thinking about his NFL football career. But the fact is he turned his back on the NCAA by violating their rules, and has to accept the consequences for those actions. Based on his interview, he seems like a mature and level-headed guy. But he broke the rules, and the rules need to be upheld.

[afrightertoo]

I have to say I agree with the decision.

Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

[Nick]

Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

Care to elaborate?

[HUbison]

If you look at the letter of the law, then yes, the NCAA's decision is the right one. But is this situation really the intent of the law? Williams hired an agent and declared for the draft only after the courts declared Clarett eligible. As soon as the appellate court overturned the lower courts decision, Williams cut ties with the agent and began the reinstatement process.

Did he technically violate NCAA rules? Yes. But did he gain any advantage over other NCAA athletes? No. He never received a dime for playing football (or at least no more than other college players receive, but that's a different debate).

It's only my opinion, but I think the NCAA should have taken a longer look at this one-time situation. I really don't see the harm in reinstating Williams, but then again the NCAA didn't ask me.

[AvengerRam]

According to NCAA rules, if you hire an agent or receive money from an agent, you lose your elligibility to play college football. Williams did both of these. Simple as that. How do you explain how he should be allowed back in, based on his violating NCAA rules? The NCAA had the right to either allow him back in and bend their own rules, or uphold their rules and not reinstate him. They chose to deny it, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

If the NCAA's position were that it has no discretion whatsoever in this matter, it could have decided Williams' case weeks ago. In taking as long as it did, the NCAA clearly indicated that it does have some discretion. As a result, it should have given consideration to the circumstance that resulted in Williams hiring an agent (i.e. the lower court finding that he was eligible for the NFL Draft), as well as Williams' actions since that decision was overturned by the appellate court.

The NCAA will now say - the rules are the rules. But, clearly, there was an opportunity to make an exception.

[DJRamFan]

I'm going to agree with Nick.

The NCAA did NOT change it's rules. It's the same rule that has been in place for a while. It was the NFL that potentially saw a rule change. Mike Williams was told of this and was aware of the consequences. Giving the money back was a stand-up gesture, but the fact remains, he signed with an agent, period.

Yes, there was a potential for an exeption, but when do you stop with the exceptions?

Everyone complains about how high schoolers and underclassmen are ruining the NBA, but now all of a sudden the NCAA is being unreasonable and athlete-unfriendly. It's one or the other.

Like I said, the NCAA never changed it's rules in this case. My beef was that it took so long to make the decision just pulling Williams and USC along.

[adarian_too]

The NCAA did NOT change it's rules. It's the same rule that has been in place for a while. It was the NFL that potentially saw a rule change. Mike Williams was told of this and was aware of the consequences. Giving the money back was a stand-up gesture, but the fact remains, he signed with an agent, period.

Yes, there was a potential for an exeption, but when do you stop with the exceptions?

Everyone complains about how high schoolers and underclassmen are ruining the NBA, but now all of a sudden the NCAA is being unreasonable and athlete-unfriendly. It's one or the other.

Like I said, the NCAA never changed it's rules in this case. My beef was that it took so long to make the decision just pulling Williams and USC along.

The fact a rule exists doesn't make a rule a good rule. When the time comes to change a rule, the rule must go. Implicitly, the rule says that an athlete is under the protection of the NCAA until the athlete chooses to be under the protection of an agent. Once the prospect of a change in the NFL rules was imminent it was incumbent upon the NCAA to join the fray and defend the interests of Williams. They didn't, yet they want to be held harmless. Shouldn't work that way. It was only prudent for Williams to seek counsel on how to proceed in murky waters and the NCAA should have been there to defend him and continue the defense presently rather than penalizing him as they are now doing.

[AvengerRam]

Williams is lucky in that he's already established himself as a top 10 talent. If I were him, I'd just spend the next few months working on my 40 time and making sure I make a great impression at the combine. His day will come.

[afrightertoo]

Care to elaborate?

Do I care to elaborate? Why not? Somehow there seems to be a tendency ...