Monday, February 18, 2013

Miami, USC and the NCAA.

The report over the botched investigation of University of Miami transgressions, with regards to the NCAA's COI staff, has been released.  As a result Julie Roe Lach, VP of enforcement at the COI, was fired.

Miami
Last month when the screw-up was first revealed, it was thought that Miami had leverage over the NCAA regarding sanctions over Nevin Shapiro's involvement.  Maybe.  But if you look back at Paul Dee's tenure as the athletic director, you have to wonder why they should get excused from anything.  Heck, in his own, hypocritical words, Paul Dee said that USC "should have known" what was going on with Reggie Bush.

USC and the NCAA
In that released report, included a summary of individual accountability.
Ameen Najjar, former Director of Enforcement -- "He developed a “way around” that legal advice – characterizing payments to Perez as reimbursement for “costs” rather than compensation for legal services – but never sought or obtained Legal Staff approval for his “way around."
 I want to refer to Dan Weber / USCFootball.com in 2010, writing about Ameen Najjar's involvement with the COI's investigation of USC:
"At the Tempe hearing, the NCAA's enforcement staff director Ameen Najjar said that the NCAA had no part in excluding USC and McNair from the enforcement staff's interviews of Lloyd Lake and his family.  [...] But according to USC attorney Mauch Amir, the enforcement staff said something else in an email sent to another USC attorney Nov. 6, 2007, the morning of the interview, from the same Mr. Najjar as quoted above as to why USC was "banned" from the interview."
Now that we know Najjar acted with intent to deceive others at the COI, it doesn't take any imagination whatsoever to suspect that Najjar openly lied to USC and others.  If those COI emails come out, as a part of the Todd McNair lawsuit, could we find our smoking gun?

USC should be sending a request to Mark Emmert to investigate Najjar's actions regarding the COI's investigation of USC at the very least, don't you think?

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