Sampson's Penalty Was Right Move

Before I get to any game recaps, I've got to talk about the story of the day. The NCAA leveled one of its harshest penalties on Sampson, and largely exempted Indiana University itself from punishment. And I can't say enough how much I like what they did.

For Sampson, it's a legitimate question whether such a seemingly innocuous action should merit one of the toughest punishments the NCAA can levy. And my answer is that I don't feel bad for Sampson at all. He got caught doing this once and basically got a wrist slap. Getting caught twice doing such a stupid thing is his own fault. Secondly, this isn't as big of a penalty on him as you might think. He's not going to be able to get a collegiate coaching job for years now, but what were the chances of him getting an NCAA job anytime soon anyway? He is going to coach in the NBA for a while, and he might never want to come back to the college game anyway.

One thing I have really disliked in the past is that punishments are leveled on schools rather than on the people who commit the illegal acts. The coaches get off without any serious punishment, despite the fact that they were the ones that cheated. Punishing the school simply punishes the kids and fans who did nothing wrong. The only excuse for giving a school a big punishment on future activity (like postseason bans and major scholarship restrictions) are if the offenders are boosters of the school. In that case then it's fair game. But I hated situations like at Ohio State, when Jim O'Brien played a player, then not only didn't get any serious punishment but actually was able to sue and win millions of dollars in a wrongful termination lawsuit. And Ohio State fans had to suffer without postseason play. That wasn't right.

Besides, this season is going to be punishment enough for Indiana fans. A 26 point loss to St. Joe's this afternoon? Yikes.