Article on Boatright situation from Chicago Sun-Times

[UCweCONN]

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/spor...hes-boatright-amid-eligibility-questions.html

Hopefully this link works.

Here is the key statement from the article:

Boatright was instructed not to comment to the media, and his parents, Tanesha Boatright and Mike McAllister, also chose not to comment. That didn’t stop former West Aurora basketball standout Jaeh Thomas, however. Thomas is McAllister’s cousin and has advised young Boatright and trained with him.
“We know exactly who it is,” Thomas said, identifying the source providing information to the NCAA that led to the review as a former boyfriend of Tanesha Boatright.
“What the NCAA needs to get through their head is, it’s her ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be his dad’s first cousin. Both families have pushed him out.”

 

[Rico444]

I really hope the NCAA wouldn't take the bitter ramblings of an ex-boyfriend of the family as their "new evidence."

Actually, in this case, I hope it's all they took, because that means Boatright should be back out there soon. But pathetic if that's all it was.

 

[BarkingDog]

Who knows if what Thomas is saying is true. But if it is, it really sucks that Ryan's college basketball career is being used in some twisted paybacks against his mother. Either way, I hope he can keep his head together and get through this.
The other part of the article that got me was the image of Calhoun holding this young man in his arms. Calhoun seems to live an emotional life at both ends of the spectrum.

 

[Tenspro2002]

The other part of the article that got me was the image of Calhoun holding this young man in his arms. Calhoun seems to live an emotional life at both ends of the spectrum.

Do you think his players would have any respect for his lunatic ranting if they didn't know he cared about them as much as his own children?

 

[uconNYC]

Total soap opera. Seems the ex-bf timed it right when Boatright would be coming to Chicago, to really stick it to the family. Actually, makes me somewhat optimistic that RB will be cleared as it looks like a personal vendetta. Doubt NCAA will take his words too seriously.

 

[Peacefrog]

Total soap opera. Seems the ex-bf timed it right when Boatright would be coming to Chicago, to really stick it to the family. Actually, makes me somewhat optimistic that RB will be cleared as it looks like a personal vendetta. Doubt NCAA will take his words too seriously.

Maybe not, but just how long will they drag their feet before brushing it aside.

 

[roxyharper]

The other part of the article that got me was the image of Calhoun holding this young man in his arms.

Brings tears to your eyes, doesn't it?

 

[UCweCONN]

If it turns out to be false accusation, nothing is going to make up for the games Boatright will miss. He should be able to sue the guy for defamation. This is a slippery slope when all someone has to do is make a accusation and the NCAA steps in to keep a player out of action. I agree that the timing of this around the big 'homecoming' looks very shady.

 

[Danzz]

If it turns out to be false accusation, nothing is going to make up for the games Boatright will miss. He should be able to sue the guy for defamation. This is a slippery slope when all someone has to do is make a accusation and the NCAA steps in to keep a player out of action. I agree that the timing of this around the big 'homecoming' looks very shady.

The NCAA has no choice but to investigate the accusation but that X boyfriend sounds like a real piece of garbage. Somebody is going to kick his ass.

 

[StoweD210]

Total soap opera. Seems the ex-bf timed it right when Boatright would be coming to Chicago, to really stick it to the family. Actually, makes me somewhat optimistic that RB will be cleared as it looks like a personal vendetta. Doubt NCAA will take his words too seriously.

Unfortunately, the NCAA took this person's words seriously enough to have him held out of a game. Maybe the NCAA should "consider the source" on situations like this before they take any action.

I know, in the long run, it's probably better that everyone was cautious about this, but there already was a review of his eligibility and a punishment. Any new information should have been looked at with some skepticism.

 

[uconnfan68]

If it turns out to be false accusation, nothing is going to make up for the games Boatright will miss. He should be able to sue the guy for defamation. This is a slippery slope when all someone has to do is make a accusation and the NCAA steps in to keep a player out of action. I agree that the timing of this around the big 'homecoming' looks very shady.

If that's all it took, with all the really bad stuff is happening in college sports, then maybe putting the NCAA out of business might be a good thing. Sure seems vindictive to me.

 

[roxyharper]

Or, maybe this is the way the selectively-vindictive NCAA responds when his Highness thumbs his nose at their sanctions and magically frees up a scholarship for a marquee recruit who magically commits to play for him at the last minute. Maybe.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Or, maybe this is the way the selectively-vindictive NCAA responds when his Highness thumbs his nose at their sanctions and magically frees up a scholarship for a marquee recruit who magically commits to play for him at the last minute. Maybe.

I can't tell towards whom you're trying to be sarcastic, JC or the NCAA. Either way, you're a little late to the party; several people on this board (self included) have suggested that this was a factor.

 

[ctchamps]

I can't tell towards whom you're trying to be sarcastic, JC or the NCAA. Either way, you're a little late to the party; several people on this board (self included) have suggested that this was a factor.

Methinks he is a troll hammering JC.

 

[husky711]

Or, maybe this is the way the selectively-vindictive NCAA responds when his Highness thumbs his nose at their sanctions and magically frees up a scholarship for a marquee recruit who magically commits to play for him at the last minute. Maybe.

People keep saying that maybe this is "repayment" for the Drummond situation. That makes no sense. Drummond chose, ON HIS OWN, to come play for UConn as a walk-on. That is in no way an NCAA violation or an attempt to work around the limited scholarships. Yes, a player offered to give up his scholarship for Drummond but the University would not have allowed this... and regardless, Drummond himself did not allow this. He knew what the right thing to do was and he did it.

Accepting someone as a walk-on in your program is not against NCAA rules, whether they are a random no-name person or they are the #1 recruit in the nation. Fortunately, we're lucky to have an incredible basketball program in which the #1 recruit in the nation wanted to play for UConn so badly this year that he was willing to pay his own way via financial aid. Easy decision when you know for a fact you will be making millions in a year or two!

Honestly, if anything I think the fact that Drummond is a walk-on speaks volumes about his character and about the program as a whole, considering the program is clearly looked highly upon by some recruits... highly enough that one of the best in the nation would be willing to say "scholarship or not I want to play for them".

 

[Danzz]

Methinks he is a troll hammering JC.

+1

Or, maybe this is the way the selectively-vindictive NCAA responds when his Highness thumbs his nose at their sanctions and magically frees up a scholarship for a marquee recruit who magically commits to play for him at the last minute. Maybe.

 

[uconnfan68]

Or, maybe this is the way the selectively-vindictive NCAA responds when his Highness thumbs his nose at their sanctions and magically frees up a scholarship for a marquee recruit who magically commits to play for him at the last minute. Maybe.

And you just an IGNORANT troll that doesn't know that Andre DOESN'T HAVE a scholarship. He's a WALK-ON.

 

[Gurleyman]

Plus, he's a Connecticut resident. It was hardly some "magical commitment". This was where he always wanted to play.

 

[dogpause]

Do you think his players would have any respect for his lunatic ranting if they didn't know he cared about them as much as his own children?

No. And unfortunately, it's something the press rarely gets to witness, or rarely chooses to write about.

 

[prankster]

The NCAA has no choice but to investigate the accusation but that X boyfriend sounds like a real piece of garbage. Somebody is going to kick his ass.

Coming, as it did, in the aftermath of a previous (and very recent) investigation of the same player/same circumstances....while the NCAA may, indeed, have been compelled to investigate....they were not compelled to suspend RB in advance of at least some rudimentary verification of the new accusations....

This shows that there is very little professionalism on the part of the NCAA, and a corresponding lack of confidence in their own abilities to conduct investigations....

 

[suzyq]

Coming, as it did, in the aftermath of a previous (and very recent) investigation of the same player/same circumstances....while the NCAA may, indeed, have been compelled to investigate....they were not compelled to suspend RB in advance of at least some rudimentary verification of the new accusations....

This shows that there is very little professionalism on the part of the NCAA, and a corresponding lack of confidence in their own abilities to conduct investigations....

I supect the school would have sat him anyway to err on the sideof caution. As we know there is nothing to keep the NCAA from ruling down the road and disqualifying all the games in which he played.

 

[John Fryer]

Sometimes I get the impression that the NCAA looks into the background of some players almost as closely as the FBI looks into the backgrounds of candidates running for high public office.

After all, how much background can there be to check on a 17/18 year old kid?

We need full disclosure on how much is the average NCAA investigator paid annually?

How much $ (per diem/travel allowances, etc.) does the average NCAA investigator receive for conducting an average investigation?

Is the average NCAA investigator a participating/contributing alumn to a college/university in the college division that he/she is responsible for?

Peace,

John Fryer

 

[zls44]

But who is responsible for looking into the past of John Fryer?

 

[cohenzone]

Hold on a second. I'm certainly not crazy about RB being side-lined nor am I a fan of how the NCAA does things. But as of this moment, none have us have any idea what the real deal is regarding this recent suspension. If his hs coach is correct, there are 2 separate issues. First, it certainly sucks that it might be a vendetta thing, but we don't know if the coach is correct about the source. Was this coach a part of of RBs team when he made his various commitment decisions , particularly his first one as a Frosh? Second, regardless of the source, if there is substance to whatever the issue is regardless of the source, then there is possibly more to be concerned about regarding RB. I know it sucks, because the chances that other kids who have been involved in exactly the same sort of conduct will never be found out and punished is pretty great, kind of like the steroid thing in pro sports. The ones who get caught (in the case of the AAU junk that goes on, I am not necessarily blaming teenagers when I use the term "caught" as if they planned to break the rules) will always be the embarrassed ones and the ones to suffer consequences. The others can just hold their breath and thank their lucky stars that nobody has reported them.

Is this a vendetta by the NCAA or by certain people within the NCAA? I hope not, but if they actually receive information that reflects a violation, they have to do something about it. The obvious problem is that they impose suspensions before they have all of the supporting information if the issue comes up during the season. There is no way to make up for the lost time if the allegations prove empty.

 

[prankster]

I supect the school would have sat him anyway to err on the sideof caution. As we know there is nothing to keep the NCAA from ruling down the road and disqualifying all the games in which he played.

This is an interesting perspective....but the school had been acting in good faith, based upon the results of the initial investigation. Following your logic (which I am not suggesting to be flawed) all of the games played, since the final game in Nassau, are in jeopardy. (One more would make little difference in that scenario)....