Ole Miss Football: UM Releases Official Response To NOA, Part I
Student-Athlete No.40
As complicated as this whole investigation has been, the response is just as complicated. At this point I want to introduce you to ‘Student-Athlete No.40’. He enters this investigation in Allegation No.9 which basically surrounds Booster No.8 and his business in Oxford. Allegation No.9 Part C contends S-A No.40 obtained free merchandise from Booster No.8’s place of business.
Once again, the story has a similar script. However, S-A No.40 received a $500 dollar gift card. Guess he thinks he is worth more. Anyway, S-A No.40 took $500 of free merchandise from Booster No.8 within his place of business. Although there were purchases made during this time frame which exceeded $300, none can be credited to S-A No.40.
Also, High School Coach No.1 who provided most of said transportation to and from Oxford for S-A No. 40 disproves this accusation. As stated within the response,
"[Student-Athlete 40] never received (or purchased) any items from [Booster 8] – save a baseball cap and shirt [High School Coach 1] purchased for him – on any of their trips. ~Response To NOA"
That’s pretty damning evidence when your own high school football coaches basically says you lied. Once again the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations case has obvious holes. It seems the expert investigators of the NCAA left a few stones un-turned in their investigation. I believe this was not a simple oversight but more an act of indifference by investigators.
Once again, failure to properly perform their duties as NCAA investigators helped to omit extremely important evidence in the case. It would seem appropriate to interview a student-athlete’s main mode of transportation to and from Oxford. Especially when that mode of travel is said student-athlete’s high school football coach. Perhaps they didn’t care or just figured they had what they needed. Who knows? They certainly know.
More From Student-Athlete No.40
Of course there is more. As I’ve said before, there is always more to the story. In this case S-A No.40 stated “probably everybody” on his official visit received merchandise from Booster No.8 within his place of business. The University’s investigation once again obliterates S-A No.40’s false claims. During University of Mississippi’s investigation into these allegations, the response states,
"Fifteen former and current student-athletes and parents were asked about [Booster 8] over the course of this investigation and uniformly denied anything improper occurred. ~Response To NOA"
Of course, of those 15 interviews 4 subjects are associated with Institution 10. Student Athletes No.42 and No.46 and Family Members 11 and 12, are all currently associated with Institution 10. Finally the only other subject which made claims towards Booster No.8 was Family Member 1.
The University concluded the response with their firm stance Allegation No.9 should be dismissed in its entirety. The NCAA originally dismissed the statements of S-A No.40 and Family Member 1.
Of course, this raises questions about Student-Athletes No.39 and No.40 and how their testimony matches so closely and points to nothing but themselves falsifying information while under immunity.
Related Story: Is There More At Play Here?
Of course there are consequences a student-athlete will face once it is proven they lied to the NCAA. However, the response and the deceit contained within leave us with a couple of questions. How does it affect Institution 10 and what role did Head Coach No.1 play in the whole farce?
One thing is certain. There is always more to the story. I’m still reading the official response so there will be more to come. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming very soon.