The COI meeting is officially over in Covington, Kentucky. As Ole Miss football awaits their fate, many fans are just ready for this entire investigation debacle to end.
The entire process has been like running a marathon on a treadmill. It appeared to be never-ending and going nowhere. However after years of investigations, Ole Miss football finally stood before Committee of Infractions. Hopefully this investigation nonsense is coming close to an end.
All the required participants attended the meeting. The blood thirsty, agenda driven NCAA investigators were there. Our current head coach Matt Luke was there. A disgraced ex-Ole Miss head coach was there as well. Although not seen by any media members, even the confessed cheating student athlete slithered into the proceedings.
However, the meeting came and went without any glitch. Although the speculation of the final outcome will run rampant, many are glad that it’s over. You didn’t have to camp out in the men’s restroom of a hotel to be glad that the meeting is over. However, I’m sure all the media types are glad to be leaving their hotel lobby seating behind for the familiar comforts of home.
Just End It Already
We all want the best outcome for the Ole Miss football program. We really do. There will be nothing better than rubbing it in the face of all the naysayers. I would love to laugh in their virtual faces. We will love the moment when they will have to face this team on the football field.
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However, can I be honest. I have investigation fatigue. This entire process for the past four years has been exhausting. The constant probing, the constant snooping and the constant hounding has worn on all of us.
Every other day someone claims they have new information that will prove us guilty and will get a four-year bowl ban. Then someone will claim their sources show that we will get a one year ban and nothing else. There is so much posturing on both sides that it all becomes white noise.
Don’t get me started on the daily minutiae that saturates social media every day. The endless arguments over the same small pieces of factual, verifiable information. Everyone spending time throwing out scenario after scenario. People quoting social media gossip as fact. Some argument threads can cover days. Then just when you think the argument has ended, some genius who wasn’t in the original conversation will bring it up again two days later. Just end it already.
Damage Is Done
We are still months away from the final decision from the committee. No one knows the end results. We may hear leaked information. However, we still must wait for the official announcement. This entire investigation stinks. This is regardless of outcome.
However, the damage is done. Although the cheating athlete confessed to receiving money from multiple schools, only the Rebel’s reputation has taken a hit nationally. A couple of members from the national media have made it their mission to ignore that nugget of truth and have only chosen to show Ole Miss in a negative light.
This investigation has completely weakened two recruiting classes, including the 2018 class. Subsequently, the depth of the team is compromised. This will affect possible future wins. It may take two years to dig out of the hole we’ve been put in.
The recovery will take a while. Although, this may have been the point all along. This could be an exercise to put us back in our place. When you combine that with a rival that has a Napoleon Complex, it makes for a perfect storm of trouble for Ole Miss. We are not completely innocent. We broke the rules in some area. However, there are no clean schools in the Power 5.
Next: The Clock Is Ticking For The NCAA!
So here we are at the end of the COI and there is just a sense of being content with the process getting closer to an end. Whatever the outcome may be, we will deal with it and move on. We will be glad when this debacle is over.