Oxford is starting to feel the heat from Dabo Swinney's tampering allegations.
Swinney came in hot in front of the media, claiming to have receipts of the alleged tampering Pete Golding and several other Rebels carried out to poach Luke Ferrelli.
Those claims were enough to prompt the NCAA to launch an investigation within hours — the fastest they have ever acted on a tampering allegation.
“Normally, it issues a sternly worded letter four and a half years later, and nobody cares. This feels a little bit different. Now the NCAA has responded already — that almost never happens," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said of the NCAA.
Pete Golding bracing for a bad fall
If Swinney has the receipts he claims, it would be the easiest evidence they could find in an investigation. If they do, the consequence would be more than your usual penalties or single-game bans.
“If he’s got receipts,” McElroy added, “he’s going to hand the NCAA the easiest layup they’ve ever had.”
It is an enrolled student-athlete sitting in a class at the university he committed to in the question here. Not a transfer portal commit, a student.
“If you’re texting an enrolled student, someone sitting in a Clemson classroom,” McElroy said, “that takes poaching to a whole new level.”
The real issue isn't tampering anymore. It has been running rampant lately, as several insiders and even players have admitted to.
It is the NCAA all but ignoring the widely prevelant gray market, and now selectively targetting one single program for it.
If the NCAA takes action against the Rebels, they will always be hated for making Golding the sacrificial lamb.
If they don't, their rules end up being a big joke.
“If nothing happens here, then the party’s over. There are no rules at this point. ‘Tampering 301’ is officially in session.”
Either way, it looks like a lose-lose for the NCAA from afar, no matter what they decide for Ole Miss.