04/25/24
October 07, 2011
Calipari, Rose, and Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson settled.: After the NCAA completed an investigation into Rose's SAT scores, they vacated Memphis's 07-08 season and faced 3 years probation. Now comes word that in May of last year, attorneys representing a group of season ticket holders settled a lawsuit against Coach Calipari, Rose, and A.D. Johnson. The suit alleges that the ticket-holders had made donations to the Tiger Scholarship Fund, but that the actions of the accused could lead to further charges against the University's athletic department which would in turn, lower the value of their season tickets.
I found it entertaining that they made Calipari make donation to a scholarship fund, considering that's not what Calipari is famous for.
I agree that it's kind of a bad precedent, in the sense that it's going to empower boosters even more than they already are.
At some point, we have to figure out if athletics runs colleges or if it's really the other way around, and these boosters emphasize which way it really is.
posted by Bonkers at 05:31 PM on October 07, 2011
I think the argument would be that they committed fraud. It's like paying to see Lady Gaga and really getting Kenny G. No one would think that was okay. If you are paying to see amateur athletics and are given something different, then that could be the same thing.
I don't get this whole Memphis thing. I never found a ruling that Rose had cheated on his SAT. Was that determined to be a fact? And, there is no evidence that Memphis at all knew about it, I think. In addition to monitoring its students while they are in school, they also have to make sure that they didn't do anything wrong before they even enrolled. I don't see how that is reasonable.
posted by bperk at 08:46 PM on October 07, 2011
If you are paying to see amateur athletics and are given something different, then that could be the same thing.
Props to the lawyer who kept a straight face when making that argument. The boosters wanted to see a winning franchise school, and sued because Memphis got caught and sanctioned. Is part of the deal that they've had their memories wiped of the team's run in the 2008 NCAA championship?
posted by etagloh at 09:07 PM on October 07, 2011
Apologies for the mangled summary. After reading the AP story and some local coverage. I don't know whether this is brilliant, or a bad precedent to set. I can't begin to imagine what the sports landscape would look like should season ticket-holders be allowed to sue for reasons such as this. The tickets are a means unto themselves. They are admission to a sporting event, nothing more or less. I don't think institutions of higher learning, or businesses involved in professional sports should be held accountable for the perceived value of a ticket as some sort of commodity. Nor for the events or actions that alter the quality of that event (or how it is perceived).
We all pay for tickets to events that fail to meet our expectations. Sometimes the drummer sucks, or the singer is drunk. Sometimes the game is a blowout because the coach is an idiot, or the O-Line stinks. Hell I'm a Clippers fan, so I know what a bad fan experience is. But does that give all sports fans, or any member of the ticket-buying public the right to demand recompense when we don't like the outcome? In amateur athletics especially? Where turnover is a constant? Where even those student-athletes who make it on campus fair and square can still be ineligible for bad grades? Where most colleges and fans KNOW that players are itching to leave as soon as possible to start there pro careers? Where players can be ruled ineligible to play by the schools for honor code violations?
I don't know. I find the whole enterprise disingenuous. But thats just me.