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Kansas coach Bill Self has lost little time publicly denying what the NCAA is accusing him of and his program of: Substantial cheating and careless surveillance. Self issued a statement Monday night, in conjunction with the University of Kansas, setting the stage for a mammoth battle with the NCAA.
What we have here, potentially, is the first string of formidable sanctions resulting from the FBI's unprecedented investigation into the infamous recruiting of college basketball that will have widespread impact and reaction in the NCAA.
And the University of Kansas – along with its Hall of Fame coach – immediately decided to react aggressively and to deny many of the charges brought by the NCAA's enforcement division responsible for Law enforcement, which has spent several months defending its record and notifying the university its identity. d & # 39; allegations.
Self issued a warm and provocative statement, calling the evidence cited in the NCAA inquiry "unsupported" and accusing the law enforcement division of being falsely zealous in its haste to draw up a highly publicized program in the midst of the fallout from the FBI's investigation. . In the statement, Self said:
NCAA's own admission in its public statements early in the summer, it is clear that the NCAA is under enormous pressure to respond to federal court proceedings involving the NCAA. In an attempt to reassure member institutions and the general public that it can control its NCAA members, NCAA Enforcement Staff reacted unnecessarily aggressively by submitting the notice. of non-substantiation of the allegations released today, and myself, as well as the University, will seriously challenge what has been alleged.
"In a hurry and trying to regain control, the law enforcement staff created a false story about my basketball program, based on innuendo, half-truths, erroneous impressions and misinterpretations.In reality, we all know that it version of the truth.The truth is based on verifiable facts, and I am convinced that the facts that we will demonstrate in our case will reveal the inaccuracies of the story of the application of the law. "
Self has a long-standing relationship with T.J., a former Adidas consultant. Gassnola, who appeared before the federal government at the federal trial of October 2018. During this lawsuit, Gassnola swore an affidavit for paying the parents / guardians of two KU players: Billy Preston and Silvio De Sousa . However, Gassnola never directly said – or even hinted – that Self and his staff were working outside of the NCAA rules.
His testimony was rather the opposite: he was explaining how Adidas was helping Kansas flourish while trying to keep his coaches in the dark of disgraceful recruiting. Nevertheless, Gassnola's stories have been tainted by dark circles and skepticism throughout the university basketball community.
And we now have an interesting juxtaposition with Kansas. The government was able to prove to a jury that the university was a victim of Gassnola's ploys. But the NCAA qualifies Gassnola as a reinforcement of the university given its ties with Adidas, which sponsors school sports teams.
The NCAA now accuses Basketball Self and KU of negligence – and worse – as Gassnola was working off the margins to help Kansas recruit high-level recruits. In his statement, Self has none of it.
"I've always been proud of my commitment to abide by the rules and run programs that work with integrity and respect for the rules, and I'm proud of the success we've achieved with each program along the way." said Self in his statement. "All of the student athletes who have played for me and their families know that we follow the rules, these allegations are serious and prejudicial to the university and myself, and I hate that KU should follow this process. With the full cooperation of our staff, these allegations will be dealt with in the NCAA proceedings, urgently and resolutely, and I will vigorously defend myself and the program, but I will respect the process and not discuss the details of the case. "
Self is aligned with his Kansas bosses, ready to fight. Their success remains to be seen. While the NCAA Division of Enforcement is the group that officially accuses an institution of transgression of the rules, a separate body – the Offenses Committee – is responsible for gathering evidence and punishing the perpetrators of the offenses.
And in light of the FBI's investigation and subsequent recommendations from the Rice Commission, the NCAA is now governed by a new penalty structure. Kansas is at the center of a highly publicized case, which will soon be joined by other schools.
"It is already apparent from an initial review that the University will strongly challenge in detail much of what has been presented," the school said in its statement. "First, the University points out that it categorically rejects the claim that Adidas and Adidas employees and associates were boosters and agents. of the University (as defined by NCAA legislation) during the period of the alleged violations and therefore acted on behalf of the University when they committed alleged violations of the NCAA regulations. "
The NCAA also imposed on the program a charge of non-institutional control, which is a serious and wide-ranging charge that could lead to sanctions as serious as a post-season ban or proven-cause punishment (read: effective banishment) for Self. . Kansas rejects the charge by stating, "In fact, the University believes the record will show the opposite".
"With regard to the allegations regarding the men's basketball head coach, Bill Self, there is ample evidence to show that he has, in fact, promoted an atmosphere of compliance and fully supervised his staff." according to the release. "The University strongly and completely supports Coach Self and its staff."
Kansas has 90 days from Monday to formally respond to what NCAA law enforcement personnel have imposed on its men's basketball program (and football, though transgressions of the program football are much less serious). By the time the deal ends, the numbers for the 2019-20 season will be over, which means that future penalties and suspensions will only be effective for the 2020-21 season.
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