I get it about the inconsistencies in handing out punishment by the NCAA as well as the enormous pressures agents/coaches/players feel to bend the rules in order to win. I also understand fan frustration and desire to win, even some willing to win at all costs. With that said, just because everyone else is doing it is not really a good excuse. As Booker T. Washington said, "A lie doesn't become truth, wrong doesn't become right, and evil doesn't become good just because it's accepted by a majority." To throw a rock, then hide your hand or the whole lie, cheat, steal...then lie and deny some more mentality doesn't really sit well with me. I was always taught 'do the crime, do the time.' Next time don't look down on all those looters ramshacking your local dollar general or Walmart after the next flood, after all everyone else is doing it, and the law is helpless in stopping it...
I would prefer that my Alma Mater win through recruiting kids who are actually passionate about being Gamecocks, and then win with superior coaching, development, and infrastructure all while toeing the line within the allotted framework. Ideally the body which has been elected to govern college athletics should stop being a slave to money, grow a pair, and punish these schools equally without turning a blind eye to the so called 'bluebloods.' They are letting big money ruin the sport! (TV contracts dictating who, what, when, where, and how the games are played with no thought of fan convenience, skyrocketing coaching salaries, unsustainable facility arms races, inflated ticket prices/seat licensing which price normal families out of the game, shoe companies/agents throwing money at coaches/players, ncaa choosing costs to enforce rules over integrity, etc...) I'll get off my high horse now :-\
With that said, the parties implicated in this are no longer associated with our program, and I will await the facts before jumping to any conclusions. For me, it's just another blow dulling the luster on college athletics. Stop with the shenanigans, let the 1% of players who believe they are actually good enough go pro straight from high school, or let the leagues start a minor league system which would end any amateurism for the player once the first check is cashed. For the rest of the 99%, make some slight tweaks to the system making it more equitable for the players, and then get back to the what made the college game more enjoyable in the first place.
