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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Warriors get
dragged into the netDUM-DE-DUM-DUM!
My name is Friday.
I'm an NCAA cop.
Go ahead, laugh, hotshot. That's funny. That may not mean much to you, but it means a hell of a lot to me. Rules. Our society needs rules, and that means we need cops. Occasionally things get out of hand in the city. That's where I come in.
All at once you lose your first name. You're a cop.
Hold it. Unless you're growing, sit down. We've got something to talk about, junior.
Violations. NCAA violations. Sure, you may say that we shouldn't be looking too hard into men's volleyball, where the international students tend to be good citizens and 46 other states couldn't care less. Sure, you would say that. You and your good-time buddies. You're willing to let things slide, as long as it doesn't affect your fast-paced party lifestyle. I've seen your type before, always pushing the boundaries.
I don't judge a man by the length of his hair or the kind of music he listens to. Rock was never my bag. But you pay attention when you're dealing with the NCAA rulebook, fella.
(I saw that on a television show once. That guy was my all-time favorite TV policeman, a real inspiration to those of us in the field, wading through the muck.)
But I can't stomach looking the other way. I'm a cop. I have to think about the kids, those boys, those many millions of them all around this great country of ours, all going to bed every night dreaming of becoming NCAA Division I men's volleyball players. What about them?
Who's going to explain this to them when they wake up the next day?
Sure, you'd like all of this to go away. I know. I follow the changing scene. I read the papers. I saw that kid, Vernon Podlewski, saying, "They're not taking my ring, that's for sure. They're not taking away my championship. I earned it straight out like anybody else." Saying on TV we'd have to track him down and pry the ring off his finger.
Don't tempt me, Mr. Libero, Mr. Big-time jock. Don't think for a minute we couldn't find you.
What do you know about hard feelings? You ever have a man die in your arms? You ever kill somebody?
(I really loved that TV cop.)
I know society's slipping. But I'm still here, going through the sections and subsections and articles and clauses. I've got a list. A long list. We have to make a stand, here, with the low-profile, nonrevenue sports. If we don't stand up and say right is right and wrong is wrong the next thing you know we have no rules. Then the criminal element gets bolder and bolder.
That's why we have cops. Real NCAA cops. I've seen it all in my 20 years on this beat. Phone card abuse cases that would turn your stomach.
Sure, eligibility issues might be small stuff to you, but let me tell you something, wiseguy. If men's volleyball goes to hell men's basketball could be next. This could spread to places like Fresno State or Georgia or Minnesota.
You walk your beat and try to pick up the pieces.
This is the city. The NCAA. Twelve hundred, fifty-eight member institutions. I work here. I'm a cop.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com