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Say this for Pete Golding: He doesn't pretend Ole Miss follows NCAA rules
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- Say this for Pete Golding: He doesn't pretend Ole Miss follows NCAA rules
At least Pete Golding didn't pretend he followed all of the rules. Nobody would've believed him anyway, and he didn't try to persuade us Mississippi didn't tamper to raid linebacker Luke Ferrelli off Dabo Swinney's roster .
Swinney said Clemson turned in receipts to prove Golding cheated, to which Golding basically shrugged and hinted at SEC spring meetings if the NCAA punishes him, he'll tattle on other cheaters.
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He didn't confess. He didn't deny, either.
In effect, he said: If I cheated, at least I've got company.
"There's a lot more people involved that everybody might not know," Golding told reporters in Miramar Beach, Florida, last month. "I'm not gonna sit up here and say whatever we did or we didn't do, (and) was it right or was it wrong?"
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Pete Golding doesn't bother to pretend he followed NCAA rules
Golding threatened to expose other coaches who cheated if the NCAA punishes him, sources told my USA TODAY colleague Matt Hayes.
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I don't doubt he's got company in Club Cheat. If Golding has dirt on other coaches, I'm sure the NCAA would love to see it. Put the cards on the table.
If the NCAA has sufficient evidence Golding tampered, it should attempt to punish him — although, if the Brendan Sorsby case tells us anything , a judge will have the final word on any suspension, not the NCAA.
Coaches' actions speak louder than words: They don't want rules
Coaches pretended they wanted "guardrails!" these past five years, but they weren't being honest. Most don't want rules, or at least they don't want rules that apply to them.
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Insomuch as rules exist, many coaches don't follow them.
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Oh, sure, some coaches (and their bosses) might say they want rules. (Golding didn't bother with that line.) Their actions tell us what they really want is to find ways to break the rules, slither around them, or procure a judge to bully the NCAA into a corner. See Texas Tech.
As much as everyone likes to pretend NCAA rules don't exist anymore, that's not true. Some rules exist, but whenever the NCAA tries to enforce its rules, the affected party tries to escape punishment.
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So, whenever a coach or an athletic director or a university administrator says they want rules — sorry, you must call them "guardrails!" — you'll have to forgive me if I don't buy it.
Here's what they really want: Rules only apply to their competition.
A brief review of the scofflawing:
∎ Sorsby became a gambling addict while trampling NCAA's black-and-white betting rules. He made numerous wagers on college football, including bets on games involving his own team . Sorsby sued the NCAA to regain eligibility. His legal team argued that because Sorsby became a gambling addict, he shouldn't be ruled ineligible for gambling. Absurd theory , right? Not to Texas Tech. It vigorously supports Sorsby. The school celebrated a judge's ruling allowing him to play.
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∎ When the NCAA investigated Tennessee's recruitment of Nico Iamaleava in an effort to enforce its rules prohibiting pay-for-play after the advent of NIL, Tennessee sicced the state's attorney general on the NCAA , and UT's administration stood behind Iamaleava and scolded the NCAA. Hello, lawsuit. Goodbye to the NCAA's pay-for-play rules.
∎ NCAA rules prohibit players who depart college and sign an NBA contract from returning to college basketball. Alabama coach Nate Oats said, who cares ? He brought in the NBA G League's Charles Bediako to suit up for the Tide last season. Never mind this violated rules. The university supported the move. Bediako played in a few games, before a judge finally stopped the insanity.
∎ LSU basketball coach Will Wade signed ex-NBA G Leaguer RJ Luis Jr . NCAA rules deem Luis ineligible. Wade doesn't care.
I could go on. You don't need me to.
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One athletic director admits: 'We really don't want to have rules.'
Why should anyone believe a coach or an athletic director or a university president when they say they want rules, when actions say otherwise?
"That's a fair observation," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey conceded.
I asked a few other stakeholders that same question at SEC spring meetings.
To a man, here's how they answered — and I'm paraphrasing here: You shouldn't believe us.
Here's how my exchange went with Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts:
Me: "Athletic directors, presidents and chancellors say they want rules, but anytime a rule goes against their institution …"
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Alberts interjected and finished the thought for me: "… they don't like those rules anymore."
Bingo.
So, I ask again: Why should anyone believe these people when they say they want rules?
"I think that's a very good question," Alberts said, "and I think that's a very fair question, and I'd say the evidence supports your notion that we really don't want to have rules."
"But," Alberts added, "I still believe that if there was confidence in (swift) enforcement, I think you could get people there."
I'm unconvinced of that last part.
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Mostly, I just think nobody really wants rules.
So, please, let's put a moratorium on all the "guardrails!" talk.
Say this much for Golding: He's not pretending he wants rules or that he intends to follow them, and he never said he didn't tamper to get Ferrelli.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Say this for Pete Golding: He's not pretending to follow NCAA rules
