Dez Bryant mislead and got 8 games
This is what I mean....8 freakin' GAMES! Almost a whole season for what could have been just an innocent chat. The NCAA needs to concentrate on stopping things and punishing that give unscrupulous programs and coaches an unfair competitive advantage, and lighten up on the picayune shit. The organization has become like a middle school Dean of Discipline. Way too much heavy handed and unchecked authority being applied.
All this debate about who got suspended and for how long. It almost a game as competitive as what occurs on the field.
The point is none of these guys...Bryant, OSU/Tressel, Pearl deserved the heavy handed punishments that they got. It's like getting 5 days in jail and a $5000 fine for speeding 15 miles an hour over the limit.
Everybody is hung up on comparing punishments instead of looking at how ridiculous the cost of compliance has become. Seriously...because a couple of kids sold some stuff for a couple of tatoos, and the coach didn't report them in timely manner, or (heaven forbid, told a lie), this whole dog and pony show ensues. Kids lose a half a season... the coach loses a half a season and a half a million bucks. None of what they did gave OSU a competitive advantage on the field over anyone....except that some would quibble that the 'violators' weren't punished fast enough or strong enough. However, the 'punishments most certainly WILL affect competition on the field. That is my point The punishments are affecting fair competition much, much more than the violations themselves.