I know we as a community have had a myriad of discussions on the NCAA and the various rules which some find objectionable. Whereas pay for play, getting free food or other minimal benefits, and using marijuana all present situations which many people disagree on when it comes to NCAA regulations, the most recent headline is the most egregious yet. 5 Richmond baseball players have been disallowed from playing ball this spring due to alleged violation of NCAA rules. Their offense? Was it 52 instances of rape? Making up courses of study for athletes? Probable bribery of players/familes? Nope. They played fantasy football last fall. I, for one, am happy to see that they are prioritizing the real offenders in college sports. /s
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/18791610/richmond-spiders-...

Comments
What the actual fuck NCAA?! This has to be the most ridiculous ruling they have made thus far...
So I read it three times. The players are suspended by policy not by ruling and are looking to be reinstated by NCAA ruling. That is how I read it.
So basically the players and school admit they committed the violations thus the automatic suspension, other schools where we know they have broken NCAA rules are fighting the allegations and thus have to go through a lengthy process to get a hearing and ruling.
Yeah but when you have coaches at Baylor saying on camera at post game prep rallys anyone who doubts how safe the school is for women needs to be assaulted after no less than 53 separate documented allegations of rape have occurred over a 5 year span with little to no action taken by the Athletic Department and instead of focusing on that, the NCAA prioritizes suspending a bunch of baseball players for playing NFL fantasy football the previous fall, regardless of how it came to be, it looks incredibly out of whack.
I mean shit we're still waiting on punishment to be levied against UNC for years of outright academic fraud purely for the benefit of keeping athletes eligible over a decade ago, but they have time to declare players ineligible for this? Weak as hell, NCAA.
I think this points to integrity of UoR over those other schools who are fighting the allegations against them.
While I agree with you on that, I think we can agree that it's laughable/deplorable that such a dichotomy exists.
It's the NCAA rules, which are set by the schools. Either schools admit infractions and get punished or NCAA has to spend a lot of time trying to prove to the board the school is guilty.
#Sauces are that LOLUVA anonymously reported Richmond on Sept 4th, 2016. One day after their loss to the Spiders Football team. UVA Officials were quoted
/s
Unbelievable!
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Why on earth is it against NCAA regulations for college students to play fantasy football?? What purpose could that serve?
My guess is that they had a pay league with the winner winning some cash. The NCAA probably considers that sports betting. and that's why it's seen as an infraction.
Ding ding ding we have a winner.
From the linked article:
The fact that a fantasy league with a buy-in is considered sports wagering boggles my mind. I can see why you'd ban sports wagering for athletes who might be able to somehow influence the outcome of a game. But fantasy football? Unless I'm missing something obvious, this seems borderline ridiculous.
There is no borderline, it's just ridiculous.
To clarify, I was saying that lumping fantasy sports in with sports wagering is borderline ridiculous. The suspension is flat-out ridiculous.
Yet the state of Virginia says that fantasy football is not gambling. I know that there is a difference between state law and NCAA rules, but honestly who gives a shit
The NCAA doesn't play by anybody's rules, not even their own.
If the world were fair, based on this the NCAA would burn UNC to the ground and salt the earth.
That said I see a multi-year probation for their women's tiddlywink team.
What do you think is the percentage of D1 student athletes who play fantasy football? 50%? 60? 75?
I would be willing to bet more played than didn't last fall.
A couple years ago I was putting together a fantasy football league with some of my best friends. One of them was playing tennis for UVA (I know, and he has 2 national championships which makes it hard to trash talk with him). He couldn't play because with money involved it would be a NCAA violation. Now having graduated he's in like 3 leagues every season. Kid loves football, idiotic that he couldn't he play fantasy football in college.