Kansas wins title, while media ignores NCAA violation investigation | College Football Enquirer
Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde discuss Kansas’ win over North Carolina for the national title, and debate the importance of the current NCAA investigation going on around Kansas in the telling of their championship story this year.
Video Transcript
DAN WETZEL: I don't think that there was a lot of cheering in the prisons housing the KU bad men Jim Gatto, Meryl Code. You're still on our thoughts.
PAT FORDE: That's right.
DAN WETZEL: I don't know if, you know, I don't know if you still get a cut. You know, maybe he could put some money on your books. Something like that.
PAT FORDE: Right.
[LAUGHTER]
DAN WETZEL: They're probably rooting for Carolina.
[LAUGHTER]
PAT FORDE: Yeah, I certainly was thinking of Jim Gatto especially since the Kansas had the temerity to sue him on top of everything else tonight and yeah. Those guys that are literally in prison while the Kansas was winning because TJ Gassnola helped Bill Self get a couple of real guys.
DAN WETZEL: You know, we make the jokes on Gatto and the five level one violations and stuff, but like as best I can tell there was no mention of that the entire weekend on any of the broadcasts. You don't hear about it on ESPN or anything like that. I know we're curmudgeons and we go directly to the negative at all times in all stories, but does it like-- should it get mentioned during a game?
PAT FORDE: Hell yes. It's part of the story. It's an inconvenient truth. I'm sorry, but it's true and it's part of-- I mean, it is the context that hangs over this team this program. This season is they have been under investigation for years for major violations and if the NCAA weren't an organizational trainwreck, they would have resolved it by now. And the resolution may well have included Kansas not playing in this tournament because the five level one violations, lack of institutional control head coach responsibility, those are the building blocks of a postseason ban, a long suspension for Self.
I mean, those things could happen and they just haven't happened because they haven't resolved anything. And that, to me, like they're a champion for our times because they've been under the microscope for this, but have done nothing. They have not penalized themselves one iota and they've just basically waited it out, and the NCAA's been powerless to do anything about it. So yes, should CBSN and ESPN and everybody else have talked about it? Sure should have. And I-- you know.
DAN WETZEL: I agree. Even if it's that this isn't-- maybe Kansas wins the case and gets acquitted, right?
PAT FORDE: Yeah, maybe.
DAN WETZEL: It's whatever, right? Found not guilty, then they shouldn't have had this hanging over him. I think it's motivation. I think it's motivation for Self. I think it's all these things. I agree. I think I wrote is it's the perfect NCAA basketball story.
PAT FORDE: Yeah.
DAN WETZEL: Kansas winning this thing. It didn't matter and yet it did, but the just collective utter silence on it. Where if you go on Twitter or different things, everyone's talking about it and they're going right back at the other stuff of well, you know, I mean, Carolina had a decade plus of no show classes. Which is a far greater egregious thing to do to the student athletes is not actually make them students at times.
PAT FORDE: Yeah.
DAN WETZEL: Then Billy Preston's mom getting 89 grand.
PAT FORDE: Right.
DAN WETZEL: You know? Like that but it's an amazing thing. That's just like no, we will wipe, we will sanitize this.
[LAUGHTER]
PAT FORDE: Yeah.
DAN WETZEL: Don't you think when-- and I guess public opinion has changed on this stuff, but that doesn't really mean anything because it's still going on. When it was Vegas this was discussed, right?
PAT FORDE: Of course.
DAN WETZEL: Non-stop.
PAT FORDE: Yes. Yes, when Vegas was constantly under investigation in the late 80s, early 90s and they were winning. One a championship went to another final four, sure. That was part of the storyline. I don't recall anybody denying that existed or just ignoring it. That's for sure.
DAN WETZEL: Very weird dynamic. Don't mention it. We can't mention it.
PAT FORDE: Yeah, not mentioning it's going on.
DAN WETZEL: Like why? It's going on. It's part. I'm not-- I don't even care what happens to Kansas.
PAT FORDE: Yeah, but I find it cowardly that there's no mention of that. So that is absolutely poor form and you're right. Now look, there's no saints in college basketball. We know that as well as anybody. You mentioned the Carolina two decades of academic fraud that they skated on, right?
DAN WETZEL: Got Zion Williamson, they--
PAT FORDE: One of the violations, or one of the parts of the investigation of Kansas, pertain to Kurtis Townsend talking about what they were going to try to do in terms of housing, job, whatever to get Zion Williamson. They didn't get him. He went to Duke.
[LAUGHTER]
You think Duke just got him for free? No! Nobody thinks that. So 3/4 of the final four.
DAN WETZEL: Only the internal investigation by Duke thinks that.
[LAUGHTER]
PAT FORDE: That's right.
DAN WETZEL: And NCAA wouldn't even investigate Duke.
PAT FORDE: Right. No.
DAN WETZEL: It was ridiculous. Come on.
PAT FORDE: Yeah.
DAN WETZEL: Zion's been sued and I mean, give me a break.
PAT FORDE: Yeah.
DAN WETZEL: Oh, I think Zion was worth millions of dollars.
PAT FORDE: Absolutely.
DAN WETZEL: And fortunately now he can get it and fortunately all this stuff's legal. It just was a little bit off putting that it's like we just have to pretend this stuff isn't happening.