By now, I am sure you have heard, if you are at all interested in the topic, that Texas A&M, and by extension, I suppose, the NCAA, has come down hard on Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel for his alleged transgressions (he was accused of accepting payments, actual cash money, for selling his autograph on pictures, jerseys, helmets and such memorabilia).
Manziel, of course, has denied the allegations, but that cut no ice with the A&M administration, who has suspended their QB for the first half of the first game of the year. Yep, you read that right, the first half of the first game, which happens to be against cupcake Rice University this Saturday. What would have been the penalty had the Aggies been opening against, say, Alabama or Georgia? I'm thinking he would have had to stay in the locker room while the National Anthem was being played.
The best part of University's reasoning was that Manziel was being punished for "trading in on his name and fame". This is from the University that is no doubt selling plenty of "Manziel" replica jerseys in the campus book stores.
As for the NCAA, they are so upset about this, I am sure that they are looking for some poor schmuck who plays for Eastern Kentucky or Praireview A&M who allowed a stranger to buy him a Big Mac so they can put that school on probation. Reminds me of the line that has been attributed to Jerry Tarkanian - "The NCAA was so mad at UCLA for their rules violations that they gave Cleveland State two additional years probation."
A few weeks back I mentioned that Johnny Manziel himself was on my "watch list" to receive a Grandstander H.A. Citation. Now, Texas A&M and the entire NCAA are on that same watch list.
Talk about something reeking of hypocrisy.
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