Sharrif Floyd (official thread)

[osugrad21]

This wasn't $200, it was $2500-2700. As much as one might be sympathetic to this kid, he did accept cash from someone.
Perhaps he's not completely innocent?

He accepted cash and donations from people who helped raise him in the community. If that is a NCAA violation, it is a widespread epidemic that I hope never gets cured.

 

[Gatorubet]

This wasn't $200, it was $2500-2700. As much as one might be sympathetic to this kid, he did accept cash from someone.
Perhaps he's not completely innocent?

Someone???? From a non-profit group set up to help underprivileged kids. This wasn't five sets of $500 handshakes from some jock sniffers or street runners. He accepted help from a non-profit organization supposedly set up with the express goal of helping poor/ homeless kids like Sharrif get funds to attend the type of football camps that high level kids go to these days to get noticed and offered a scholarship. Sharrif did not have money for clothes, let alone airfare and hotel bills and meals. So this group fronted the money for indigent kids. Granted, it was ruled improper per the NCAA, but the group was not set up to steer any kid to any particular school, nor was it to steer kids to an agent. It was designed to let an essentially homeless kid go to football camps. To be fair, for all I know they might have given him money to buy a clean set of clothes wear on the trip as well.

I'm likely biased, but from my perspective, nothing that he did met the definition of the kind of things the NCAA is guarding against.

If a kid with essentially no parents is told by adults or his h.s coach that a legitimate non-profit group will help you with football camp costs, I doubt that a high school senior will say "Wait a minute - could this invoke NCAA penalties despite the legitimate non-profit status of this organization? I better ask my lawyer.....oh wait! I don't have one!"

It was Florida compliance education that led him to approach UF with the question about his receipt of funds. HE approached UF. UF then contacted the NCAA in a self report. I think he's completely "innocent" if you are talking intent to do something wrong. It may be good to be Chris Rainey, but it sucks to be Sharrif Floyd.

Look on the bright side, if Sharrif had signed with tOSU, y'all would now be dealing with ESPN trumpeting a tOSU "scandal" on page one.

 

[southcampus]

Look on the bright side, if Sharrif had signed with tOSU, y'all would now be dealing with ESPN trumpeting a tOSU "scandal" on page one.

Isn't that the truth

 

[Gatorubet]

He accepted cash and donations from people who helped raise him in the community. If that is an NCAA violation, it is a widespread epidemic that I hope never gets cured.

I stand corrected. I thought it was just the SAM folks who gave him the money. But it was more like Sarniak - with Sarniak being more than one person in his community.

 

[osugrad21]

I stand corrected. I thought it was just the SAM folks who gave him the money. But it was more like Sarniak - with Sarniak being more than one person in his community.

No I'm using community as a whole...SAM, individuals, teachers, coaches, church.

I don't have specifics of who gave him what, but I've been in this situation enough times and have spoken with enough compliance departments to know it is a garbage rule that does not veer into any type of gray area common sense.

 

[buckeyesin07]

Look on the bright side, if Sharrif had signed with tOSU, y'all would now be dealing with ESPN trumpeting a tOSU "scandal" on page one.

That's the one bright side for Sharrif and UF--ESPN's article, IMO, portrayed the rule and its application as ridiculous and presented Sharrif's situation in a very positive light. I have a difficult time believing ESPN would have been so kind had this same thing happened to an OSU player. At best, there would have been a report of the suspension with no explanation of the reasoning. ESPN certainly wouldn't be taking up the hypothetical OSU player's banner against the NCAA as they are with Sharrif.

 

[Gatorubet]

No I'm using community as a whole...SAM, individuals, teachers, coaches, church.

I don't have specifics of who gave him what, but I've been in this situation enough times and have spoken with enough compliance departments to know it is a garbage rule that does not veer into any type of gray area common sense.

That is the thing. Rules are made to have a purpose. To prevent improper influence to go to a program - be it money to go there or money once you get there, and to keep kids from profiting from their status as athletes in such a way that they are not amateurs, but paid professionals. All of that makes sense. The not selling your jersey thing makes sense, because a Switzer clone would just give his kids four dozen jerseys and let jock sniffers buy them from the kids for inflated prices as a means of by-passing the c-note handshake.

Letting a homeless kid have clothes and shoes - or giving him funds so he could attend a camp is none of those things. I get that it is a violation under the strict letter of the law, but a ruling like this hurts a kid who did nothing that was about influencing where he went on NLOI day, or was designed to affect his status as an amateur.

Worse, when you have the one-in-a-million kid from a background like that, and for whatever Thank You God reason does things the right way, punishing him for the crime of (essentially) being poor and homeless does nothing to deter the bad in college football, but will likely convince some other kids facing similar issues not to do the right thing, and by all means not to come forward truthfully.

The NCAA will argue that the 2 instead of 6 games is recognizing that aspect. But his actions were not after he was in school, with a stipend, with a Pell grant, with training table provided, and a place to sleep. I mean, kids are still poor, but comparing a kid on scholarship with an essentially homeless kid in high school seems like a different situation that could have resulted in restitution as a penalty. Coming up with $2,700 - even on a payment plan - is a pretty hefty fine for a kid with nothing.

I hope he does well enough at UF to earn an NFL salary some day. I doubt he'd be making it rain in some strip joint. I have a guess that he'd be setting up some youth center for kids like himself.

Maybe I dreamed that.

 

[akronbuck]

NCAA :( well, didn't a former OSU BB coach that every fan blames/hated gave some money to a recruit and his family living in a war zone. I knew my father helped a lot of kids that had nothing.

 

[Buckeye86]

NCAA :( well, didn't a former OSU BB coach that every fan blames/hated gave some money to a recruit and his family living in a war zone.

Would said coach have helped him if he wasn't good at playing basketball? That's the issue.

In the case of Floyd, that doesn't seem to apply, but I haven't read anything about the situation and am going mostly off of what grad is saying.

 

[Gatorubet]

NCAA :( well, didn't a former OSU BB coach that every fan blames/hated gave some money to a recruit and his family living in a war zone. I know my father helped a lot of kids that had nothing.

If there was some sort of NCAA contingency fund set up for special needs situations, with the thumbs up or down coming from them, then maybe the time to time emergency (other than just being poor and not having coin) could be handled w/o getting you in NCAA hell.

I think it boils down to the slippery slope of excuses. How many athletes will have a sick kid - or a needy baby momma - or a car that breaks down - or a child support payment (Galen Hall supposedly paid so a kid would not go to jail for missing a few) until it becomes everybody gets paid?

I can see the problem. It ain't easy. But being homeless in high school? - that strikes me as so brain dead easy that even the NCAA can see that it deserves a special exemption.

 

[MaxBuck]

The overriding problem in the Floyd situation is the same one we're confronted with in every NCAA situation - they don't give a flip about the welfare of the student-athlete; they're all about PR and protection of their precious amateurism.

Pfui.

 

[southcampus]

The overriding problem in the Floyd situation is the same one we're confronted with in every NCAA situation - they don't give a flip about the welfare of the student-athlete; they're all about PR and protection of their precious amateurism.

Pfui.

Exactly. Keep it amateur so they can continue to rape the benefits (pun intended)

 

[Bleed S & G]

That statement makes me like Muschamp. Gross.

 

[JCOSU86]

I believe it relates to his connection with the Student Athlete Mentoring Foundation (SAM), which is a Delaware based non-profit organization.

Sharrif is one of those kids who had a rough life, sort of like a "The Blind Side" homeless type thing. Well, this group tries to provide assistance to kids who cannot make it to camps and such, and they provide help including some financial stuff. It appears that the otherwise good intentions of the organization do not meet NCAA rules - and I would be naive if there was not the possibility that someone in SAM has their own angle on helping high talent prospects.

In any event, we were told that it might be 6 games, but the hardship angle of the kid coupled with UF's total lack of involvement in the funds uses (i.e., $ was not used to come to UF camp or 7 on 7) made them go minimum penalty. Like tOSU, being proactive with a model compliance office helps with the DA.

OSUgrad21 likely knows about SAM and any rumors.
​

LOIC






Oh, wait, I thought this was the Ohio State issues thread. My bad.

He'll clean the stadium.

Next.

 

[EgonSchiele]

That statement makes me like Muschamp. [ deleted ]

For me ^