Nick Piccone
The NCAA has suspended SMU head basketball coach and former Sixers coach, Larry Brown, for rules violation that include academic fraud and unethical conduct, along with lack of coach control, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.
Not only will the coach be punished, but the team will also be banned from postseason play this coming season and loss of scholarships for the next three years, nine in total. Here’s how the investigation gathered steam:
Part of the investigation at SMU stemmed from whether former basketball administrator and ex-assistant coach Ulric Maligi helped Keith Frazier to become eligible to play there, a source previously told ESPN.
The NCAA did not reveal any names when announcing the sanctions but did say a former assistant men’s basketball coach encouraged an athlete to enroll in an online course to meet NCAA initial eligibility standards and be admitted to the university. The NCAA also said a former men’s basketball administrative assistant hired by Brown then completed the coursework; she then provided false information to NCAA investigators and also attempted to influence the player to also provide false information.
“The student-athlete received fraudulent credit for the course and, as a result, competed while ineligible during his freshman season,” the NCAA said.
Yep. Larry Brown is a liar.
“The head basketball coach failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within his program,” the NCAA said. “He failed to report the violations when the former administrative assistant committed academic fraud on behalf of the student-athlete and he initially lied to enforcement staff about his knowledge of the potential violations.”
The NCAA said Brown had acknowledged “his failed judgment” during a hearing on the case and that it found him “reflective and remorseful.”
“But I realize, you know, in hindsight that was a terrible mistake on my part,” Brown said, according to the NCAA report. “I wish I could have changed all that. But we had that interview with the NCAA, I don’t know why I lied. You know, dealing with people that I really care about, and I used terrible judgment, and I tried to acknowledge that as quickly as I could, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I realize that.”
According to Goodman, Brown will be suspended for nine of SMU’s games this season and will be mandated to attend a regional rules seminar for two years. Oh, the lulz.