Mark Emmert’s crumbling credibility
by Mike Lopresti, USA TODAY Sports
What the president of the NCAA promises, few now believe. What he argues, few now will listen to.
What happens when a leader has lost his credibility? The day must come when he faces the reality that he can no longer rule.
Mark Emmert is about there.
His share of the blame for the train wreck at the NCAA is impossible to quantify. Certainly, he does not deserve it all, given the convoluted ways and means of that office. But percentages don’t matter. Not at his pay grade.
He is the guy in charge, and if there is an accountability problem with an organization that preaches accountability, where do you go from there? To nowhere good.
There is no more stark example of the NCAA’s crumbled credibility than this: In the matter of the case vs. the University of Miami, much of the world is prepared to give Miami a free pass.
Miami.
The charge on the table is a “lack of institutional control,” which are some of the most dire words that can be said about a school. It involves money and a booster, and haven’t we heard about dark doings before in Coral Gables? Oh yes.
Once upon a time, public opinion would have judged the Hurricanes guilty without a second look at the evidence, fair or not. Condemned by past behavior.
Now, it will proclaim them wronged and innocent, no matter the possible infractions. Cleared by the malfeasance of their prosecutor.
Where is the NCAA image today, when Miami is deemed the good guy?
What is happening will not move the nation’s emotional meter as, say, BCS standings. Any mishaps or controversies in the tournament bracket next month will strike far closer to the public heart.
Yet this is more ominous and far-reaching, for it strikes at the ability to have … [For more on Mark Emmert's crumbling credibility, click here.]
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