NCAA erred in sacking Webster's college career

Sporting News, The, March 20, 2000 by Mark Blaudschun

The message the NCAA sends to its student-athletes is simple: Education is good. Stay in school. Get your degree. So, what are we to think about the NCAAs recent ruling that bans

Miami (Fla.) linebacker Nate Webster from playing after he applied for the NFL draft? Here are the details of Webster's "horrific" crime. Coming off a great junior season in which Webster led the team in tackles, his head became filled with thoughts of being a high pick in the draft. When the 'Canes finished their season, he thought about it more. At the last possible moment, he decided to send in the papers. That was January 10.

But after he did it, he thought about it more. He talked to more people and realized he had made a mistake. He thought he could rectify it. Silly kid. The NCAA said "no." Once his name went on that list, he was toast. The NCAA says a rule is a rule, and once you declare for the draft, you've ended your college eligibility. Miami appealed, but the NCAA stood firm by its rule.

"We have received final disapproval from the NCAA that takes away Nate Webster's eligibility," says Miami coach Butch Davis, whose team figures to rank in the top 10 of most preseason polls. "It's a very tragic situation. Nate made a mistake, but the mistake that he made did not hurt anybody. There were no agents, and there was no money exchanged. It just seems like the penalty is considerably more severe than the infraction."

"It was a foolish mistake on my part that cost me," says Webster, who will be part of the April NFL draft. "Right now, I just have to go on."

What's going on? We understand the NCAA needs rules and deadlines, or we would have chaos with players able to come and go at will between college and the pros. But there's a bigger question to address: What is the purpose of a college education? Presumably, to learn things, a time to bridge the gap between youth and adulthood. Each of us makes mistakes. Sometimes, every day. No one is perfect, least of all the powers who run college athletics, and they aren't having a good winter in terms of public relations.

Sure, Webster made a mistake. If he was unsure, he probably should have erred on the side of caution and not thrown his name into the draft pool. But he didn't. He also realized he made a mistake. As Davis says, who has been harmed by Webster's action? Did money change hands? Was an agent involved? If that were the case, we haven't heard about it, and the NCAA should say if that's the reason for its ruling.

I'm not saying the NCAA's rule should be thrown out, but common sense should come into play when making any decision. Each case should be decided on its merits. Webster deserves another chance. In this age when players are going from high school to the NBA, and when it's the exception for any star football or basketball player to stay four seasons, the NCAA should do what it can to make things easier for its student-athletes to remain on campus for the duration of their eligibility. It didn't with Webster, and the message being sent is obvious: An education is OK, as long as you don't make a mistake in judgment.

"I'm disappointed," Webster says. "I really wanted to stay and have another season with my teammates and get my education. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way, so I have to look ahead and take on whatever comes next."

What happened to Webster stinks, and the NCAA should be ashamed.

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