Miami Hurricanes' Players Suspended and Fined
Following former University of Miami athletic booster, Nevin Shapiro’s admission of providing illegal benefits to players, the NCAA has reprimanded 12 players on the Hurricanes’ football team.
Players who received gifts from Shapiro received harsher punishments, which included suspension from some games this season and repayment of gifts. Defensive lineman Olivier Vernon will be suspended for six games, including an Atlantic Coast Conference game, according to ESPN.
Jacory Harris, Sean Spence, Travis Benjamin, Marcus Forston and Adewale Ojomo, each likely to start for the team must all miss one game. Others on the team will be required to pay for their unethical gifts, which amount to less than $100, according to ESPN.
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Al Golden, coach for the Miami Hurricanes, told the Associated Press that he accepted the rulings and the media blew the controversy out of proportion.
"I think it was probably fair," Golden said. "Clearly, whatever transpired, it wasn't as over-the-top as everybody was initially reporting and all of those things. The NCAA and the university felt there was mistakes made ... and I've accepted that. And now we're moving forward."
Shawn Eichorst, Miami athletic director, said he feels the team is learning its lesson.
"They understand that their actions demand consequences," Eichorst said, according to ESPN reports.
Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs, said the rulings should be a lesson to players.
"Our members have continually stressed that involvement of third parties during recruitment will not be tolerated," Lennon said.
Although rulings were given out on Tuesday, more sanctions may continue in the coming days. The NCAA is also continuing to investigate other schools that have broken rules in their football programs such as Southern California, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and LSU, ESPN reports.
