Michigan Football: Why the cheating won’t end and how it impacts UM

Victimless crime

For the NCAA to punish those cheaters, they must find someone willing to come forward to say, first and foremost, they committed a violation by accepting money, get them to some form of a trial, and have them testify. It’s rare, and it relies on people, who have everything to lose, to tell the truth when most of them deep down believe they should be getting paid anyway.

So you see, cheating is a victimless crime in the sense that no one really cares as long as the money keeps flowing and when a person, a university, or anyone else speaks up, they’re labeled a complainer – they’re in the minority in an organization where the majority makes the rules; or break them without consequence.

The majority reportedly offered one of Michigan football’s highest-rated recruits, Rashan Gary, $300,000. 

The majority, allegedly, paid Reggie Bush, Maurice Clarett, and everyone on Southern Methodist from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, among many others.

The University of Michigan isn’t an outlier, meaning they’re not totally exempt from improprieties. You can’t point the finger at others while living in a glasshouse. The Fab Five happened, and there’s no denying cash was exchanged.

I, personally, cannot attest to the cleanliness of UM as it stands presently. I can only surmise that, based on accounts of those intimate with the program, it has eradicated the wrongdoers and landed on the moral high ground.

Then again, there’s really no way of knowing how many athletes receive/have received improper funding or where that funding comes from. That, as mentioned earlier, relies on people being honest, and honesty leads to removing banners, postseason bans, and other punishments that can destroy even the best of college athletics.

Lying can lead to national championships, dump trucks full of cash, and anything else 18-year-olds desires.