The NCAA Fires Back at Joe Nocera of the NY Times
by Glenn Logan on Feb 3, 2012 8:37 AM EST
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PrintI didn't know the NCAA had it in them. Hat tip: Rush The Court
No matter what anyone thinks of the NCAA, the one-man jihad that NY Times columnist Joe Nocera has been waging against the organization passed the bounds of journalism and into bloviation several columns back, and has now escalated into a full-blown war of words.
The NCAA isn't threatening legal action, and it would be near-impossible to pull off since Nocera is writing opinion columns, and the threshold for any kind of defamation suit against a newspaper columnist is almost impossibly high (actual malice) but not completely unreachable in this case. Even so, the NCAA is not sitting back and taking it, either, and I welcome that debate. It is refreshing to see the NCAA shed some light on their activities, even if it is a relatively small amount.
Crusades like Noceras often degenerate into mud-wrestling, and that's where this is headed. At some point, he should just take his additional fame, put it in the bank, and move on. It appears, as time goes on, that he is running out of factual arguments and further into invalid conclusions and unethical comments, which will only damage his credibility.
As for the NCAA, they have a ton of work to do PR-wise with the sporting public anyway, and continuing to engage Nocera will only help for a while unless he goes completely off the reservation. Even though he has flirted with the border, he's still in the neutral zone, so perhaps it's time for both to dial it back and return to base.
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The most interesting part of the article...
“The conflict-of-interest question was meaty enough that the Poynter Institute (journalism watchdogs) evaluated whether a problem existed. Nocera and the Times likely took comfort in the Institute’s conclusion that one did not, but a reasonable person could see it otherwise.”
Doesn’t the NCAA see the hypocrisy in their statement considering that most reasonable people say the same thing concerning the majority of their rulings?
Not sure that's hypocrisy.
The NCAA is not proclaiming to be the arbiter of the truth in their cases, they are simply the last word on the matter (more or less, anyway, the courts can and have had a say).
I don’t think the NCAA is pretending to have virtues that it doesn’t have by that statement. Rather, it is pointing out that reasonable people may disagree with a conclusion made by the Pynter Institute, not asserting that it’s own pronouncements are beyond rational debate.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Legal stuff
I haven’t followed this Nocera hullabaloo, but Glenn is right that libel is very hard to prove. Putting aside the actual malice requirement for libel against public figures, the NCAA would have to prove Nocera’s claims were not true. That is very hard to do with accusations of ulterior motives and the like. The actual malice standard comes into play when a public figure is libeled and the NCAA is undoubtedly a public figure. To prove actual malice in a libel case, the plaintiff must prove the defendant had either actual knowledge of the falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth. It’s hard to do.
This back and forth between Nocera and the NCAA is actually the reason the Supreme Court has made libel so hard to prove. We want robust public debate. So sadly, as much as I would like to see a lawsuit between the NCAA and the New York Times, I’m not likely to see one.
I’m only a corporate lawyer, so I’ve not handled any libel cases. The legal stuff above I learned at UK Law, not from practical experience. If any of the ASoB legal community has actually been on either side of a libel suit, please chime in and correct me if need be.
Hey ...
… you got it exactly right as per my understanding. I must reiterate, though, I’m not a lawyer, I just find the legal stuff interesting.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
You're right.
I had a defamation essay question on the Ohio Bar Exam last summer. Or at least I think I did.
One can never be certain
I’ve blocked out as much as I can of my essay questions.
I still say that this whole thing is so easy to prevent, it's not even funny.
Just make one simple rule that no one should have a problem with, and the fans would love.
EVERYTHING in the entire process must be transparent. Records, interviews, notes, decisions, transcripts of committee meetings, all of it.
Have the potential student athlete sign an agreement that they understand to be signed to play at an NCAA school that they are opening up their history to the public. And make the NCAA do exactly the same thing.
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 3, 2012 2:29 PM EST reply actions
That might work...
… but I don’t think it will ever happen. I think it might be contrary to federal law. It is federal law that mandates the colleges keep certain information secret, and I have a feeling you could not force somebody to issue a blanket wavier like that as a condition to receiving a scholarship.
I don’t know, though, perhaps it could be done. I just don’t think it will, But it might work. I haven’t thought it through enough to say for sure, but it would certainly make the public feel better about the process.
A lot of the problem is that the public tends to take the athletes, and their family, at their word. But usually, these people omit relevant facts that would cast doubt upon their position. That’s why your idea holds such charm, but as I say, I think existing law might make that much transparency impossible.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
I think that is the "innocent until proven guilty" in all of us creeping out.
We are fans of these kids, we want to believe that everything they say and do is genuine. It reinforces our belief in being fans.
Unfortunately, as you point out above, common sense goes out the window and the simplest solutions are ignored in a vain attempt to maintain an illusion of control.
I thought that when Mark Emmert came in he was going to be somewhat scary, and that he had an agenda. I was only half right, he has an agenda, and it is the agenda that is scary, not Emmert. He is simply another in a long line of mouthpieces who claims his stance is virtuous and altruistic.
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 3, 2012 7:40 PM EST up reply actions
The NCAA is always in a no-win situation....
Everyone seems to think they are “a bunch of idiots” that “don’t know what they are doing” and “make up the rules as they go along”. I know this because we are lectured about the “evil NCAA” all the time.
It reminds me of something that Colin Cowherd used to say " If you want to sound smart around your friends at the watercooler or at the bar, then say something like ‘Mark Emmerit is an idiot and doesn’t know what he is doing." Most fans don’t know who he is so just saying that makes you smarter and more informed than your friends. That statement is so true because I read it here and see it written or heard it said on other platforms quite frequently.
The NCAA has an almost impossible task to govern every team in every sport and yet somehow they are supposed to be able to wade through all the muck and come to decisions that everyone should agree with. As with any bureaucracy that will never happen and it’s almost arrogant to think they should in every case.
The NCAA knows how to govern better than almost every fan and I truly think that in almost every case they are trying to do what is fair for everyone involved and maintain integrity. I, personally, think that is an almost impossible task.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Well damn! I typed a whole message and instead I get this incomplete double post...
I give up
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
And yet, it is exactly what they are paid, paid mind you, to do.
None of those people in Indianapolis are serving the NCAA in a voluntary capacity. They all get paid. That warrants at least a modicum of accountability.
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 4, 2012 1:32 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
See you think you know more than the NCAA....
You make that clear all the time.
That warrants at least a modicum of accountability.
Are you serious?
I am not going to have a conversation with you about this because we all know you could run the NCAA better than anyone there.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
I tell you what......I said it earlier, and I'll say it now......
If the NCAA makes all of it’s dealings 100% transparent…..including dealings with student-athletes, and member institutions, the clearinghouse, and all of it’s committees…………..
I will accept that and be happy with it. Nocera raises some legit questions, based upon the NCAA’s history. But the NCAA makes their points as well. The problem is, unless we assume that the NCAA is 100% right every time, which we all know to be untrue, then without transparency, we know only what we are told by both sides……who may well be withholding information or not.
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 4, 2012 4:31 PM EST up reply actions
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