I know very little about this case, so here are a few questions/comments that people can bounce around, or ignore:
1) Couldn't the NCAA make a case that their records are private, not public? The NCAA is not a government agency. It is a private association of colleges and universities. No one ever forced F$U to join. By staying a member, doesn't F$U agree to abide by NCAA rules? 2) If an NCAA rule doesn't comply with Florida law, the NCAA could end its presence in the state, which would obviously have serious implications for UF as well. The NCAA certainly would want to avoid that, I'm sure. 3) Since I believe in property rights, part of me wants the NCAA to fight to keep their private documents private, and to tell F$U to either abide by the rules or get out. 4) I cannot really stand the NCAA either. I remember the hypocrisy of how they treated us in the 1980s, and resent their hands-off treatment of Blobby's blatantly corrupt program all these years. I believe in their minds, certain coaches are "good for the game," and therefore considered untouchable. It is basically a popularity contest. I also remember their limp response to The Swindle in The Swamp, when they said that they have no authority over game officiating. IMO, this is an organization that does not want any of the significant responsibilities entailed by being the governing body of collegiate athletics. They do, however, want to cut television deals, add bowl games, and count their money. Maybe this is the equivalent of a meteor game. Go Gators!!!! Ken B. (NYC Gator) Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed -----Original Message----- From: Jerry Belloit <bell...@clarion.edu> Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:22:50 To: <Gatortalk@googlegroups.com> Subject: [gatortalk] Re: FW: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI (F$U): FSU case contests authority of NCAA Keith, As much as I dislike F$U, I think that this is an interesting case. Can the Internet be used to get around the Sunshine laws. That being said, I hope the NCAA gets vindictive and increases their penalty. jerry From: Gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatort...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Jerry Belloit Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2009 4:54 PM To: Gatortalk@googlegroups.com Subject: [gatortalk] FW: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI (F$U): FSU case contests authority of NCAA From: ke...@baldwinnc.com [mailto:ke...@baldwinnc.com] Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2009 4:26 PM To: gatornews+ow...@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI (F$U): FSU case contests authority of NCAA I really can't believe this. So much for teaching young men on how to be responsible, accountable,and respectable. None of that matters at FSU. I hope the NCAA gives them the death penalty for being complete and total disrespectful of the NCAA. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI (F$U): FSU case contests authority of NCAA From: "Shane Ford" <goufgat...@bellsouth.net> Date: Sun, July 26, 2009 4:04 pm To: "GATORNEWS" <gatorn...@googlegroups.com> FSU case contests authority of NCAA The suit has shed light on the lengths to which the agency goes to shield its decisions on rules enforcement. By Lloyd Dunkelberger Tallahassee bureau Published: Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 9:32 p.m. TALLAHASSEE - As Florida State University begins its fall football practice next month, a few miles away at the Leon County courthouse, lawyers will be arguing a case inextricably linked to Bobby Bowden's legendary career. The case potentially represents, as well, an unprecedented challenge to the powerful governing body that oversees all collegiate athletics. While the litigation involves FSU football and Florida's public records law, it is also contesting the authority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. And it is revealing the lengths that the NCAA goes to in using secrecy to shield some of its most critical decisions when it comes to enforcing its rules. The NCAA wants to take away 14 of Bowden's record-setting 382 victories as punishment for an academic cheating scandal at the school that involved the football team as well as nine other sports. FSU, which disclosed the violations in 2007, has appealed the sanctions. For FSU supporters, the NCAA's proposed penalty seems particularly harsh since it effectively would deny Bowden, who turns 80 later this year, the chance to become the coach with the most wins in college football history. Bowden, already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, trails Penn State coach Joe Paterno by one victory. But as the case now moves toward a hearing before Circuit Judge John C. Cooper next month, the NCAA and its ability to investigate and punish schools is becoming the focal point of litigation that began over Florida's stringent public records laws. When FSU appealed the NCAA's penalty, the collegiate organization initially blocked public access to its response to FSU - providing the records through a confidential "read only" Web site available only to FSU and its lawyers. The NCAA later allowed FSU to transcribe the appeal response and provide it to the public, but not release the actual record itself. Florida newspapers and television stations, including the New York Times Regional Media Group, of which The Gainesville Sun is a member, have sued the NCAA, FSU and the school's law firm, alleging the use of a confidential system violates the state's public records law. The NCAA, as a private agency that represents more than 1,000 universities and colleges across the country, contends it is not covered by the state law. On Friday, the case took a new turn as FSU, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, essentially decided to sue the NCAA, filing a counter-claim urging the collegiate body to comply with the state's public records law and turn over the documents. FSU, like the news agencies, also is seeking legal fees from the NCAA if the organization loses the case. "The NCAA observes the same rigid secrecy in all infractions cases," FSU wrote in its lawsuit. "For many years, the NCAA has prevented educational institutions from retaining copies of documents in infractions cases." Even before the use of the private Web site, the NCAA closely guarded its infractions documents, FSU said, allowing their inspection only at the organization's Indianapolis headquarters or other designated locations "where the documents remained within its own absolute control and supervision." "The NCAA has applied its secrecy policies uniformly in all states against all institutions in all infractions cases, from time immemorial," FSU wrote. With the Web site, which has been in use for roughly five years, the NCAA makes schools or their representatives sign a "web custodial confidentiality agreement" that threatens participants with "civil or criminal actions" or lawyers with Bar complaints if they disclose the information to others, FSU said. Critics say if the NCAA's confidentiality system is not overturned, it would provide a "road map" for others to sidestep the Florida's public records law. "The scheme developed by the NCAA, and aided by FSU and its counsel, is particularly insidious to Florida's constitutional and statutory guarantee of access to public records," the Florida news organizations wrote in their initial lawsuit. Attorney General Bill McCollum also has joined the litigation, writing a letter to NCAA President Myles Brand last month, telling him the refusal to release the records would be a violation of state law. Veteran NCAA officials, including David Berst, are scheduled to testify at the August hearing that the NCAA has long used a confidentiality system when investigating colleges. If the confidentiality system is voided, it could hinder the NCAA's ability to discipline wayward schools, they say. Berst, who is now the NCAA's vice president for Division 1, has lengthy experience in infractions cases, including leading the NCAA's inquiry that resulted in the so-called "death penalty" for Southern Methodist University's football team in 1987 after uncovering a series of major violations, including cash payments to players. Berst is scheduled to be joined by Julie Roe, a lawyer and former Millikin University basketball player who is now the NCAA's director of enforcement. The lawsuit is unique in several ways. Lawyers say it is one of the first direct challenges to the NCAA's practice of conducting its investigations and decision-making largely outside of public review. And although a court ruling against the collegiate body would apply only in Florida, it could provide the impetus for challenges in other states with similar public records laws. The case also represents the evolution of the state's Public Records Act in the electronic age, with the challenge being the first to contest the use of a confidential Web site to avoid the application of the state law. "It's an electronic twist," said Peter Antonacci, a lawyer representing the Gray Robinson law firm, which also is being sued as the firm that handled the NCAA records on behalf of FSU. "The NCAA has always had a provision in its enforcement procedures to maintain the confidentiality of any information that comprises a case," said Rick Evrard, a Kansas lawyer who spent seven years with the NCAA, including a stint as an enforcement official. Evrard's law firm - Bond, Schoeneck and King - has represented most of the major Florida schools, including FSU and the University of Florida, in NCAA cases in recent years. Evrard said confidentiality is particularly critical in the early stages of the investigation, noting the NCAA does not have many of the standard investigative tools, such as the ability to subpoena records, that can be used by law enforcement agencies or lawyers in criminal and civil litigation. If the NCAA loses some of that authority, Evrard said it could "weaken" the organization's ability to oversee the schools. Rachel Fugate, a Tampa lawyer representing the news organizations, said the lawsuit is focused on records involving the NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee, which is handling FSU's appeal after the conclusion of the organization's investigation. "This is pretty far down the road in the process," she said. As a comparison, she noted state law requires law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to turn over their records once they are provided to the defendants in criminal cases. "I really don't see why at this point there is a huge need for secrecy," Fugate said. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
