There ARE bullies in this world. Darth Vader, Scott Farkas, Dr. Evil to name a few. (Yea, I know they're just movie characters, but you get the point).
And now, there's the NCAA. A real-life bully-in-the-making happening right before our very eyes.
The organization that has been entrusted with managing and overseeing the world of college athletics in this country is acting more like a mid-20th Century fascist regime (we see you Germany and Italy) than an entity that is also supposed to embody good sportsmanship and fairness in sports for all.
The most recent example of their abuse is how they “handled” and “treated” the N.C. State baseball team during the College World Series. The Wolfpack were having a dream season having advanced to the CWS for the first time since 1968. They also were the last unbeaten team in pool play as they prepared to take on defending national champion Vanderbilt -- a team they had beaten just days earlier -- for a spot in the championship series.
The CWS runs for nearly two weeks. With COVID-19 protocols waning of late, the NCAA had decided to allow full capacity to Ameritrade Stadium in Omaha, Neb., the annual site of the tournament with few, if any, restrictions. For 10 days, near-overflow crowds packed the stadium and all seemed right with the baseball world.
But just hours before the Wolfpack were set to play the biggest game in more than 50 years in program history, the NCAA slapped COVID restrictions on the team after four players tested positive, resulting in them having to play the Commodores with just 13 available players in an eventual 3-1 loss. The win for Vandy forced a deciding game the next day for a spot in the finals.
But N.C. State never got the chance.
The Wolfpack had an official roster of 27 listed for the CWS so how did only 13 players get the chance in the first game when only four tested positive? The NCAA ruled only “vaccinated” players could play against Vanderbilt, leaving 10 players on the roster who had opted to not get vaccinated until after the season was over, and who showed no signs of sickness, unable to play.
After the first game between the two teams, the NCAA decided to test every player, and four more tested positive. Due to the guidelines set down by the NCAA’s medical group before the tournament began, that forced N.C. State to forfeit its winner-take-all showdown with Vanderbilt giving the Commodores the spot in the finals without having to throw a single pitch.
Despite 19 players NOT testing positive and seemingly okay to play, the NCAA shut ‘em down. Game over. Season over. And in some cases, careers were over for those seniors not moving on to the next level.
NCAA protocols said players who had been fully vaccinated and without symptoms for two weeks were not subject to regular COVID testing. Those players who were unvaccinated were subjected to daily testing.
It appears the NCAA is helping to perpetuate the division in this country by basically saying being vaccinated is good and proper while those that are not vaccinated should be outed, vilified, and shunned.
What is this, Nazi Germany? We now single out a group of people and make them feel ostracized until they comply with the State’s wishes like good little sheep, regardless if they choose NOT to comply for their own lawful reasons?
Haven’t we been told ad nauseam that it’s “our bodies, our choice” and that to adopt contrary beliefs is not only wrong but punishable by the “cancel culture” that is running rampant in our society?
There are plenty of reasons to get vaccinated. If you feel that way, then go get the shot. There are also plenty of reasons many in society choose NOT to get the shot. For many players across the country, major side effects and potentially missing out on the season were high on their lists for waiting until after the season was over.
The NCAA obviously doesn't care about individual rights.
N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan, in a statement released by the school on Saturday, said it was up to the players whether or not they got vaccinated.
“The university cannot require vaccines for our students, including our student-athletes,” Corrigan said. “Since vaccines were not available until after the start of the season, some of our players decided to wait until the completion of the season in case of side effects. We respect their rights to make personal healthcare decisions.”
Apparently, the NCAA disagreed with that choice.
My chief concern in all of this is about contract tracing. Is there really any science that definitively states that contract tracing exists? If this is such a hazard, why have we not implemented this policy over the past, say, 200 years, during the annual flu season? Are we to just abandon our lives every time someone sneezes within a six-foot radius?
The NCAA appears to think that way. Published reports since last weekend stated that only two of the 27 players actually showed symptoms of any kind. Yet, the NCAA, with the eight positive tests, declared them a health risk and forced them out of the tournament.
The NCAA was more than fine with 30,000-plus fans PAYING for the chance to watch the tournament. Do they not care about the general public or are they only interested, after a year of empty stadiums and gymnasiums, in finally generating some revenue?
And even though I’m a huge SEC fan and would have enjoyed an all-SEC showdown for the CWS title -- Mississippi State being the other -- something just does not seem right with how this all went down. And to add a conspiracy theory to it, with Vandy having two of the sports top 10 picks in the upcoming MLB Draft in pitchers Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, the NCAA, and perhaps even ESPN, also apparently felt that was a better ratings bonanza than an upstart N.C. State squad that was having a Cinderella-like playoff run.
Truly disturbing, and sad.
Show me the science that says I’m wrong on any of this.
