The NCAA Stands Strong: Denies Brock Hoffman's Final Appeal For A Hardship Waiver To Play At V Tech This Season Because His Mother's Illness Didn't Come At The Right Time, He Lived 5 Miles Outside The Accepted Radius, And They Felt Her Brain Tumor Had "Gotten A Little Better"

You guys remember Brock Hoffman?  Earlier this year I reported from someone else’s reporting that the NCAA was denying eligibility to him for various reasons.

Quick backstory: Brock Hoffman is a 6’4″ 315 pounder who started every game of his Coastal Carolina career – 1 season at Center, 1 at Right Guard.  After last season, he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and committed to Virginia Tech 2 months ago.  The reason for the transfer: his mother has an “Acoustic Neuroma” brain tumor which has paralyzed her face and caused hearing and sight loss, as well as affecting her entire body and making it impossible for her to travel – he wanted to be closer to her.

Well good news – the NCAA has stood strong and refused to be intimidated by appeals and public pressure, officially upholding the ban.  #heroic.

The NCAA is busy punting starving children in Africa and euthanizing puppies so allow me to speak for them – and let this stand as the final warning to all college players out there, near and far:

If your mother and/or family member selfishly chooses to get cancer, a brain tumor, or any other sort of life threatening disease, they should do it during the accepted timeframe written in the rulebook.  You can provide all of the Xrays and cat scans and notes and MRIs and official hospital reports you want, just know that at the end of the day, it is the administrators of a sports league for 18 year olds that will decide how bad their illness is.  And, that arbitrary number of “100 miles” is written in stone, so make sure you grab your protractor and if your house is 4.5 miles outside of the radium within the diameter of the circumference, pick that shit up and put it on a flatbed and move it into the correct circle.

Those administrators will have no requirement to actually speak to you or your family members during this process.

Also, to clear up Bitter’s tweets, the tumor was NON CANCEROUS – so basically the facial paralysis, hearing loss and blindness are just something she can “deal with.”  She looks fine right?

The NCAA is just doing their job to maintain the integrity of the game by keeping college kids from playing sports closer to their ill family members.

Brock is positive about it. Why can’t you be?

via Andy Bitter @AndyBitterVT