Ole Miss Attempted An Explanation And It Was Not A Good One
In case you missed Jack Mac’s blog yesterday, Ole Miss officially objected Shea Patterson’s waiver to be able to play next year at Michigan. That move alone wasn’t the best look. But Ole Miss can’t stop, won’t stop.
They then released a statement (via Dan Wolken) attempting to explain the decision. I don’t think it makes any sense, but you be the judge.
I may be crazy, but I’m taking this as Ross Bjork thinks Shea Patterson’s waiver request didn’t present a legitimate reason to seek eligibility at Michigan right away. The entire basis of the request was that Shea felt lied to. Is it really that hard to fathom that Hugh Freeze and the rest of his staff didn’t disclose how much of a dumpster fire their program was while they were recruiting the #1 QB in the country? Of course they didn’t. Ole Miss is delusional if they think that’s the case. And even more delusional if they think their program wasn’t a dumpster fire at the time to begin with.
As a reminder — for those not following this closely — Ole Miss could’ve done absolutely nothing with this waiver request and just let the NCAA handle it. They weren’t required to respond. Yet apparently, they had “no choice” but to file an objection…????
This whole thing is absurd. Why should Shea Patterson potentially have to sit on his ass for an entire season at Michigan because Hugh Freeze was using a university-given phone to call hookers?
**Escorts. Sorry.
By the way, I hate the hypocrisy of the NCAA. The one year transfer rule is a great example. Coaches can bounce to take different jobs at any point, but players can’t easily transfer — in this case — even if they were duped into believing they were going to a program NOT “lacking institutional control”.
Of course there has to be SOME rules on transferring to another D1 school. You can’t just let every single kid leave on a whim if they’re unhappy with playing time. But from what I’m told, Shea Patterson would 100% have been the starter at Ole Miss this season. He left for legitimate reasons and should be able to play at Michigan right away. No questions. The jig is up, Ole Miss.
The good (and I say that lightly) news is the NCAA still gets to make the final call.
The bad news is I have zero faith in the NCAA to make the right decision here. They never do. I’m just hoping that their disdain for Ole Miss outweighs their blatant refusal to do right by student-athletes.
TBD.
But for what it’s worth, Ole Miss has some of the hottest women in the SEC. So at least they have that going for them. 