Missouri Tigers AD Jim Sterk ‘angry’ at NCAA, which responds

Missouri Tigers will not be in the postseason in three sports because the NCAA wouldn’t right its wrong. And players and officials are angry.

Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk spoke out against the NCAA after its decision to deny the Missouri Tigers’ appeal of the sanctions the committee deemed appropriate for the athletic department.

The problem is that the NCAA doesn’t think other schools that acted in the same manner shouldn’t receive as harsh of a penalty, either because they were offered a different avenue for a way out (Mississippi State) or they didn’t cooperate completely (North Carolina).

Mizzou in fact hurt itself by helping the NCAA with the investigation. But they would do the same because it was the right thing to do, said chancellor Alexander Cartwright.

Now, the officials and student-athletes are left with the thought of, why did the NCAA feel the need to punish them with these stiff penalties when they had nothing to do with it? The NCAA did its part with a response Wednesday.

PowerMizzou noted the leadership blasted the NCAA in a press conference held Tuesday.

"“Last night when we received our decision, obviously disappointed, and then shock quickly set in, and now I’m just angry,” Sterk said. “The NCAA has proven again it cannot effectively serve its membership and the student-athletes it’s supposed to protect.”“Mizzou and the NCAA enforcement staff determined it was one rogue, part-time tutor that was responsible … We did everything to fully meet the NCAA’s expectations for Division One membership, while also being cited for our robust compliance program by the NCAA staff. So now the NCAA is penalizing 180 of our football, softball and baseball student athletes, and does not allow them an opportunity to compete in the postseason this year. I ask, to the membership to Dr. (Mark) Emmert, to the NCAA staff, where’s the justice in that?”"

Sterk called the NCAA system “broken” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That’s a good way of explaining it.

The NCAA punished athletes, some who were freshmen in high school when the “rogue, part-time tutor” helped some athletes cheat. And that doesn’t sit well with people in the state. Several athletes took to Twitter to voice their frustration. And that’s not all.

Most people believe this decision is going to impact the NCAA in a negative way. Schools won’t cooperate, and that is going to hurt the committee more than it will help. And all it had to do was reverse a part of its sanctions, the part where they allowed the students to experience a bowl game or a postseason tournament. But that’s not what the NCAA is about.