NCAA announces punishment for Memphis star James Wiseman
The NCAA not only doesn’t allow players to make money (yet). It is now apparently actively taking money from players.
On Wednesday, the NCAA announced the punishment for Memphis center James Wiseman (the No. 1 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class and the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft) for allegedly accepting money from coach Penny Hardaway in order to move to Memphis.
Per NBA reporter Shams Charania, Wiseman will be suspended for 12 games and must donate $11,500 to a charity of his choice:
NCAA also says Wiseman "must donate $11,500 to a charity of his choice." Wiseman will be cleared to play on Jan. 12 at South Florida. https://t.co/PCNVC5V44u
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 20, 2019
That takes Wiseman out of a trio of SEC games against Ole Miss (this Saturday), Tennessee (Dec. 14) and Georgia (Jan. 4).
Memphis will reportedly appeal the punishment:
Memphis says in release it will appeal and that “we expect” a more fair and equitable resolution.
— L. Jason Smith (@JasonSmith929) November 20, 2019
We’ll see if this appeal changes anything.
Why it’s a pretty standard punishment and his HS is going to get stripped of its State Title over the mess. It actually could have been much worse and Coach Hardaway isn’t out of the woods yet over this business.
I thought the money that was loaned was already paid back. I’ve never heard of additional fines being levied on the athlete before.
If he’s having to pay $11,500 to charity, imagine how much cash Penny Hardaway must have given him!
I wonder what the NCAA would discover if they delved into the finances of Hardaway’s OTHER top recruits.