- The NCAA suspended Memphis basketball star James Wiseman for 12 games after he and his family accepted $11,500 from current Memphis coach Penny Hardaway for "moving expenses" in 2017.
- The NCAA also is making Wiseman donate $11,500 to a charity of his choice.
- The sports world immediately mocked the NCAA for its punishment, noting the irony of making an unpaid college athlete donate a large sum of money after his family accepted money two years ago.
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The NCAA on Wednesday suspended Memphis basketball star James Wiseman for 12 games after he and his family accepted money from now-head coach Penny Hardaway in 2017.
Wiseman, the potential No. 1 pick in the NBA draft next June, initially played after the NCAA's injunction, as the university pushed back against the NCAA. The school relented last week and ruled Wiseman ineligible.
The NCAA alleged that Wiseman and his family took $11,500 in "moving expenses" from Hardaway, who was not then Memphis' head coach, during Wiseman's junior year of high school.
In addition, the NCAA on Wednesday ruled that Wiseman must donate $11,500 to a charity of his choice.
The latter punishment was immediately mocked by the sports world for, well, obvious reasons.
Wiseman will be eligible to return to the floor in January.
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Just take it out of his wages. https://t.co/nuCiYtTdyi
- Cian (@Cianaf) November 20, 2019Can he wait until he... gets paid to play sports before making the donation? https://t.co/LjjOq1G7aI
- Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 20, 2019NCAA thinks amateur athlete James Wiseman has $11.5K laying around. pic.twitter.com/PbH8SMDQno
- Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) November 20, 2019How exactly does the NCAA think he's gonna come up with $11,500 to donate? https://t.co/OL2ay5N50f
- Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 20, 2019Wait, the NCAA wants him to find $11,500 (he can't work and can't accept benefits) to pay a charity so he can play? https://t.co/S0U1d6SJ0Z
- Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) November 20, 2019lol I didn't catch the part that they basically just fined an amateur athlete like he was in the NBA already.
that's honestly just an absurd penalty. https://t.co/ySdeqj320e
- Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) November 20, 2019My man's in college and he has to donate $11,500 to a charity of his choice? I didn't even have $11.50 to chip in for the weekend's batch of Keystone Lights https://t.co/XZAZIVzNvh
- Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 20, 2019https://t.co/Lpj1K65DcU pic.twitter.com/BpqLwpW8Z1
- Katie Nolan (@katienolan) November 20, 2019Wait what?? Like how is... never mind... smh https://t.co/XyA4LoA0ue
- Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) November 20, 2019Yeah, so in this case, the repayment thing is very different.
Penny gave the family, not James specifically, money to move from Nashville to Memphis. This was not cash for a car, or some sort of good for him. That's why in this case it is a pretty absurd part of the penalty. https://t.co/LdMyCVHyZz
- Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) November 20, 2019A reminder that the NCAA not long ago signed an eight-year, $8.8 billion dollar extension for its March Madness basketball tournament, during which all players on the court are paid approximately zero dollars. https://t.co/Tq0VmYg8Hz
- Jason Gay (@jasongay) November 20, 2019