Miami vs. the NCAA: Florida senator joins the fray

Florida State Senator Joe Abruzzo wrote a letter to the state’s Attorney General calling for the state to investigate the NCAA, joining the list of those critical of the notice of allegations the organization delivered to the University of Miami Tuesday night.

Abruzzo, whose district covers much of South Florida’s Palm Beach County, focused on the botched nature of the NCAA’s investigation of the Nevin Shapiro scandal, saying that the association’s payment of one of Nevin Shapiro’s lawyers “abuse(s) the bankruptcy process” and “circumvent(s) the limits of the NCAA’s authority.” In Abruzzo’s eyes, those actions were potentially criminal, and could merit prosecution.

Suffice to say, the backlash to the NCAA’s allegations after a two-year investigation has been fierce. First, Miami president Donna Shalala released a stern denouncement of the NCAA’s claims, saying Miami’s self-imposed sanctions were enough, criticizing the NCAA for its improper investigations and for taking the word of a convicted felon in Nevin Shapiro, then basically dropping the mic and walking away. She was backed by ACC commissioner John Swofford, and SB Nation’s legal expert said that the NCAA’s failures as an investigative organization are so widespread that just firing president Mark Emmert probably wouldn’t fix anything. Now, toss in a state senator.

It seems the default next step to the NCAA punishing a school has become “local politician stepping in to call for legal action against NCAA” -- take a look at how Gov. Tom Corbett has handled Penn State’s sanctions.

And yes, Abruzzo calling for Florida to step in means he’s now asking for the state to investigate the NCAA’s investigation of its own investigation, which is a legal premise handily explained here.

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