Something Rotten in Clemson

In a time when NCAA investigations are feared throughout the country, you can't help but wonder who is next. Southern California just got the ax by having their 2003-2004 season victories -- including a BCS title -- vacated because of the Reggie Bush scandal. Coach Jim Tressel at Ohio State is out for hiding evidence and lying to the NCAA, and now rumors are floating around about Terrelle Pryor accepting cash to play.

Which college football program is next? Who is going to get the book thrown at them and be forced to vacate wins, give up scholarships and just maybe get shut down? Could it be Clemson University, down in South Carolina, which seems to have their share of problems?

Players flashing cash

Message boards in South Carolina exploded Friday after five-star running back Mike Bellamy from Florida posted a picture of himself on Facebook with a bunch of hundred-dollar bills. The picture and comments were soon removed, but not before someone had the chance to save the pictures and circulate them around the Internet.

The question that automatically pops in the head of any football fan is "What is this kid, fresh out of high school, doing with a few grand in his hands?" And then the cynical fan goes a little further and thinks "Maybe this is the reason that a school who went 6-7 in the soft ACC managed to land four 5-star recruits," but with no evidence, it isn't fair to go that far. Yet.

According to TheClemsonInsider.com, Bellamy's former high school coach, Binky Waldrop, addressed the situation and maintains that the whole thing was a joke. According to Waldrop, the cash came from an aunt who recently cashed a check for "$1500 or $1800."

It's possible that the aunt is the source of the funds, but who carries that kind of cash these days, especially hundred dollar bills that many stores sometimes refuse to take? The only problem with the coach's statement about the cash is that Bellamy clearly has at least $3500 in his hands. You can count at least $2500 in picture one and $3500 in picture two. It is likely more since we can't see how much money in his other hand, but giving him the benefit of the doubt, Bellamy has at least twice what his coach said the check was cashed for.

If the rich aunt excuse sounds familiar, it should--in 2008, Clemson football player Kenneth Page posted a picture of himself holding at least $10,000. Clemson released a statement later saying the cash belonged to Kenneth's uncle who was operating an ATM.

Clemson had to deal with another cash issue recently when 4-star recruit Lateek Townsend was rumored to flash wads of cash at his high school. While Townsend claims he won a small lottery, no details have been released. Money issues are probably the least concerning thing about Townsend for Clemson, though, considering he was arrested earlier in the year and then tried to back out of his commitment.

Violence running rampant at Clemson

Prior to Bellamy's cash fan, Clemson made headlines (so to speak) for an altercation between two of their athletes. The altercation involved Joe Craig, a dual-sport athlete who participates in football and track, and Marlena Wesh, who is also on the track team. On May 22, Clemson police responded to a call about the two getting into a violent confrontation. According to reports, after a verbal dispute, Wesh went back to her room where Craig followed and hit her door with a towel rod. Wesh opened the door and cut Craig with an eyebrow razor because she claims she "feared for her safety." Craig then hit Wesh repeatedly with the rod.

Craig and Wesh were both treated by medical personnel, but had no severe injuries. The most interesting part of this story is that the events weren't reported by any media outlet for almost two weeks following the events. Coaches talked to them before they went to the hospital and both declined to press charges to keep negative publicity from the university. This must be a fringe benefit of playing for a team in a small town -- having a good chance to avoid any negative publicity for events that would go viral within hours in larger towns. Just look how Jadeveon Clowney's brief detainment made national headlines within hours, even though he did nothing wrong. Even though this isn't a domestic incident, it seems odd that no arrest occurred when two people who were both injured badly enough to need medical attention.

Not to worry, though--Craig and Wesh are serving out a punishment. Both athletes are suspended from participating from the track team and Craig is suspended from participating in voluntary workouts with the football team. That's right, suspension from voluntary summer workouts is the punishment head coach Dabo Swinney thought was suitable. Time will tell if Coach Swinney decides to hand out a stricter punishment, but if the past is any indicator, that won't happen.

Does this story sound vaguely familiar? It should. In 2008, another football player from Clemson was involved in a violent altercation. Deandre McDaniel was arrested for throwing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs. Since this was McDaniel's first offense, he agreed to PTI to have the charges dropped. McDaniel served no suspension from the football team for his actions, oddly enough.

Many universities suspend their players if they are involved in a legal matter or are thought to be involved in an NCAA infraction. For example, if you head down to South Carolina's capital where Steve Spurrier coaches, you will find that he suspends first, asks questions later. Even if the charges are ultimately dropped and the player is found innocent of any wrongdoing, Spurrier makes sure the player isn't involved with the team until all the facts have been brought to light. Some fans don't like this, since it assumes the player is guilty until proven innocent, but it also reminds players to keep their noses clean unless they want to sit out.

The NCAA needs to take a long, hard look at Clemson University. Something is rotten there, and it isn't just the waste treatment plant nearby. After the NCAA is finished with Ohio State, they need to pack their bags and head south. Between Clemson's problems with players flashing cash and involvement in violent acts, there should be a few rocks for the NCAA to overturn.