A Middle Tennessee freshman who received an honorable discharge after five years of active service in the Marines this summer has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA, which has the power to prevent him from playing this season because he played in a recreational league in the military.
According to the Murfeesboro Daily News Journal, the rule says student-athletes that do not enroll in college within a year of graduating high school will be charged one year of collegiate eligibility for every academic year they participate in organized competition.
According to the NCAA rule book, Steven Rhodes’ play at the Marine base counted as “organized competition” because there were game officials, team uniforms and the score was kept. But the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Marine sergeant said the recreational league was nothing close to organized.
“Man, it was like intramurals for us,” the 24-year old Rhodes told the paper. “There were guys out there anywhere from 18 to 40-something years old. The games were spread out. We once went six weeks between games.”
Once again, it’s time for the NCAA to wake up and adopt some common sense when it comes to its student-athletes. This rule, which was first implemented in 1980, was not initially set up to punish members of the armed services who are defending this country, those on official church missions or working with foreign aid services of the U.S. government, but, in this case, the wording of the by-law has led to unintended consequences.
If the NCAA can’t make up for this mistake in an already outdated rule book, it’s time for members of Congress to step up and make officials of the sports governing organization to do the right thing before Middle’s season opener Aug. 29 against Western Carolina. Middle won a partial appeal to the NCAA last week recouping two years of eligibility for Rhodes with his recreational league spanning two academic years. But Rhodes, who has been practicing, should be able to play immediately.
Now.
