View from The UpperDeck #4

The view from the Upperdeck is back. After almost a year away it was time to hit some of the sports stories out there that caught our eye.

This past Saturday there were 14 players from Charleston Southern were suspended for their game against #3 Florida State. A total of 32 players were suspended and their punishments will be staggered over a couple of games. What would cause such a massive punishment would you ask? Apparently the students used their financial aid for books and bought other things at the school bookstore after they purchased their books. We have now learned that is a NCAA violation. Something that a lot of college athletes including myself have done at one time is against the rules.

Yep so buying pencils, binders, notebooks and maybe some electronics out of the school bookstore got these young men in trouble. They said that they purchased the items because they had money left over after buying books and the bookstore employees told them that the money just goes back so they might as well use it. These kids were not getting money from a booster or at a Footlocker getting free shoes (which I am not against) but they were at bookstore buying school supplies. Somehow this feels like the antithesis to the NCAA’s old student first edict.

This is not the first time the NCAA played book police. In 2012 they had a similar issue with the University of Nebraska athletic department when the school was paying for books that were not a part of the required curriculum but the professor’s recommended for the course. The NCAA thought that was too much. So many rules for an organization that seems to only find ways to make players lives a little less enjoyable.

This past Saturday night former pro wrestler CM Punk made his UFC debut. As a lot of people predicted he lost in a 1st round submission to Mickey Gall. Let’s not fool ourselves Punk was nowhere near that accomplished fighter that would have a chance at winning a UFC fight. That all being said he won the moment he stepped into the octagon. The man got a chance to live his dream. There are a lot of you who would love to just take a shot in NBA or get to swing the bat in major league baseball game. Punk got to do that and got a nice check for it.

Will he get to finish his 3 fight deal? Maybe not but hey plans to keep pursuing his MMA dream and that’s what counts. We all get knocked down but not all of us have the resolve to get back up and try again despite what other people may have to say.

Keith B. Holt

Follow on Twitter Keith’s Twitter