LSU students are planning a protest on campus Tuesday, Mar. 12 after Athletic Director Joe Alleva suspended Head Basketball Coach Will Wade Friday, Mar. 8.
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - LSU students are planning a protest on campus Tuesday, Mar. 12 after Athletic Director Joe Alleva suspended Head Basketball Coach Will Wade Friday, Mar. 8.
Yahoo Sports obtained FBI wire taps of a discussion between Wade and a middle-man, who has been convicted on certain corruption charges.
Although not explicit, the report appears to implicate Wade in a pay-for-play scandal involving freshman point guard, Javonte Smart.
In a tweet, the organizer called the athletic administration "incompetent" and criticized Alleva's decision to suspend Wade.
Zach Junda expressed similar criticism in his column for SB Nation's fan-driven website, And The Valley Shook.
In a statement, Alleva said he suspended Wade while the university investigates whether its coach violated NCAA rules. When asked, Wade did not meet with Alleva to share his side of the story, prompting the suspension.
Interim Coach Tony Benford indicated Monday he's preparing as if he will coach the Tigers for the remainder of the season.
If the allegations are true and Smart was improperly compensated in his recruitment, the Tigers could have to vacate some or all of its 2018-19 success. LSU fans, along with Junda, wondered why the Tigers did not simply allow Wade to continue and win as many games as possible in the NCAA tournament if the season is tainted anyway.
"You can't vacate the memories," Junda said, echoing a common sentiment among Tiger fans. Junda did acknowledge the tapes are "as damning as it gets."
But not all Tiger fans disagree with Alleva's decision.
Peever says he thought it was "unfair" LSU will likely be investigated for something he says he thinks happens all across college basketball, especially at powerhouse programs.
Other fans wonder why the FBI is investigating corruption in college basketball to begin with. More are angered by national media attention to the story that they say appears out of proportion.
No matter who they're angry with, Tiger fans are united behind a sense of injustice that will likely be on display again at Tuesday's protest.
Improperly compensated. Consider this your PSA for today. It's not called cheating, or buying players, it's called "improperly compensating" athletes.
This is the type of behavior I consider to be embarrassing and I'm no where near a part of this story. If, in your mind's eye, you're seeing one of your elders saying "if you're friends jumped off a cliff, would you," the line starts behind me.
I've seen many say Mizzou should have never been invited into the conference. I've seen people point to the stories surrounding student life at Mizzou, among a lot of things, and call them embarrassing. Sorry folks, LSU has trumped that Tiger fan base.
I suggested back when they were having their billboard campaign they were running the chance of the NCAA not being "kind" to them in the future. That kind of protest stepped on toes to no avail (never was a chance in the first place.) To think they're going to be treated like another program right now is foolish.
Perhaps a billboard in DC near the FBI will help?
Rumor is that two LSU players are caught up in this, but LSU has led everyone to believe that one player was hurt for the Vandy game and did not play.
They could run it in NY close to the court that's hearing the cases... of course, they're looking at 1-1.5 million for a year and considering we're in year two?
I'm thinking along this line as well.
On the other hand, when Sexton was mentioned in the reports from year one he was suspended until it was rectified. We knew about the allegations with Wade over a year ago. Why wasn't he suspended then? I'm assuming it was because he denied the first reports. Now, that the second release is out with even more detail, it shows me the mistake was made at the front end of this story.
To me, it looks cut and dried. "We'll continue playing, even with the strong possibility of a player being ineligible, because we'd rather have the wins today."
One thing I think we can all agree upon. LSU is a freakin' clown show.
it shows me the mistake was made at the front end of this story.
No doubt about that at all.
Wade wouldn't even talk to his boss about it. He put Alleva in a box. Easy choice.
College students don't know what they don't know - but they're never in doubt.
Or one of the inflatable tube men...goes whichever the wind blows. All this needs is the LSU logo and some gold beads.
I see vacated wins, a fired coach and a new SEC regular season champion IF all of this is true.
If my favorite school were in this position I would put the player and the coach in timeout as well. Since we don't know what info the LSU Admin has at this time I would error on the side of caution. The NCAA might give them a little break if the coach and player/families did the Steve Miller thing.
1. Looks like everyone else in the SEC is linked to some type of cheating scandal. Par for the course!
And yet the truth is simple and clear. Either you were bidding, or not. Yes or no?