Three months ago the NCAA made what many thought was an unprecedented decision when it sanctioned four non-scholastic programs for what it termed to be dealings with a sports agent.
Three of the programs had to change their names in order to compete in NCAA-sanctioned events while the fourth, SEBL Elite All-Stars, simply had to remove coach Tony Edwards from its organization.
Well the NCAA revisited that ruling, and according to Bret Stretlow of the Fayetteville Observer the governing body’s enforcement staff reversed course and cleared Edwards of any wrongdoing.
According to the story the NCAA stated that there’s “insufficient evidence available to establish a current connection” between Edwards and Andy Miller, who runs the ASM Sports agency.
Dwight Miller (no relation to Andy), founder and president of the SEBL program, told the paper that he would welcome Edwards back should he want to return to the program.
Edwards denied the allegations of working with Miller or any other sports agency, and the NCAA’s decision to clear his name backs that up.
One question that may be worth asking is what kind of information did the NCAA receive that led them to lump Edwards in with the three administrators that were banned from having any contact with their respective teams.
In its release back in July the NCAA cited an email sent by Miller to the four people in question (who were also interviewed by the NCAA), which included Edwards according to their findings.
So if that email was a piece of evidence used to sanction Edwards but now he’s cleared due to “insufficient evidence available to establish a current connection,” what proof did they have?
Hopefully the NCAA provides an answer to that question.
Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.