PARAGON
09-15-2006, 01:39 PM
NCAA benches Ole Miss hopeful
Attorney for Jerrell Powe to continue fight in federal court
By Julie Goodman
jgoodman@clarionledger.com (jgoodman@clarionledger.com)
And Robbie Neiswanger
rneiswanger@clarionledger.com (rneiswanger@clarionledger.com)
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OXFORD ? The NCAA affirmed an earlier ruling Thursday that star football recruit Jerrell Powe did not meet academic eligibility requirements to play at the University of Mississippi - a move that sets up a court battle pitting the 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive tackle against the school and the NCAA.
Ole Miss attorney Lee Tyner urged Powe to drop his lawsuit, but Powe's attorney said that won't happen.
"That was the same reaction that the school gave to James Meredith," said Carroll, referring to the first African-American student to enroll at Ole Miss. "It can't go away. It can't. I'm sorry. I love Ole Miss, but no, that doesn't work. It's going to have to go to court, and it's going to have to be the way it is. I do draw a parallel with James Meredith and I'm very, very disappointed in the way the school has handled this."
A hearing was scheduled for Monday in Lafayette County Chancery Court, but the case has since been moved to federal court at the NCAA's request. A court date has not been set.
Powe was one of the most highly ranked high school defensive tackles in the nation following the 2004 season at Wayne County High School. He signed scholarship papers with Ole Miss in February 2005 and was expected to be a key player for the Rebels last fall.
But because he did not meet the NCAA's freshman initial-eligibility requirements he instead attended Hargrave Military Academy during the 2005-06 school year, taking classes needed to meet the NCAA standards.
Carroll says Powe, who is learning disabled, has now met the NCAA standards, but the NCAA ruled otherwise three weeks ago.
Thursday, the NCAA Student Records Review Group upheld the original ruling.
In a news release, the NCAA said the review committee was concerned about Powe's "long-term well-being," adding "he has not yet demonstrated he can successfully manage the demands of full-time college academics and intercollegiate athletics."
The committee specifically cited tutorial help Powe received in completing online courses through Brigham Young University in Utah.
Said the release: "There was insufficient information provided to the NCAA to determine that Mr. Powe completed the work on his own without significant assistance."
Powe completed 14 correspondence courses - worth one-half credit each - with the help of Wayne County High teacher Ginny Crager between January 2005 and May 2006. Crager said Powe couldn't read.
She read passages and asked questions, while Powe provided answers by pointing at them or underlining them.
During lessons that required writing, Crager said Powe would provide answers and she would jot them because "you cannot read his handwriting."
The NCAA said Powe could go back to high school and meet his initial eligibility criteria, which is permissible for students with learning disabilities.
Until the issue is resolved in court, Powe will remain a part-time student, not eligible for athletic-based financial aid or to play on the football team.
If Powe prevails in court, Ole Miss could be forced to go against its own standards and enroll him as a full-time student, on scholarship.
"We'd obey any lawful court order," said Tyner, the university attorney.
But if he doesn't prevail, Powe would likely be forced to withdraw.
"Academic decisions should be left to the university," Tyner said in a written statement. "For a court to tell the university whom to admit would be extraordinary."
The NCAA decision puts Ole Miss in an unusual situation.
The school is now urging a top football prospect to drop a lawsuit that, if successful, would potentially give the Rebels a top-notch player on the field.
But in a letter to state College Board members before Thursday's ruling, Chancellor Robert Khayat made the school's position clear.
"We do not want a court setting our admissions standards," Khayat wrote.
He called the matter "a difficult, very public situation," one that placed the university "in the middle of a fuss between Mr. Powe and the NCAA."
Athletic director Pete Boone said in a statement the school helped Powe gather information for his appeal.
"Ole Miss did its best to put as much information as possible in front of the NCAA in hopes of a positive ruling," Boone said in the statement. "We wish the best for Jerrell Powe. But now that the NCAA has ruled, we all need to move on."
Carroll said his client won't go away easily.
"Actually, in all fairness, every bit of lack of respect I had for the NCAA has been reaffirmed by the decision," Carroll said.
Attorney for Jerrell Powe to continue fight in federal court
By Julie Goodman
jgoodman@clarionledger.com (jgoodman@clarionledger.com)
And Robbie Neiswanger
rneiswanger@clarionledger.com (rneiswanger@clarionledger.com)
http://www.clarionledger.com/graphics/pixel.gif
http://www.clarionledger.com/graphics/pixel_gray.gif
http://www.clarionledger.com/graphics/pixel.gif
http://www.clarionledger.com/graphics/pixel.gif
OXFORD ? The NCAA affirmed an earlier ruling Thursday that star football recruit Jerrell Powe did not meet academic eligibility requirements to play at the University of Mississippi - a move that sets up a court battle pitting the 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive tackle against the school and the NCAA.
Ole Miss attorney Lee Tyner urged Powe to drop his lawsuit, but Powe's attorney said that won't happen.
"That was the same reaction that the school gave to James Meredith," said Carroll, referring to the first African-American student to enroll at Ole Miss. "It can't go away. It can't. I'm sorry. I love Ole Miss, but no, that doesn't work. It's going to have to go to court, and it's going to have to be the way it is. I do draw a parallel with James Meredith and I'm very, very disappointed in the way the school has handled this."
A hearing was scheduled for Monday in Lafayette County Chancery Court, but the case has since been moved to federal court at the NCAA's request. A court date has not been set.
Powe was one of the most highly ranked high school defensive tackles in the nation following the 2004 season at Wayne County High School. He signed scholarship papers with Ole Miss in February 2005 and was expected to be a key player for the Rebels last fall.
But because he did not meet the NCAA's freshman initial-eligibility requirements he instead attended Hargrave Military Academy during the 2005-06 school year, taking classes needed to meet the NCAA standards.
Carroll says Powe, who is learning disabled, has now met the NCAA standards, but the NCAA ruled otherwise three weeks ago.
Thursday, the NCAA Student Records Review Group upheld the original ruling.
In a news release, the NCAA said the review committee was concerned about Powe's "long-term well-being," adding "he has not yet demonstrated he can successfully manage the demands of full-time college academics and intercollegiate athletics."
The committee specifically cited tutorial help Powe received in completing online courses through Brigham Young University in Utah.
Said the release: "There was insufficient information provided to the NCAA to determine that Mr. Powe completed the work on his own without significant assistance."
Powe completed 14 correspondence courses - worth one-half credit each - with the help of Wayne County High teacher Ginny Crager between January 2005 and May 2006. Crager said Powe couldn't read.
She read passages and asked questions, while Powe provided answers by pointing at them or underlining them.
During lessons that required writing, Crager said Powe would provide answers and she would jot them because "you cannot read his handwriting."
The NCAA said Powe could go back to high school and meet his initial eligibility criteria, which is permissible for students with learning disabilities.
Until the issue is resolved in court, Powe will remain a part-time student, not eligible for athletic-based financial aid or to play on the football team.
If Powe prevails in court, Ole Miss could be forced to go against its own standards and enroll him as a full-time student, on scholarship.
"We'd obey any lawful court order," said Tyner, the university attorney.
But if he doesn't prevail, Powe would likely be forced to withdraw.
"Academic decisions should be left to the university," Tyner said in a written statement. "For a court to tell the university whom to admit would be extraordinary."
The NCAA decision puts Ole Miss in an unusual situation.
The school is now urging a top football prospect to drop a lawsuit that, if successful, would potentially give the Rebels a top-notch player on the field.
But in a letter to state College Board members before Thursday's ruling, Chancellor Robert Khayat made the school's position clear.
"We do not want a court setting our admissions standards," Khayat wrote.
He called the matter "a difficult, very public situation," one that placed the university "in the middle of a fuss between Mr. Powe and the NCAA."
Athletic director Pete Boone said in a statement the school helped Powe gather information for his appeal.
"Ole Miss did its best to put as much information as possible in front of the NCAA in hopes of a positive ruling," Boone said in the statement. "We wish the best for Jerrell Powe. But now that the NCAA has ruled, we all need to move on."
Carroll said his client won't go away easily.
"Actually, in all fairness, every bit of lack of respect I had for the NCAA has been reaffirmed by the decision," Carroll said.