Sources: Kansas' Cheick Diallo hires attorney for possible NCAA eligibility fight
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One can feel two heavy weights that have been circling each other through the early rounds beginning to cut off the ring. There is a sense of closing in to commence the real fight.
There will be blood.
I hope someone really good is looking after Cheick.
There appears so much more here at stake than just one young basketball player, though in the final analysis he is the only thing that should really matter here to any decent person.
His individual clearance issue appears to be the incident that two huge opponents may use to start fighting a war both have been looking to engage in for quite some time.
Pray for Cheick.
Everyone else will fare well collecting fees in this fight.
But a college freshman only a few years in America?
We KU fans loyal to the legacy should become the voice of conscience in defense of him, for I fear no one else will be thinking much about that should the gloves come off.
There appears too much money at stake to put one young man first.
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Got me…
At this point everything is speculation and we really don’t know what the facts are. In past cases, “multiple sources” end up being several poster on a twitter thread, so unless there is a reputable name attached to the information, I would have to take it with a grain of salt.
Frankly, looking into middle school documents is well beyond where the NCAA should be looking at…unless they are looking at other issues such as age. If you recall, there have been numerous issues with this in the Little League World Series where older players forged documents to be eligible; maybe Diallo is 3 or 4 years older but this is really a way, way out stretch…but as much speculation as any of the other rumors out there.
It certainly looks like clearance was denied for multiple reasons and the process is in the appeals portion…maybe someday we will know what actually went on but I seriously doubt we will ever get the entire story.
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Believe me when I say this is not a slam against Skal Labwhatever, but… A kid gets a post Haiti earthquake ticket to the United States and has a “handler” set up a fake high school so he can play his senior year, and the NCAA says he’s ok, but they can’t say a young man who apparently is fluent in four languages is eligible? I know we don’t know all the facts, but did UK/$ECnetwork/E$PN throw their influen$e around $o $kal could play hoop$ thi$ $ea$on?
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@wissoxfan83 said:
Believe me when I say this is not a slam against Skal Labwhatever, but… A kid gets a post Haiti earthquake ticket to the United States and has a “handler” set up a fake high school so he can play his senior year, and the NCAA says he’s ok, but they can’t say a young man who apparently is fluent in four languages is eligible? I know we don’t know all the facts, but did UK/$ECnetwork/E$PN throw their influen$e around $o $kal could play hoop$ thi$ $ea$on?
wow…you truly must be a mizzou fan or from the area.
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@wissoxfan83
Once again…Labissiere attended a regular school and took regular classes and the basketball “fake” school was just to play basketball and not to take classes; there were no issues with his academic work, the issue was with is handler’s potential violations. Clearance by the NCAA is based on academics and not athletics; he did not even have to play HS sports at all to apply and get clearance by the NCAA. The “fake” school was set up so he could showcase his talent for college recruiters and not to get cleared by the NCAA.
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@elpoyo I don’t get why you think he’s a Mizzou fan…
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@Makeshift If he had seen spelling mistakes, grammar errors, random meth mentions, references to my cousin/wife then he could have assumed I was from Missouri.
@JayHawkFanToo You could have written that without the “once again” comment like I’m a little slow or something. I don’t read everything written here or elsewhere Thanks.
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@wissoxfan83
No offense intended but that particular subject has been discussed ad nauseam in this forum.
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This Cheick situation really has me down in a funk all of the sudden. I have been super positive about him getting cleared from the day we found out this was happening but the more it goes on the more I start to become sort of depressed. I really want to see this kid play in a KU uniform more than anything.
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The way that article is worded makes it sound like the NCAA is investigating more than just grades and is also looking at Diallo’s handler for infractions as well.
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I wonder if Skal was at Kansas and Cheick at Kentucky… which player would be qualified today and which player would be disqualified or not yet qualified?
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@ParisHawk Thats just insane! 6th grade, are you freeking kidding me!?
The Nike BigShoe ties to the NCAA are painfully evident since they had no problem clearing Skal and dont even smell a whiff of wrong doing towards Calipari.
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@ParisHawk The NCAA is absolutely NOT on KU’s side.
Why would they drag this out for half a year and let Skal get cleared and Calipari get off with a free pass to cheat all the way to the Final Four again?
This same thing is happening to another kid 7’6", highly intelligent, taking calculus and high level science classes at his school but no clearance for him either. Of course that other school isnt a Nike school either.
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That article seemed to make racial overtones connected to this case.
I wonder what the NCAA will do when we have a few thousand fans protesting in front of their building?
F E R G U S O N !!!
(everything else gets linked to Ferguson, why not the Diallo case?)Time to make this real for them and protest in front of their building. Let them walk through a security threat on their way to work… It seems to be the new tactic for change these days, even if the change means something positive or not.
(partial sarcasm… but which part?)
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I wonder if the NCAA knows that Cliff Alexander didn’t change his name to Cheick Diallo?
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@SoftballDad2011 good one!!
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@Texas-Hawk-10 That was my first thought too…worried that they are looking at more than just grades.
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There’s no credible explanation the Eligibility Center has to drag an investigation that started in June and is now in November. If they had not found any justifiable basis in keeping the young man off the floor, they should leave him alone. When these investigations occur, it’s a de facto suspension to keep the young man off the floor when there’s no finding of improper conduct.”
Words from the Lawyer now representing Diallo’s guardian & probably Cheick going forward.
I was worried that the “de facto” suspension was going to come into effect. Cheick is going to miss games barring some miracle for absolutely no reason. I don’t care how you try and defend the NCAA’s position in this case, without disclosing what exactly is the hold up, they are absolutely dragging their feet. If your going to hold someone in Limbo at least make it public why so there isn’t thousands of people wondering what the hay is going on.
At this point this situation has passed the threshold of where I care anymore. If Diallo gets to play awesome, but the season starts in 2 days and that’s the only thing that matters.
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@BeddieKU23 et al,
Class, Professor jay von Bate 1.0 welcomes you to class this fine autumn day, and presents you with a pop quiz with this single multiple choice question.
Question: De facto suspensions continuing past the first exhibition appear to result predominantly, when:
a.) the NCAA cannot find what documents it wants to find;
b.) the NCAA cannot get the information that it wants to get;
c.) the player plays for an adidas contracted school; or
d.) a and c;
e.) b and c; or
f.) all of the above?
Please post your answer as you leave the virtual classroom to proceed to the fun part of your lives.
Rock Chalk!!!
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We have been hearing for years that the US is falling behind in basic high school skills. Could it be that there was no documentation of his Algebra grade in high school because they actually do Algebra in junior high in his country.
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@jaybate-1.0 Emphatically C!!! i mean look what is happening to the 7’6" kid over at FSU!! And, a&b too because the NCAA is proving to be nugatory and ephemeral.
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@KU-Flyer said:
there was no documentation of his Algebra grade in high school because they actually do Algebra in junior high in his country.
PHOF!
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@KU-Flyer said:
We have been hearing for years that the US is falling behind in basic high school skills. Could it be that there was no documentation of his Algebra grade in high school because they actually do Algebra in junior high in his country.
Doubtful because in Texas at least, Algebra is a freshman level course that some students take in 8th grade if they’re advanced in math. Algebra II is also a junior level math course in Texas.
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@DannyParkins: “I think Cheick’s chances of playing for Kansas this year are excellent… almost a certainty.” Diallo’s attorney on The Drive @610SportsKC
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"If they had not found any justifiable basis in keeping the young man off the floor, they should leave him alone. "
Actually… that is what they are doing… leaving him alone. What he needs is clearance. He needs to NOT be left alone. They need to focus in on his issue and resolve it asap.
I never feel better when an attorney is involved. (I apologize to any attorneys in here)
From my experience, they are first representing themselves. Second, comes the client. I’ve probably had at least a dozen experiences with attorneys in a situation that might have involved entering a courtroom, and in every example it seemed that most of their actions first benefited themselves more than me. Lots of unnecessary actions and then not taking care of what would get the job done. Stretching out the process to run up a monster tab! I can only speak from my own experiences… but they are plentiful… and painful!
Of course this attorney is going to say there is a great chance of getting Cheick on the court this year. That benefits himself and how he is posturing. Keep the hope there while bleeding out the client.
I’m not saying he won’t play ball this year. But it is no fluke that politicians usually have a background as attorneys…
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@drgnslayr they are not all like that!
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I’m sure you are right.
Confucius say: “In order to find happiness in life, first find a good and trustworthy accountant, dentist and attorney.”
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Lawyer was just on 610 sports. here’s a rundown of what he said.
- Guardian is the one who’s retained the lawyer
- DJ says Diallo ineligible b/c of academic review. Going back further than 9th grade. This is part of “academic review” process for international athletes. Usually don’t go back past 9th grade. Generally if you dont have all course work to prove academic rigorousness, they disregard the class of qualifying class.
- Need 16 core courses that start in the 9th grade. Why they’re going back past 9th grade is “beyond” the lawyer.
- Amateurism. Been subjected to both reviews lasting 6 months on BOTH amateurism and academic side.
- Usually end late August, early sept. Lawyer calls this “defacto suspension”, says its intentional
- Nobody at the NCAA has expertise to value the credibility of a course from the Republic of Mali, nobody is on staff at NCAA that is qualified enough to evaluate this type of course work, however they’ve taken on the authority to accept or not accept 9th grade classes as being academically rigorous enough even though they’re not qualified to do so.
- Lawyers seen cases that stretch into the season before
- In cases where they cant establish a student has violated NCAA rules, they drag cases out intentionally in an effort to “suspend” the player without having anything to suspend them for. This is what’s happening here.
- Diallo’s legal guardian hasn’t even been interviewed, even though he makes himself available for interviews and wants to interview with NCAA
- Lawsuit on behalf of Diallo is possible. However, goal is to resolve these issues administratively.
- These actions appear to be illegal per lawyer. No due process right to athletic eligibility. NCAA not allowed to violate their own rules, in this situation the manner which a determination has been made appears to be violating their own rules. Lawyer says, “How can you conduct a credible investigation, and target someone in the investigation (Diallos’s guardian) without having any interaction with that person?”
- Lawyers educated opinion says chances to play for Kansas “excellent”. Timeline determined over next day or so. When it becomes clear administrative possibilities have been exhausted, then legal action will need to be acted on.
- He’s encouraged b/c he knows the boundaries of administrative process. Facts lead to Diallo playing. Guardian is legal guardian by law of Mali. If that’s the case, it ends that area of consideration. Facts lead to things being good with guardian. Lawyers knowledge lead to the facts being correct.
Also Drame has said he’s willing to talk to the NCAA but that the NCAA hasn’t contacted him at all…
Whether from a Lawyer or not, this is completely nuts
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@Crimsonorblue22 said:
@DannyParkins: “I think Cheick’s chances of playing for Kansas this year are excellent… almost a certainty.” Diallo’s attorney on The Drive @610SportsKC
THAT is excellent news! Even if it is an opinion.
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For some time now I have suspected a second level to this Diallo eligibility situation: subsequent judgment by the Big 12, which did not hesitate to rule against Ben Mac and Traylor a few years ago. I am assuming that KU is appealing the NCAA’s unannounced ruling in order to change wording, in order better to present a “partial qualifier” case to the league. Diallo’s spectacular play in high school spring games might probably pitch him into 2016 lottery status whether he plays a collegiate game or not. So, if KU should lose his services for this entire season a scholarship would likely be blown to the wind, as Cheick could hardly afford or even care to gamble his millions away for a 2016-17 season of NCAA Division 1 Basketball, even at an institution which cherishes his talent and has stood by him through his hell of high waters. The attorney for his guardian talks a fine talk, and, indeed, might eventually win a substantial monetary judgment against the Powers That Be. I’m not holding my breath that Cheick will ever play a game of Big 12 Basketball. But then, again, I won’t be surprised if legal posturing turns this circus into our favor before Friday night… (How’s that for a forked tongue?!)
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I’m thinking of going on a hunger strike
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@VailHawk do it! How’s the nose?
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Slowly getting better thx. Still don’t have much of an appetite thus the hunger strike won’t be that big a deal…and we’ll get Cheick cleared to play…
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I like the hunger strike idea, but I think I’m just going on strike. Calling my principal now. I aint going back to work til Cheick gets cleared.
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@wissoxfan83
I like it! Everyone should strike in their own unique way and the sum of our actions should be a free Cheick!!!
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@VailHawk Only the “nose” knows.
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According to the Lawyer, Diallo’s ACT score has been investigated by the NCAA. Now the article doesn’t name Diallo directly but what other highly regarded player is being held hostage…
"A senior official at the NCAA’s Eligibility Center acknowledged in an e-mail that his organization submitted an inquiry to ACT, Inc. regarding the test score of a highly regarded basketball prospect, an action attorney Don Jackson contends is racially motivated.
Jackson shared with Sporting News the e-mail sent to him Sept. 4 by a vice president of the NCAA’s Eligibility Center, which acknowledged that the prospective student-athlete had been certified in July as eligible to compete as a freshman at an NCAA institution. But, according to the NCAA representative, the prospect’s core-course GPA and ACT score “met a PSA review trigger
Jackson was outraged the NCAA would request the ACT examine the validity of the score and that it would make such a request when there was no evidence of fraud. The prospect, who is African-American, only took the ACT once, so there was not one of those hard-to-explain score jumps that have led to scores being nullified in the past.
Jackson, whose firm The Sports Group is based in Montgomery, Ala., chose not to name the prospect he is representing in this case, or the school where that athlete is enrolled and plans to compete.
An NCAA spokesperson told SN by e-mail that the inquiry to the ACT “merely provides notice to the testing agency that the staff has identified a statistical anomaly based on student-athlete academic certification data. The inquiry does not, however, ask the testing agency to investigate a particular score.”
Jackson called that position “counterintuitive,” claiming the NCAA Eligibility Center notified the affected university the test score was being examined before the ACT notified the prospect his score was in question. ** Jackson said the NCAA’s process and actions in this case are “profoundly, openly and unapologetically racist as hell.” He is suggesting he could take the matter to federal court. **
From the Lawyer’s Facebook page…
DONALD MAURICE JACKSON Yesterday at 5:01pm · Seen countless examples of blatant discrimination against international and African American student-athletes over the years by the NCAA Eligibility Center and Enforcement Staff. “Rules’: that are applied selectively (with nothing more than pretextual explanations…something about that seems wrong!!! How can the Eligbility Center staff make value judgments about the :academic rigor” of secondary schools on other continents when the "staff’ rarely leaves NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis. For that fact, how can they make value judgments about secondary schools in the U.S. without visting the schools. Just might be time for the Eligibility Center to be subjected to an “extended review” through the discovery process…
Donald Maurice Jackson Donald Maurice Jackson @Brandon. Been saying the same thing for over a decade. Application of NCAA legislation has a disproportionately adverse impact on international student-athletes and African Americans. Academic reviews and amateurism investigations appear to target African American and international student-athletes. I believe this historical pattern establishes an intention to discriminate and is illegal. 2 · Yesterday at 10:18am
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Marcus Lovett a kid we recruited for a bit and ultimately choose St. Johns is also now looking at legal counsel… That now makes possible 4 suits.
***St. John’s was notified by the NCAA of its final decision after exhausting the appeals process. LoVett will remain enrolled at St. John’s, but must complete a year of residence at the University before participating in game competition. He is permitted to practice with the team as he works toward meeting NCAA continuing eligibility requirements.
“The University disagrees with the NCAA’s decision and the process it used in reviewing Marcus’ initial eligibility waiver request,” said St. John’s interim athletic director and general counsel Joseph Oliva, Esq. “We have engaged in several conversations with the NCAA to express our concerns that their process may have violated Marcus’ legal rights. Unfortunately, it appears that the NCAA elected to disregard these concerns. We have advised Marcus and his family to consult with appropriate legal counsel about the options that may be available to challenge the NCAA ruling and the standards it applied in this proces***
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@BeddieKU23 Tacko Fall, 7’6" going to FSU. Its doubtful that he is as highly regarded as Diallo but the kid is near genius level IQ.
The NCAA is absolutely doing this to these kids based on a bias towards Nike based schools.
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The NCAA is absolutely doing this to these kids based on a bias towards Nike based schools.
What makes you think that, please?
I might admit an indirect link:
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Nike schools get recruiting advantages.
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non-Nike schools try to catch up with Nike schools by recruiting players that have a harder time getting qualified.
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So non-Nike schools tend to have more eligibility problems.
The thing is, I don’t even know if that is true. Anyone have statistics on eligibility problems in Nike vs. non-Nike schools?
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The issue with Fall is apparently he attended an un-credited High School. Institutions are failing these kids.
The 2nd part of your argument has no logic, UCF is a Nike school.
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The attorney for Diallo plays the race card.
That’s our society. But that doesn’t mean it has ANY truth.
In fact, if he didn’t play the race card, I’d have been surprised – elements of our society, namely liberals, collapse when racism, diversity, and all that is raised. We saw that at MU. So why not raise it? That’s the lesson in our society now. Doesn’t matter whether it’s true or untrue.
Obviously, the NCAA has approved hundreds of kids, black kids, from other countries and from Africa. Does anyone seriously think that they are targeting him because of race or where he was born?
And let’s all think about this, and this idea that the NCAA is out to get KU. We need to get that out of our systems. Somehow, someway, the NCAA approved Joel Embiid, didn’t they? He was from Africa. There were no issues. And he was a Kansas recruit.
Pascal Chukwu, remember him? Yep, Africa. Yep, eligible. Amazing.
Right now, if Diallo – through his attorney – wants to strongarm the NCAA and falsely claim racism, I hope the NCAA stands its ground. And if he should be ineligible otherwise, I hope they don’t cave and he’s ruled ineligible.
Of course, I hope this is all resolved quickly, we have Diallo, and we can go forward.
But we can win a national championship without him. The bigger threat is not that he doesn’t play, but it is the distraction, and the lingering, and the “what if.”
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if Diallo – through his attorney – wants to strongarm the NCAA and falsely claim racism…
Without addressing your main point, and just to be precise about Diallo’s direct responsibility here:
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Formally, the attorney represents Diallo’s guardian not Diallo,
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I suspect the attorney, not Diallo or his guardian, decided to raise the race card.
You could have made your case just as strongly without the words “if Diallo wants”.
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I’ll never fully understand this. The international school factor makes it a little easier to believe that their is some gray area on transcripts but it is very bothersome that they are looking at pre-9th grade records. How did he get into high school? How did he graduate from high school and get into the University of Kansas where he has already taken classes? These are really more rhetorical questions as I am now just beyond the point of having even the most remote understanding of why this takes so long or even occurs at all.
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@HighEliteMajor That recent Mizzou business is monumentally scary. University administrators, athletic directors and some coaches must be losing sleep over such potential public earthshakings. No surprise that a savvy anti-NCAA attorney appears to be latching on to the Threat of the Moment to further his causes. Ticket prices will probably escalate for the spring NCAA Tourney, to bolster funds for engagement in a bevy of oncoming lawsuits. As universities are in “partnership” with the governing body of university sports, when will such suits filter down to individual schools? For instance, it was never clear to me precisely what would have happened to KU if it had continued to play Cliff Alexander. In late winter I jumped to the assumption that legal proceedings for Cliff might be an ongoing concern. Would KU have been sued alongside the governing body? In the public forum, it appeared that Bill Self and KU chose not to chance adverse NCAA action/reaction.
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@joeloveshawks I absolutely agree that this has gotten far away from logical understanding.
From the Lawyer’s perspective of this situation, there are 2 critical elements being looked at.
One is his guardian Drame’s role in this whole thing. Jackson claims that the NCAA has made assumptions or determinations about him while never speaking to him directly. Drame is saying he will speak to them openly and isn’t hiding. Jackson claims that under law, the NCAA cannot rule Diallo ineligible because of Drame is his legal guardian. If they were to find Drame to not be what he says he is (bringing kids here for Profit) then it becomes another can of worms. We cannot assume that, we have to assume that this guy has the best intentions for the kids he brings here as well as Diallo.
Jackson says the amateurism aspect doesn’t apply because of the legal binding guardianship, but that’s not how the NCAA see’s it in their rule book. They will suspend you for accepting a bagel from your best friends mother.
The other is the core classes Diallo took either in the States or in Mali.
If you don’t have coursework in your high school algebra class or 9th grade biology class or 10th grade geometry class (at Our Savior New American High in New York which Diallo attended three years) to satisfy them it was academically rigorous enough they’ll disallow that course as a core course. There’s been an element of that involved in this case,” Jackson said.
This has probably been the hold up from the beginning… they have rejected (1) or more core class(es). To allow a full review they have allowed KU to find previous work from Mali going back farther than any normal situation would need, hence the homework & school records back to 6th grade.
His ACT score has also been investigated as a which hunt to explain why he may have scored a higher score than his GPA suggest he is capable of getting.
Hope this helps some…
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Reads well to me!
I just vented my own personal feelings based on my experience with attorneys concerning my civil issues relating to business.
I’m sure there are good attorneys out there, and I do actually have one now that seems to be fair and proper.
I hope this guy is good and truly represents Cheick.
We all look at this through our biased eyes. Maybe the NCAA is going back to 6th grade math (or whatever) looking for anything to support accepting Cheick when his HS algebra is proven to be inferior and not qualified?
Unless the NCAA is just downright corrupt and trying to impose unfair rules against certain schools… it doesn’t seem to make sense that they would target someone like Cheick. It seems like it is in their own best interest to let him play, and not draw all the negative attention that is coming their way.
Clearly, in the past, the NCAA used to make some unfair moves just to show their strength. Kind of like a mob might beat someone down just to show the rest of the people “don’t mess with us!” Because of recent court cases, the NCAA has been reduced as far as having complete fascist rule.
I say that… but in the meantime, certain corporate players (like BigShoe) have grown in strength and is using their growing power to take control of many areas in sports, from sports media to the NCAA itself.
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I come across a lot of information in my free time and SOME of it has me scratching my head like earlier this year when I said this Diallo thing COULD last until December? When I initially typed that up I deleted it and typed it again and finally decided to post it thinking WOW people are not going to trust anything that comes from me if this gets resolved before the season starts. The more things play out the more I think dang I am fishing in the right spots. I sure hope it doesn’t drag out until December BUT this thing could go the distance?
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"We all look at this through our biased eyes. "
Yes we do, you are correct. I’ve shown a good amount of bias because I feel Diallo is the difference maker to this team. He’s one of the few guys I’ve watched for years before coming to KU.
I also don’t agree with the NCAA about anything, not just this case but in general I’ve seen so many inconsistent rules being enforced that like this situation right now there seems to be no specific timeline that is followed.
I always will remember the Perry Jones case- the Baylor kid from a few years ago that was suspended 2 years after the fact of his mom accepting 3 mortgage payments from his AAU coach so that Perry and his family had a place to live. Read the article below, that was the last straw for me personally on how heartless the NCAA can be.
So to me, no matter the decision I still feel no love for them. Even if Diallo is eligible its come at great anguish for all us fans, the team, the coaches, and Cheick himself. Where’s the win in any of it? Its just a relief that it will be over.
Is it fair that we are 1 day before the start of the season and Diallo may still be on the bench missing games?
We had a similar situation with Selby. There was no ruling on how many games he would miss until he had missed a bunch and then decided well that’s enough you can play. That is not fair, a ruling HAS to be determined whether fair or unfair before games start.
You can’t suspend players “de facto” without being fair and telling them up front. There has been more than enough time to have a decision, an appeal, anything that would drag on. No wonder there is legal counsel being brought into this if the decision isn’t coming soon.
