I’m all for changing the system to allow players to be paid, but the NCAA, whether you agree with their regulations or not, are currently concerned with any actions that would affect a player’s amateur status.

While not at all the same situation and not for the same pay, this can be compared to a player that went overseas to play professional basketball being disqualified from NCAA competition. It doesn’t matter why you received benefits, all that matters is if you received benefits that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten if you weren’t an athlete.

This is a tough situation, especially if Wiseman didn’t know. If the NCAA truly had all the information and ruled him eligible earlier, that’s not fair—I think we’ll learn more about that. I still don’t think it changes the “correct” outcome under current NCAA rules though: he received benefits that he wouldn’t have otherwise and that affected his amateur status. Here’s hoping the system changes soon.