It was widely reported in the sports media this week that University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban allegedly violated the NCAA’s “bump rule” in his efforts to recruit high school football star Barry Sanders, Jr. Despite Saban's insistence to the contrary, our analysis suggests a violation indeed occurred.
NCAA regulations stipulate that coaches are not allowed to have face-to-face contact before July 1 after players complete their junior year, with either the players or their families. Contact is defined as anything beyond a chance encounter in which a coach and player “bump” into each other and greetings are exchanged. We understand the NCAA rule to define a greeting as nothing more than “Hi, how are you?”
Earlier this week, Corey DeMoss of OKBlitz.com wrote a report alleging that Saban bumped into Sanders at Heritage Hall High School. According to Sanders, "[Saban] just said, 'We need running backs. How Trent [Richardson] would be a senior if I were to go [to Alabama]. He told me Ingram’s leaving, he’s making it public probably Friday.” Our analysis of Sanders' behavior suggests that Saban likely made those comments. What is disconcerting from a behavioral standpoint is that Sanders did not claim that this is all Saban said during their encounter.
In response to these allegations, Saban, who is publicly opposed to the “bump rule,” said, "It was just a greeting, and that's fine the way I understand the rule. There was no set-up. It was strictly I ran into a guy in the cafeteria in the school and I greeted him and asked him about his injury. So, you know, I'll defend myself on that one."
Saban’s response to allegations that he had committed a violation during his encounter with Sanders contains a number of deceptive indicators. First, his remark regarding the “way I understand the rule” is a behavioral qualifier that indicates Saban knows his interpretation of his encounter may well not be consistent with the NCAA’s definition of the bump rule. His follow-on comment, “I’ll defend myself on that one,” also underscores Saban’s thinking that he will probably be reported to the NCAA by other schools who are recruiting Sanders, and will subsequently be challenged by the NCAA regarding his actions and interpretation of the rule. This comment also sends the unintended message that there are other elements of the encounter that he can’t “defend” himself on.
Additionally, Saban claims he “ran into a guy in the cafeteria in the school.” We have to wonder what the head football coach of the Univesity of Alabama was doing in the high school cafeteria to begin with. We very much doubt it was for the five-star dining experience! Behaviorally we find his claim that there was “no set-up” and his presence in the cafeteria to be somewhat illogical.
Finally, and perhaps most damning, is Saban’s statement that “I greeted him and asked him about his injury.” When Saban used the word “and” in this comment, he acknowledged that his encounter exceeded the simple greeting allowed by the NCAA. The fact that Saban also admitted that he had inquired about Sanders' injury also suggests that this is very definitely a young man in whom Saban has taken, and continues to take, an interest. That makes a chance meeting in a high school dining hall even more suspect.
Lest we sound like we’re flagging Saban on a technicality here, we believe that our analysis indicates that there is probably even more to the encounter than what has been disclosed to date. You can’t hide on this one, Nick.
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