Baylor Football Player Ruled Ineligible By The God-Awful NCAA For Not Wanting To Be Homeless
Update at the bottom of the page.
A Baylor running back who finally achieved a lifelong dream of earning a roster spot on a college football team was ruled ineligible by the NCAA this week after the powers that be found out he lived in a friend’s apartment while he was homeless.
Silas Nacita, a fan-favorite walk-on football player who earned an academic scholarship to Baylor last fall after transferring from Cornell, spent a year at community college while working toward admission to the four-year institution. During that time, he slept on floors and wasn’t sure where his next meal was coming from. A good samaritan, who clearly saw potential in Nacita, put him up in an apartment as a way to help out a friend. This, of course, is an NCAA violation, and Nacita is no longer allowed to play college football.
From Nacita’s Twitter account:
Meanwhile, the tone-deaf PR department at the NCAA tweeted this out today:
Iowa State forward Daniel Edozie has come a long way since growing up homeless: http://t.co/EvxtNmERyt pic.twitter.com/4pHwF37k58
— NCAA (@NCAA) February 25, 2015
Nacita finished the 2014 season with three touchdowns and earned Big 12 All-Academic honors.
Baylor will likely appeal the decision and force the NCAA to consciously ban a student-athlete from participating in college athletics for finding a way to not be homeless..
UPDATE: The NCAA says it has not suspended Nacita:
The NCAA did not declare Silas Nacita ineligible and Baylor has not requested a waiver for him.
— NCAA (@NCAA) February 25, 2015
[via Deadspin]
Image via YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4XEq6XYtMVU
11 years ago at 1:31 pmThe Blind Side 2: NCAAs revenge
11 years ago at 1:32 pmNot the time or place, guy
11 years ago at 1:37 pmShit like this gets me so heated. The man’s not allowed to chase his lifelong dream because of the shitty hand he was dealt as a kid. I hope he gets the chance to show the sports world what he’s capable of. Good luck, Silas.
11 years ago at 1:32 pmAnd the kid has the class to respond evenhandedly to this bullshit decision.
11 years ago at 1:40 pmHonestly, would have belittled the NCAA if I was in his shoes. Good for him for having more class.
11 years ago at 2:07 pmClassy post by Nacita, but I don’t understand why he’s ineligible. Was the good Samaritan a booster/donor? Anybody have the exact rule he violated?
11 years ago at 1:41 pmNCAA players are not allowed to accept any gifts from people that are out of the ordinary. Stupid rule, but it’s meant to protect players from getting in trouble with bribes.
11 years ago at 2:12 pmThe NCAA might be the most greedy piece of shit organization out there.
11 years ago at 1:45 pmNon-profit association my ass
11 years ago at 12:26 amIt seems that the NFL and NCAA are really doing there best to ruin everything great about football
11 years ago at 1:46 pmWell, at least they aren’t paying players. That would be truly immoral. /s
11 years ago at 1:59 pmThe saddest part is that the NCAA will continue to do this then say “Well, rules are rules.” (no matter how insane they are) then proceed to chew these young men up and spit him out. What a truly pathetic association.
11 years ago at 2:00 pmThis is ridiculous, the kid didn’t know when or what his next meal would be or where he would be sleeping at night. He clearly has his head on straight though as he was an Academic All American. Instead of punishing him for being homeless the NCAA should thank him for being a tremendous STUDENT athlete, and everyone should admire those who gave him the ‘impermissible benefits’ and helped a struggling young man who was HOMELESS!
This is an outrageous and disgusting move by the NCAA, it’d be one thing if he was well off and was taking luxuries, all he took was a bed offered to sleep in over a floor. The NCAA should be ashamed.
They praise guys like Jameis Winston and give him a mere slap on the wrist for stealing, this guy accepts an offer of a place to sleep, it’s disgraceful.
11 years ago at 2:00 pmI’m sure nobody at the NCAA is praising Jameis Winston and they didn’t give him a slap on the wrist. You need to learn the difference between laws and NCAA rules and who enforces them. That being said I’m not in favor of what the NCAA did in this situation either.
11 years ago at 2:08 pm