schea605

SoCalHoops College Recruiting News

Schea Cotton's Appeal For
Eligibility Turned Down By NCAA--(June 5, 1998)

According to reports from PrepStars and from Wolfpack.com, both sources have repeated the news put out by the Raleigh News & Observer's CityLine, which is now reporting (at 4:45 p.m.) that the NCAA's eligibility and compliance cabinet denied Schea Cotton's appeal.

Just yesterday, the compliance cabinet had told Cotton and his attorney that he could expect a ruling today. One had been expected on Wednesday but was not forthcoming. An NCAA official confirmed yesterday that the ruling on whether Cotton's SAT score would be validated would be made late today. Phil Grayson, the Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator for the NCAA, said the group's eligibility and compliance cabinet, which has now ruled on Cotton's eligibility, had not informed him of its decision as of Thursday evening.

Grayson had said yesterday that "There's probably not going to be any news on him until tomorrow [Friday],'' Grayson said he didn't know why a decision on Cotton had not been reached earlier, on Thursday or Wednesday, when NCAA officials first expected one. Grayson said that Cotton's attorney -- Stuart Rice -- and N.C. State officials will be notified shortly after a ruling is made.

Cotton, who has a learning disability, received a qualifying score on his third SAT attempt in June of last year. Each of the three tests was taken with no time limit and larger-than-normal print, a standard practice for students diagnosed with learning disabilities. However, the NCAA invalidated his qualifying score in September of last year -- less than a week before he was to enroll at UCLA -- because proper information regarding his disability was not submitted.

We were unable to receive any of the details of the compliance cabinets ruling, nor any of the reasons for continuing to invalidate the test scores.

Cotton has not taken the test since last year. The last date for administration of the SAT in order to acheive eligibility for the 1998-99 academic year is tomorrow, June 6, 1998, and we would seriously doubt that Cotton is now in any mood to take the test, and probably didn't register for it anyway in time.

If the compliance cabinet's decision is allowed to stand, we would expect Cotton to file suit against the NCAA for discrimination in violation of the ADA. Whether Cotton would be able to obtain injunctive relief, or indeed any relief at all, would depend upon the circumstances of the documentation concerning his disability, which has never been made explicitly public.

Thus, it looks like one of the most talented players to play the game may never get a chance to both complete his education and entertain millions on the courts of the NCAA. Hello CBA, Europe, or maybe even NBA, adios Wolfpack.

As more details roll in, we'll keep you all posted.