Miami Hurricanes: Separating Fact from Fiction

http://eyeofthehurricane.net/wordpr...-fact-from-fiction-the-nevin-shapiro-scandal/

Do you hear that sound? It’s millions of Miami Hurricanes fans jumping off a bridge because they see other people (largely media figures) purportedly panicking over the Hustler Forum-esque allegations made by disgraced defrauding midget and former Miami booster, Nevin Shapiro.

Have you noticed that something like this ALWAYS seems to happen to the ‘Canes in August? In 2009 we had like eleventy QBs transfer at once. In 2010, we had transfers, a few kids were thrown under the bus for various problems (perceived by Randy Shannon), plus a little story broke about a former Miami Hurricanes booster being indicted for a ponzi scheme and making wild accusations about making improper gifts to current and former student athletes.

[record skips]

Yes, that’s right. You already heard about this news last summer. For those of you who didn’t kill those brain cells with orange and green jello shots at ‘Canes tailgates (frankly, I don’t blame you, it makes J12’s play somewhat more bearable when you can’t quite tell to which team he is throwing), this whole Shapiro story is about as Earth-shattering as hearing that Lebron James is continuing to keep his talents on South Beach or the opening chords of “Soul Sister” by Train. So last summer.

Now, however, there are pictures (of which type any booster, including myself, has hundreds) plus some generic credit card receipts to go along with the allegations so now ‘Canes fans are up in arms, waiting for the sky to fall upon them. Before you give yourself an ulcer, try to look at this as if it was another team facing this bad PR. Meaning, take the emotion out of it and look at the facts and what the NCAA has to prove to take the school you hate [cough *Floriduh* cough] off the map.

Better yet, I’ll do it for you, breaking down the sensationalistic “journalism” that was floating about yesterday, initially by Yahoo! and then regurgitated by nearly every major news outlet:

It is not a NCAA violation that Midget McLiarson had access to the Orange Bowl press box in 2007. The more you donate to the University of Miami Athletic Department, the more you have access to special privileges, including flying on a charter jet with the team, sideline passes, locker room passes, access to practices, and leading the team on the field. This is called an “incentive.” Heard of those? Shapiro, with the designation of “Living Scholar” (approved by the NCAA) is not special in this regard unless he is looking for the title of “shortest person over 10 years old in attendance.”
McLiarson admits he had an ax to grind with David Reed for trying to keep him apart from the players. He actually tried to fight him at the last game at the Orange Bowl. This is demonstrative, by Midget’s own admission, of INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL. McLiarson’s attempt to fight David Reed for working for a university who let its football program go to “heck” in a hand basket actually shows the absence of a NCAA violation by UM, and that Midget is sociopathic trash.
McLiarson tells reporters “he was never questioned by Miami though and never limited in his activities until April 2010, when he was charged with running a $930 million Ponzi scheme.” Stop. Re-read. This is directly contradictory to his previous statement that UM knew about everything. Indeed, in one Yahoo! Interview, McLiarson says he recruited for UM and in another, that he didn’t, because the money couldn’t compete with the SEC’s payment of players. No wonder he got caught and is in jail now. Dude can’t keep any story straight.
Shapiro’s fundraiser for the basketball team in 2008 does not constitute a NCAA violation. Boosters do this all the time. It’s a tax write-off, and Shorty McShaderson probably needed all he could get.
The money donated to the University of Miami was returned. Any allegations to the contrary are libelous and directly contrary to readily-available public records.
Shorty McShaderson’s ownership of Axcess Sports, which had signed Vince Wilfork and Jon Beason, does not in itself constitute a NCAA violation. Let’s remember how USC and Reggie Bush went down. It was with recorded evidence.
Shapiro told reporters that “[w]hen Miami was looking for a replacement for head coach Larry Coker after the 2006 season, Shapiro met with Shalala and offered not to just coach the team for free, but to personally pay $1 million a year for the nation’s best offensive and defensive coordinators.” Ask some boosters you know what they were doing the Monday after the 2010 FSWho loss, especially after Randy Shannon went on WQAM and said not going to the ACC Championship would not be a disappointment. Again, not an NCAA violation.
Renting a sky box, excessive drinking, and partying with indiscriminate women is not called a NCAA violation. It’s called game day, and frankly, a better man would have made that stripper pole work. Shalala stopping by at a sky box is normal. Administrators circulate around the stadium during all sporting events greeting fans and boosters. I’m starting to think these reporters have never been to a college sporting event, much less one for a small private university, in their lives.
Midget McLiarson’s supposed bar tab following the 2008 loss to the Florida State game isn’t proof of anything unless the receipt states: appletini for Jacory Harris and there are videos of him drinking said appletini holding up McLiarson’s Amex. Moreover, no one was going out in that monsoon, as evidenced by the incorrect date on the credit card statement. A receipt, in itself, is not probative evidence. The NCAA needs more and can’t simply go by McShaderson and his (obviously desperate) girlfriend’s word.
You guys might know more about this than me, but I don’t think prostitutes give receipts, or strippers for lap dances, nor do abortion clinics denote that the services are for “Jeremy Shockey’s b*stard child aborted by stripper” (in this case the athlete was not identified and McLiarson told reporters he did not even tell the athlete about the supposed abortion).
Ditto with bounties from knocking down TT #15 or Miami’s former MVP, Chris Rix. McShaderson is a wanna-be Uncle Luke who was not on the sidelines as a friend of the program, but a booster who was trying to act cool by hanging out with athletes. Shame on him for trying to besmirch Uncle Luke’s good name by the comparison.
Midget’s attorney, Maria Elena Perez, has been doing a lot of talking about what kind of evidence he has. However, Ms. Perez has been sanctioned by a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida for misconduct: http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/wp-con...strict-Court-Southern-District-of-Florida.pdf. Thus, neither Midget nor his attorney are in competition for “The Most Trustworthy Person on the Planet” award.
Shorty’s name was stripped off the student lounge because he did not comply with his pledged donation. No one turned on him; he did this all to himself. Because he is a crazy sociopath, he is now trying to play the victim and destroy UM for the perceived rejection. Souunds like a crazy ex-boyfriend. Move on. I hear that guy Butchie down the cell block has eyes for you, McLiarson.
Bottom line, University of Miami attorneys are not required to visit McLiarson in prison and hold his hand and ask about his new boyfriend. The lack of visits smuggling salami and KY Jelly to this creep is not an NCAA violation.
Instead, UM was busy self-reporting what it learned from Shapiro’s allegations from last August to the NCAA. As Chris Freet said: “When Shapiro made his allegations nearly a year ago, he and his attorneys refused to provide any facts to the university. We notified the NCAA enforcement officials of these allegations. We are fully cooperating with the NCAA and are conducting a joint investigation. We take these matters very seriously.”

Most sources confirm that Randy Shannon ran McLiarson away from the football program when he took over (evidenced by the fact that Midget resorted to hanging out with Frank Haith). Thus, most of these allegations, even if true, are more than 4 years (the NCAA’s statute of limitations) old. In order to have the statute of limitations bypassed, evidence must prove that the University has engaged in “a pattern of willful violations” over a sustained period beyond the previous four years. That means that Coker, who was barely aware of any recruit not ranked with eleventy stars, had to have been aware that Shapiro bought someone some rims and another guy a studded dog collar back in 2002. No, seriously, that’s what it means. Willful.

Midget is writing a tell-all book that is coming out soon. You don’t think the timing here is coincidental? He is trying to make money any way he can and he obviously isn’t above turning on his alma mater because he feels former ‘Canes players didn’t want to be his best friend after they went pro. Dude is like a crazy ex-boyfriend who is asking for the money back he spent on your dinners after you dump him (p.s., an occasional dinner for an athlete from a booster is permissible under the NCAA rules). Nothing more than a bitter loser grasping at straws.

Ultimately, in order for the University of Miami’s athletic programs to be sanctioned, the NCAA must have proof of violations. Hearsay (he said/she said from bitter ex-coaches fired from UM and Shorty’s busted ex-girlfriend) and some receipts from hotels where purported sex parties took place are not conclusive evidence. The University has its own counsel and has been investigating this case for a year and the NCAA went to meet with counsel from UM yesterday about their findings. That’s what is really going on.

Whatever else you are told in the media is simply meant to elicit an emotional reaction from you, the Miami fan, and the world, the Miami haters. There is a reason why The U was the most popular ESPN documentary ever. People love to hear about the supposed antics of Miami football players and they always will. Embrace the hate, and have faith that Golden will spin this to ensure our players will be running through that smoke in September with chips on their shoulders.

GO ‘CANES!