Students say rule lacks common sense
| • | UH loses appeal, 2002 national volleyball title |
| • | Costas maintains he never was a pro |
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
University of Hawai'i students yesterday reluctantly accepted the NCAA's final ruling to strip the men's volleyball team of the 2002 national title, but not before taking some shots at the collegiate rule on amateurism.
Michelle Wie, and any other amateur collegiate golfer who plays with professionals, is eligible under NCAA rules. According to rule 12.3.2.3, competition with professionals: "An individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if the individual ever competed on a professional team in that sport. However, an individual may compete on a tennis, golf, two-person sand volleyball or two-person synchronized diving team with persons who are competing for cash or a comparable prize, provided the individual does not receive payment of any kind for such participation."
Some students questioned the NCAA rule violated by former UH All-American Costas Theocharidis, and said the rule lacked common sense.
The Wie factor
The rule prohibits players from being a member of a professional team, even if the player did not receive money.
"A professional player takes money, signs a contract and has an affiliation with a league," UH senior Cory Matsuoka said. "Just because he played with professionals, doesn't make him a professional."
In September 2003, the NCAA voided the Warriors' 2002 championship after it was found that Theocharidis played with a professional team in Greece before enrolling at UH in August 1999.
Theocharidis has vehemently denied that he is a professional, and said that he never hired an agent, never took money and never had a contract.
In October 2003, UH appealed the decision, but after a prolonged investigation, the NCAA upheld its original ruling.
Matsuoka, 26, said the NCAA rule did not fit his definition of a professional player, and the rule should be relaxed to equate professional status with money received.
"The bottom line," he said, "is a professional will take money."
Miguel Abdala, a 34-year-old graduate student, said the decision to strip UH of its only men's NCAA title did not match the infraction.
Abdala said Theocharidis "didn't get compensated" with money playing in the Greek league, and called the ruling "harsh."
Chanel Nakamura, an 18-year-old freshman, said she didn't harbor any ill feelings toward Theocharidis, who has since apologized about the situation, and has routinely claimed his innocence to the media.
Nakamura reasoned that Theocharidis was just trying to improve his volleyball skills by playing in the Greek league.
"I don't blame him," Nakamura said. "Maybe he just wanted to get an early start and have experience from other places, rather than just from a university."
Lance Yoneshige, a 22-year-old senior, said the public outcry might have been worse had the NCAA's final decision been released earlier during the season. Yesterday's announcement did not pack the sting compared to the original ruling last September.
"It seems (the NCAA) waited a long time on purpose," Yoneshige said. "If they did it right away, they would get a lot of backlash from the public. It seems like they could have done it a lot faster."
Daniel Floren, a 22-year-old senior, said the NCAA violation did little to shake his confidence in the men's volleyball program.
"It doesn't change my perspective at all," he said. "It's not like UH did it knowingly. It's not like they purposely recruited professional players. I totally understand. It was just a mistake."
Floren said he was "shocked and disappointed" at the NCAA ruling, but understood that UH must face some penalty for the violation.
"I think it's a shame they have to go back and take away the national championship," he said. "The players believe that it's theirs. It's almost like a slap in the face.
"At the same time, I can understand why they took it away," Floren added. "It's not fair to the other schools that have the same quality of players."
Nick Lynn, a 21-year-old junior, said he hoped that the university would learn from its mistake and prevent another violation from happening.
"If anything, I think this will make them more conscientious next year, and the following seasons," Lynn said. "I'm sure they'll scrutinize players. They'll go through background checks. They'll make sure everyone understands the rules."
Reach Brandon Masuoka at 535-2458 or at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com
