As a student-athlete competing for a school that is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, you are expected to follow the NCAA's many bylaws that relate to everything from your initial eligibility to be recruited, to your continuing eligibility to compete, to drug testing requirements and more. One additional area that the NCAA regulates is unethical conduct. It has a specific definition in the NCAA bylaws, and a student-athlete who is found to have committed unethical conduct can face NCAA discipline that could severely affect their scholarship and their ability to compete for their school.
If you're a student-athlete who has been accused of unethical conduct by the NCAA or your school, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help. Our experienced NCAA Attorneys will review your case with you and will represent and defend you during the investigation and any disciplinary stage that may follow. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about how we are ready to help protect your scholastic and athletic future.
What is Unethical Conduct Under the NCAA Bylaws?
The NCAA regulates collegiate athletics at more than 1100 schools that compete in almost 100 collegiate conferences. Over half a million students participate in NCAA-regulated college sports each year. Schools are organized into three divisions, each of which has its own set of NCAA bylaws. The NCAA Division I manual is more than 400 pages long; the Division II manual is more than 300 pages; and the Division III manual is almost 250 pages. Each of the Division manuals includes essentially the same explanations for the kinds of ethical conduct the NCAA expects of its student-athletes (as well as its member schools and their administrators and staff); the manuals also explain what the NCAA considers unethical conduct to be.
To begin with, the NCAA states that “all participating student-athletes shall act with honesty and sportsmanship at all times so that intercollegiate athletics as a whole, their institutions and they, as individuals, shall represent the honor and dignity of fair play and the generally recognized high standards associated with wholesome competitive sports.” This is the “General Principle” that student-athletes are expected to follow.
The NCAA manuals for all three Divisions then go on to list the types of misconduct that the NCAA considers to be unethical. The list covers misconduct by schools and school staff members as well as student-athletes. The types of misconduct that are considered unethical for student-athletes include:
- Failing to provide the NCAA or their school's athletics department with “complete and accurate information” about the student-athletes amateur status;
- Using an assumed name to participate in any athletics competition;
- Knowingly providing a student-athlete with “a banned substance or impermissible supplement” or with medications in a way that is contrary to medical practice or state or federal law.
In addition, while not specifically designated as “Unethical Conduct,” the “Ethical Conduct” section of the NCAA bylaws also prohibits student-athletes from wagering on sports. The NCAA's definition of sports wagering goes beyond simply betting on the outcome of a game; it includes “auctions in which bids are placed on teams, individuals, or contests” as well as “pools or fantasy leagues in which an entry fee is required, and there is an opportunity to win a prize.”
What are the Potential Penalties for Unethical Conduct?
A student-athlete found to have committed unethical conduct “shall be ineligible for further intercollegiate competition.” The NCAA bylaws leave open the possibility that the student-athlete can appeal to the NCAA's Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement to restore the student's eligibility.
Level I, II, and III Violations
There are three levels of NCAA violations, with Level I and Level II being the most serious. Both of these two types of violations are subject to enforcement procedures that directly involve the Committee on Infractions. Level III violations, on the other hand, are generally submitted and reviewed online by the NCAA's Requests and Self-Reports Online system.
Level III violations are ones that the NCAA considers to be the least serious. They are “isolated or limited” and provide “no more than a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage” and “no more than a minimal impermissible benefit.” Examples include inadvertent, isolated violations or ones that involve benefits, financial aid, academic eligibility, or recruiting and that “do not create more than minimal advantages.”
Most Level II violations affect schools, not individual student-athletes. As a result, a student-athlete accused of unethical conduct is likely to be facing a Level I violation, the most serious type. This, again, is why it's important for an accused student-athlete to have an experienced NCAA Attorney on their team. Defending against allegations of unethical conduct is difficult, and the NCAA bylaws have many requirements that apply to the entire investigation and misconduct determination process. Your NCAA lawyer will not only defend you throughout this process but also make sure you meet your obligations as an NCAA student-athlete so that you don't inadvertently commit misconduct infractions during the NCAA investigation.
What is the NCAA Procedure for Investigating Unethical Conduct?
Once the NCAA receives a report that a player or someone affiliated with a member school has committed unethical conduct, it is very likely to begin an investigation into the allegation. In some cases, the NCAA will ask the student-athletes school to investigate the allegations. The investigation can include a number of steps, including:
- A letter of inquiry from the NCAA to the school;
- Interviews with student-athletes (including prospective student-athletes) as well as school personnel and third parties who may have knowledge about the alleged unethical conduct;
- Requests for and a review of information (including from documents, communications devices, electronic records, and other sources) made to student-athletes, prospective student-athletes, and the school and school personnel;
- A review of information that is publicly available;
- Observations of relevant public places, both on and off campus;
- Research as necessary to further the investigation;
- Internal NCAA communications concerning the alleged unethical conduct;
- Communications with third parties who may have information relevant to the investigation;
- Communications with sources providing information concerning the alleged unethical conduct.
NCAA Investigators will not act in an “undercover” capacity; they are prohibited by NCAA internal procedures from misrepresenting their identity to anyone providing information in connection with an investigation.
In some cases, the NCAA will not share information it's gathered about a specific allegation with the student-athlete's school, even when the NCAA and the school are collaborating on the investigation. In particular, if the NCAA believes that sharing information with the school will jeopardize the investigation, it will notify the school that it has information it's not sharing and that the NCAA will only share the information once doing so won't put the investigation in jeopardy.
Investigations can take months to complete; some take more than a year. At the beginning of an investigation, the NCAA is required to notify the accused student-athlete and their school of the anticipated duration of the investigation and charging phases. According to the NCAA's own operating procedures, the parties are expected to work together to satisfy the proposed timeline. If the process becomes bogged down, or a party is concerned about the pace of the investigation, they can request a status conference with the chair of the Committee on Infractions “to discuss plans or strategies to keep the case moving expeditiously.”
If you are a student-athlete who is being investigated by the NCAA or by your school for an alleged violation of one or more NCAA bylaws, you need the help of an experienced NCAA Attorney to make sure your rights are protected during the investigation and that you meet your obligations under the NCAA bylaws as a student-athlete. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team understands what's required of student-athletes involved in NCAA investigations and is ready to help you.
The Importance of Cooperating With NCAA Investigators
The NCAA bylaws specifically require student-athletes to “cooperate fully” with the NCAA when it is conducting investigations of alleged unethical conduct as well as other types of NCAA bylaw infractions. The responsibility to cooperate means more than simply accommodating the NCAA Investigator's requests for interviews and information, though it does include that. According to the NCAA's bylaws, “full cooperation” includes:
- Reporting violations of NCAA bylaws to the NCAA
- Preserving documents and other information relevant to alleged violations;
- Helping the NCAA to gather and develop “full information to determine whether a possible violation of NCAA bylaws has occurred”;
- Participating in interviews in a timely fashion and “providing complete and truthful responses”;
- Fully and completely disclosing relevant information about the alleged unethical conduct to the NCAA;
- Giving the NCAA access to “all electronic devices and accounts” that may be relevant to the investigation;
- Keeping information about the investigation confidential as required by the NCAA bylaws and instructions from the NCAA;
- Instructing attorneys and others working on behalf of the accused student-athlete to cooperate with the NCAA;
- Encouraging third parties, including families and others, to cooperate with the NCAA.
Failure to cooperate with an NCAA investigation is a separate infraction that can result in penalties even if the student-athlete is eventually cleared of the allegations that prompted the investigation in the first place. Those penalties can be imposed immediately by the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, even before the underlying investigation has finished, and cannot be appealed.
The NCAA bylaws also discuss the concept of “exemplary cooperation.” Exemplary cooperation involves going above and beyond the minimum when it comes to cooperating with an NCAA investigation. It includes volunteering relevant information, identifying people who may have information relevant to the investigation, taking actions to proactively address alleged violations, and bringing additional potential violations to the attention of the NCAA's enforcement staff. Exemplary cooperation can be a mitigating factor that the NCAA may choose to use to reduce the penalty it would otherwise assess against a student-athlete who has been found to have committed unethical conduct.
Working with an experienced NCAA Attorney from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team will help you make sure you meet your obligation to cooperate with the NCAA's investigation. Where appropriate, your attorney can also help you demonstrate exemplary cooperation, which can help in the event the NCAA determines that an infraction has occurred.
Interview Procedures During an Investigation
In most cases, all interviews, including those with the student-athlete who is alleged to have committed unethical conduct, will be recorded by the NCAA Investigator. The person being interviewed has the right to object to having the interview recorded; in that case, the NCAA Investigators will prepare a written summary of the information gathered during the interview. In addition, the person being interviewed has the right to make their own recording of the interview, provided they give the NCAA advance notice that they intend to do so.
Any person whose interview has been recorded has the right to receive a copy of the recording and a written transcript of the interview from the NCAA. If the interview was not recorded, the school involved in the case and the accused student-athlete can review the written summary of the interview, either through a secure NCAA website or in person at the NCAA national office. Before either the school or the accused student can review interview recordings or transcripts, they must agree to keep them confidential.
The accused student-athlete is allowed to have their legal counsel present during their interview. Student-athletes under the age of 18 may also ask to have their parent or legal guardian present during their interview; the NCAA, however, has the right to decline the request for any number of reasons.
Termination of an Investigation
In some cases, the NCAA will decide that the information gathered during the course of the investigation “does not appear to be of sufficient substance or reliability to support potential violations of NCAA bylaws.” In those cases, the NCAA enforcement staff shall terminate the investigation with no action taken against the accused student-athlete or their school.
Additional Information the NCAA Can Consider
The NCAA enforcement staff can consider not only the information gathered during the investigation but also:
- Information established by court decisions or judgments or by those of an “accrediting body or other administrative tribunal”;
- Information submitted to a court or another administrative tribunal.
In addition, the NCAA can make “negative inferences” in cases where the student-athlete has failed to provide requested information, participate in an interview, or participate in the investigative process. This means that the NCAA will treat these failures as support for a finding that the student-athlete committed the unethical conduct as accused by the NCAA.
This is why it's so important to pay close attention if you've been accused of unethical conduct by the NCAA and to make sure you cooperate with the investigation. Working with an experienced NCAA Lawyer from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help make sure you don't mistakenly give the NCAA the opportunity to claim that you've failed to properly cooperate with the investigation or otherwise failed to provide requested information.
Formal Allegations Against a Student-Athlete
When the NCAA enforcement staff determines after the investigation that there is “credible and sufficient information” demonstrating a violation of an NCAA bylaw, it will make formal allegations against the accused student-athlete. This will be in the form of a “Notice of Allegations,” or NOA. Before the NOA is finalized, it will be sent to the NCAA's internal allegation review board, which will review various aspects of the NOA as well as potential ways to resolve the matter.
The NCAA will notify the accused student-athlete of the date the review board is reviewing the NOA, and the student-athlete will have a chance to submit up to 10 pages of information for the review board to consider, provided it's submitted at least three business days before the review date.
There are three ways that the NCAA can resolve allegations made against a student-athlete. One is via written submissions, also called a “Limited Resolution.” There are two types of Limited Resolutions; a “Written Record Hearing” happens when the student-athlete and the NCAA are not able to reach complete agreement on the “facts, violations, level of an allegation and/or penalties.” In that case, a hearing panel of the Committee on Infractions may resolve the case based on the written record, focusing on the contested areas of the case.
In some cases, the student-athlete and the NCAA enforcement staff will agree on the facts and violations but may disagree on aggravating factors, mitigating factors, or penalties. In these cases, the parties can submit the case for those disputed matters to be resolved by “Summary Disposition.” The Committee on Infractions will consider the parties' written submissions and decide the unresolved issues.
The most serious cases will receive a full hearing before the Committee on Infractions. These are reserved for “select cases involving alleged behaviors that significantly undermine the integrity of the NCAA Collegiate model, cases that implicate NCAA core principles, and/or cases that are otherwise best resolved through a comprehensive review of the full record.”
What method the NCAA uses to resolve a particular case will vary depending on the case and the level of agreement between the student-athlete and the NCAA on various facts and proposed penalties at the time the NOA is prepared. Working with an experienced NCAA Attorney is the best way to understand this process in your particular case and to determine which type of resolution process may work best for you. In addition, because each process has its own requirements, your NCAA Lawyer will make sure you meet your obligations to provide information to the NCAA in a timely and persuasive manner.
What Can Happen if I'm Found to Have Committed Unethical Conduct?
As noted above, the NCAA bylaws make it clear what the penalty is for student-athletes found to have committed unethical conduct. In particular, student-athletes guilty of unethical conduct “shall be ineligible for further intercollegiate competition, subject to appeal to the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for restoration of eligibility.”
Defenses to Unethical Conduct Allegations
Because the types of offenses considered to be unethical conduct by the NCAA are limited, defenses to those allegations are also limited. In some cases, depending on the facts, it may be possible to argue that the student-athletes actions were based on a mistake, that they were very limited in scope (such as a one-time occurrence), that they were the result of the student-athlete being defrauded or lied to by someone else; or that the consequences of the actions had little or no effect on the competitiveness of the student-athlete or their team.
An experienced NCAA Attorney can help with deciding the best potential defense to an allegation of unethical conduct. Each situation of alleged unethical conduct is different and can result in different defenses. If you've been accused by the NCAA of unethical conduct, you will be much more likely to resolve it in a favorable way if you have an NCAA Lawyer on your side helping you defend yourself and protect your rights.
How an NCAA Attorney Can Help
An experienced NCAA Lawyer can help you protect your future as an athlete and as a student in a number of ways, including:
- Making sure you meet your obligations to cooperate with the NCAA's investigation;
- Appear with you during your NCAA Investigator interview;
- Work with you to gather evidence that may help you defend yourself against the allegations;
- Negotiate with the NCAA to resolve the allegations in a way that protects your ability to compete and any scholarship you may be receiving;
- Prepare and submit arguments and evidence to the NCAA on your behalf in a timely manner, within applicable deadlines;
- Represent and defend you throughout whichever type of dispute resolution process applies in your case;
- Prepare and file any appeal that may be appropriate in the event the NCAA rules against you and imposes a serious penalty against you.
How the Lento Law Firm Can Help
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team has helped student-athletes all across the country, at all NCAA Division levels, protect themselves from misconduct accusations. We understand the NCAA's complex bylaws and procedural rules and know how to argue effectively on behalf of our student-athlete clients. Our NCAA Attorneys know how important competing at the NCAA collegiate level is for our clients, and for those with athletic scholarships, we understand how those scholarships can mean the difference between attending college and staying home.
If you are a student-athlete who has been accused of unethical conduct by the NCAA, do not attempt to defend yourself without the help of an experienced NCAA Attorney! Call the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team today to learn more about how we can help you protect your future.
Call us today at 888.535.3686, or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced student defense attorneys.
