So, this one incident with the kid and clothes may be ok. What about the mountain (pun intended) of other allegations?

 

Don't matter. They did a good deed and everything else they allegedly did is what everyone else does and gets away with so it's all good now.

So, this one incident with the kid and clothes may be ok. What about the mountain (pun intended) of other allegations?

 

I'll break them down into categories just based on how I personally see them (and I'm not Judge, Jury, & Executioner or anything... just my personal view):

 

 

WRONG is wrong.:

 

1. Coach not completing the required sports safety course:

 

Big issue from a liability and "cover" standpoint.

 

 

2. Ineligible Players In Contests:

 

The way I'm reading this, it says that someone was allowed to participate in a game before they were cleared. That's a no-no. LionPride89 had offered an explanation of what might have happened, but still a no-no nonetheless.

 

 

Need More Info:

 

3. Falsifying records, or maintaining inaccurate records with regards to living arrangements of transferring student-athletes

 

For me, this one depends on what really happened. Maintaining an inaccurate record seems less culpable than blatantly falsifying a record and the language of that bylaw seems broad. Not saying what Cordia did was right, just saying this one hasn't been spoken to much and no one is really sure of why they were dinged on that one.

 

 

4. Allowing a staff member to lease housing to the family of a student-athlete without ever receiving payment;

 

5. Facilitating housing for a student-athlete at no cost to him or his family;

 

I comment on 4 & 5 together because it seems as though they're being punished twice for a single act. I can see how the wording of each rule makes it separate offenses, one for facilitating it, and another for allowing it to go on once it had occurred, but those seem like the same offense to me.

 

If it was a deal where the kid's family was behind on rent and the school didn't push the issue, then that's a different deal to me than the school putting the kid's family up in a penthouse. Personally, I really don't care if the school did put the kid's family up in a penthouse (though I sincerely doubt that was the case). In any event, I'd like to know more about it. I really don't have a problem if a coach in any sport gives a kid's family that needs it financial help. The kids playing a sport donate tons of time and energy to doing so. That probably means that they don't have a lot of flexibility when it comes to part time jobs, etc. Factor in things like camps, gas and tickets to games, gear, etc. and the costs of playing start to add up.

 

 

 

GREY AREA:

 

6. Requiring players to attend practice prior to the official start date for preseason practice (October 15), and disciplining students who missed these practice sessions;

 

This one is something we're probably talking about a lot of schools being guilty of if you want to be honest. I'd imagine that at most top programs, there are plenty of things that are only nominally 'voluntary'. It might not be, "don't come and you will run laps" for Highlands football, but the idea is that if you skip all of the 'voluntary' workouts, you probably won't get as much of a look as others once real practice begins. Exceptions to this might be playing another sport or something similar, but how many posts has BGP seen about coaches trying to talk kids into not playing one sport to focus on another, etc.?

 

 

7. Open Gym

 

How many schools are probably guilty of this one? Look at the football board on BGP now talking about "camps" and how schools are going through loopholes to get time in pads in. This one really isn't a big deal to me, but a rule is a rule. I think The Professor put it best when he said, "some schools get a bigger switch than others".

 

 

9. Tryouts:

 

I guess they should have used an AAU team/summer ball for this one and did it legally???

 

 

NOT WORRIED (again, personally):

 

10. Money & Clothes to Players:

11. Free Transport to Relocate:

12. Plane Ticket to Send a Kid Home (when he probably had a legit reason to go):

13. Cost of Education Provided to 2 Kids on F1 Visa:

14. Housing for kids & families:

 

See LionPride's posts about things the school has provided for a number of kids through the years. Most of the things listed above probably at least border on that-- the same kinds of things Cordia has done for kids who weren't good athletes for years.

Don't matter. They did a good deed and everything else they allegedly did is what everyone else does and gets away with so it's all good now.

 

Where I'm coming from: if the problem is Rhodes, if the problem is Bender, if the problem is whoever, then why not go after them, not the school?

 

Given Bender's association with NCAA problems, it shouldn't be too hard to just keep him out of the game, let Cordia keep doing good things, and everyone wins.

 

 

Reading some of the replies, it's like people are saying, "it's okay to help people out, just so long as they don't help you win basketball games".

I'll break them down into categories just based on how I personally see them (and I'm not Judge, Jury, & Executioner or anything... just my personal view):

 

 

WRONG is wrong.:

 

1. Coach not completing the required sports safety course:

 

Big issue from a liability and "cover" standpoint.

 

 

2. Ineligible Players In Contests:

 

The way I'm reading this, it says that someone was allowed to participate in a game before they were cleared. That's a no-no. LionPride89 had offered an explanation of what might have happened, but still a no-no nonetheless.

 

 

Need More Info:

 

3. Falsifying records, or maintaining inaccurate records with regards to living arrangements of transferring student-athletes

 

For me, this one depends on what really happened. Maintaining an inaccurate record seems less culpable than blatantly falsifying a record and the language of that bylaw seems broad. Not saying what Cordia did was right, just saying this one hasn't been spoken to much and no one is really sure of why they were dinged on that one.

 

 

4. Allowing a staff member to lease housing to the family of a student-athlete without ever receiving payment;

 

5. Facilitating housing for a student-athlete at no cost to him or his family;

 

I comment on 4 & 5 together because it seems as though they're being punished twice for a single act. I can see how the wording of each rule makes it separate offenses, one for facilitating it, and another for allowing it to go on once it had occurred, but those seem like the same offense to me.

 

If it was a deal where the kid's family was behind on rent and the school didn't push the issue, then that's a different deal to me than the school putting the kid's family up in a penthouse. Personally, I really don't care if the school did put the kid's family up in a penthouse (though I sincerely doubt that was the case). In any event, I'd like to know more about it. I really don't have a problem if a coach in any sport gives a kid's family that needs it financial help. The kids playing a sport donate tons of time and energy to doing so. That probably means that they don't have a lot of flexibility when it comes to part time jobs, etc. Factor in things like camps, gas and tickets to games, gear, etc. and the costs of playing start to add up.

 

 

 

GREY AREA:

 

6. Requiring players to attend practice prior to the official start date for preseason practice (October 15), and disciplining students who missed these practice sessions;

 

This one is something we're probably talking about a lot of schools being guilty of if you want to be honest. I'd imagine that at most top programs, there are plenty of things that are only nominally 'voluntary'. It might not be, "don't come and you will run laps" for Highlands football, but the idea is that if you skip all of the 'voluntary' workouts, you probably won't get as much of a look as others once real practice begins. Exceptions to this might be playing another sport or something similar, but how many posts has BGP seen about coaches trying to talk kids into not playing one sport to focus on another, etc.?

 

 

7. Open Gym

 

How many schools are probably guilty of this one? Look at the football board on BGP now talking about "camps" and how schools are going through loopholes to get time in pads in. This one really isn't a big deal to me, but a rule is a rule. I think The Professor put it best when he said, "some schools get a bigger switch than others".

 

 

9. Tryouts:

 

I guess they should have used an AAU team/summer ball for this one and did it legally???

 

 

NOT WORRIED (again, personally):

 

10. Money & Clothes to Players:

11. Free Transport to Relocate:

12. Plane Ticket to Send a Kid Home (when he probably had a legit reason to go):

13. Cost of Education Provided to 2 Kids on F1 Visa:

14. Housing for kids & families:

 

See LionPride's posts about things the school has provided for a number of kids through the years. Most of the things listed above probably at least border on that-- the same kinds of things Cordia has done for kids who weren't good athletes for years.

 

I hope they get cleared. Then things will really turn into the Wild Wild West in Kentucky.

I hope they get cleared. Then things will really turn into the Wild Wild West in Kentucky.

 

 

But you know how awesome that the 30 For 30 we'll eventually see on it will be though, right?

 

"Free for all, high school basketball in Kentucky." I can see the tag lines now.

 

It'll be part The U, part Pony Excess, maybe a hint of Two Escobars mixed in when things get really seedy right before the Congressional hearings and Department of Justice investigation.

 

Don't tell me you wouldn't set your DVR to watch it.

 

Don't forget a touch of Danny Almonte'

Don't forget a touch of Danny Almonte'

 

Wouldn't it be something if Cordia ended up playing a prep schedule next season and Keita was a part of that team though?

 

Personally, I'm not sure what to believe on the "Keita is 19" thing.

 

If you have a kid that old, why do you try to pass him off as an 8th grader?

 

It also means that people running high level basketball camps and legit blogs and the like have had the wool pulled over their eyes for awhile. Plenty of them list Oumar Keita as being at Cordia.

Sorry if I mistook the " I couldn't see Lotts Creek Community School having a large amount of money to do it", and I do mean that sincerely.

 

From what I've gathered, they've provided a lot of things for the community over the years and in face of the fines, I'm sure that fighting them in court is a risk they've calculated and have accounted funds for.

 

Absolutely no problem. I probably should better proofread my posts before I post them. I truly hope that Cordia has taken all the calculations into effect. I honestly believe that what they do outside of just educating the students in the area is something that is very great. They provide so much, I honestly would hate for them to have something happen to those outreach programs.:thumb:

Why would Cordia's outreach have to cease? This is an athletic issue alone. None of their good will would have to be curbed.

I'm saying that if they were to get into a lawsuit that they would have to fund it and if they had limited money (which I don't know how much money they have), then they would have to cut money to fund the suit.

Absolutely no problem. I probably should better proofread my posts before I post them. I truly hope that Cordia has taken all the calculations into effect. I honestly believe that what they do outside of just educating the students in the area is something that is very great. They provide so much, I honestly would hate for them to have something happen to those outreach programs.:thumb:

 

It's all good. No worries. And welcome to BGP, it's always good debate.

 

I wouldn't be shocked if Cordia eventually went the prep route. Everyday, it seems to make more sense for everyone involved.

Why would Cordia's outreach have to cease? This is an athletic issue alone. None of their good will would have to be curbed.

 

 

It's an either/or if they can't provide the same stipends to their athletes as they can any other students.

 

Either we can do it for kids so long as they aren't good basketball players and everyone who is used to beating us gets to keep on doing so, or we are going to be bumping heads with the KHSAA at every turn.

 

I saw some pictures and video clips of the player's housing when someone shot their doors with pellet guns. It's not like these were Wildcat Lodge. Like LionPride has stated, they are some of the same facilities that have housed their students for years.

Ok, you brought it up. Please tell us how many foreign exchange students Cordia had that didn't play any sport? I will even make it easier, how many foreign exchange students did Cordia have that didn't play Basketball?

 

Cordia 2014 Kentucky High School Baseball

 

Click the roster link. Names like "Garcia, Cruz, Nunez, Rivera" are more common in my neck of the woods than they are in Eastern Kentucky. I'm not saying those kids were foreign exchange students, just that no one is up in arms about a .500 baseball team in the 14th that was beaten by 10 in their first district game. No one seems worried about Tagaola playing baseball either.

Where I'm coming from: if the problem is Rhodes, if the problem is Bender, if the problem is whoever, then why not go after them, not the school?

 

Given Bender's association with NCAA problems, it shouldn't be too hard to just keep him out of the game, let Cordia keep doing good things, and everyone wins.

 

 

Reading some of the replies, it's like people are saying, "it's okay to help people out, just so long as they don't help you win basketball games".

It's the whole "help people out" myth that also gets me. Rhodes and the other adults responsible for this mess weren't setting out to "Help" anyone out. The only thing they cared about was if a kid could help their team win. Had nothing to do with helping anyone out but themselves.

 

If they were truly only concerned with helping out a kid who may have come from a rough background etc. then why didn't Rhodes go out an buy clothes for students who weren't playing basketball? Why didn't Cordia bring in a lot of other kids from Canada and Michigan and other places to attend simply for school?

 

Dont give me the "trying to help" garbage because you know as well as I do that if they didn't play basketball they wouldn't have gone to Cordia.

I'll break them down into categories just based on how I personally see them (and I'm not Judge, Jury, & Executioner or anything... just my personal view):

 

 

WRONG is wrong.:

 

1. Coach not completing the required sports safety course:

 

Big issue from a liability and "cover" standpoint.

 

 

2. Ineligible Players In Contests:

 

The way I'm reading this, it says that someone was allowed to participate in a game before they were cleared. That's a no-no. LionPride89 had offered an explanation of what might have happened, but still a no-no nonetheless.

 

 

Need More Info:

 

3. Falsifying records, or maintaining inaccurate records with regards to living arrangements of transferring student-athletes

 

For me, this one depends on what really happened. Maintaining an inaccurate record seems less culpable than blatantly falsifying a record and the language of that bylaw seems broad. Not saying what Cordia did was right, just saying this one hasn't been spoken to much and no one is really sure of why they were dinged on that one.

 

 

4. Allowing a staff member to lease housing to the family of a student-athlete without ever receiving payment;

 

5. Facilitating housing for a student-athlete at no cost to him or his family;

 

I comment on 4 & 5 together because it seems as though they're being punished twice for a single act. I can see how the wording of each rule makes it separate offenses, one for facilitating it, and another for allowing it to go on once it had occurred, but those seem like the same offense to me.

 

If it was a deal where the kid's family was behind on rent and the school didn't push the issue, then that's a different deal to me than the school putting the kid's family up in a penthouse. Personally, I really don't care if the school did put the kid's family up in a penthouse (though I sincerely doubt that was the case). In any event, I'd like to know more about it. I really don't have a problem if a coach in any sport gives a kid's family that needs it financial help. The kids playing a sport donate tons of time and energy to doing so. That probably means that they don't have a lot of flexibility when it comes to part time jobs, etc. Factor in things like camps, gas and tickets to games, gear, etc. and the costs of playing start to add up.

 

 

 

GREY AREA:

 

6. Requiring players to attend practice prior to the official start date for preseason practice (October 15), and disciplining students who missed these practice sessions;

 

This one is something we're probably talking about a lot of schools being guilty of if you want to be honest. I'd imagine that at most top programs, there are plenty of things that are only nominally 'voluntary'. It might not be, "don't come and you will run laps" for Highlands football, but the idea is that if you skip all of the 'voluntary' workouts, you probably won't get as much of a look as others once real practice begins. Exceptions to this might be playing another sport or something similar, but how many posts has BGP seen about coaches trying to talk kids into not playing one sport to focus on another, etc.?

 

 

7. Open Gym

 

How many schools are probably guilty of this one? Look at the football board on BGP now talking about "camps" and how schools are going through loopholes to get time in pads in. This one really isn't a big deal to me, but a rule is a rule. I think The Professor put it best when he said, "some schools get a bigger switch than others".

 

 

9. Tryouts:

 

I guess they should have used an AAU team/summer ball for this one and did it legally???

 

 

NOT WORRIED (again, personally):

 

10. Money & Clothes to Players:

11. Free Transport to Relocate:

12. Plane Ticket to Send a Kid Home (when he probably had a legit reason to go):

13. Cost of Education Provided to 2 Kids on F1 Visa:

14. Housing for kids & families:

 

See LionPride's posts about things the school has provided for a number of kids through the years. Most of the things listed above probably at least border on that-- the same kinds of things Cordia has done for kids who weren't good athletes for years.

Your "Not worried" list really worries me the most.

so you are saying you are okmwith giving money and clothes to players? You are also sayng you are ok with giving kids plane tickets to get back home (where they should be attending school in the first place)? You are also ok with them paying for school etc. for players but not other students? Youa slo are ok with paying for housing for kids and their families?

 

WOW!!!!