Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis siad via social media that the sanctions placed on the Florida State Seminoles for NIL recruiting violations committed during the 2022-2023 academic calendar came about because of politics.
College football is broken and the @NCAA needs to be investigated. I’m tired of the politics of @CharlieBakerMA and @StanWilcox5 and their petty attacks on @FSUFootball and the State of Florida. Baker won’t return my calls because he’s furious with Florida over the Martha’s… https://t.co/gQ0Ec7ZQ2x
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) January 12, 2024
The sanctions, which hit the Seminoles on thursday, were dished out due to offensive coordinator Alex Atkins driving a transfer portal recruit and his parents to meet with a Florida State NIL collective called Rising Spear. The Rising Spear is not the main NIL collective for the Seminoles.
Atkins was not present for the meeting in which the recruit was allegedly offered $15,000 per month during his first year with the university. The transfer portal prospect ended up withdrawing from the portal, and staying with the school he was already attending.
The violations were deemed Level II violations by the NCAA, and Atkins will serve a three-game suspension at the beginning of the 2024 season. He also received a two-year show cause from the NCAA.
Florida State will also endure a two-year probation period on top of a three-year dissociation from the booster and a one-year disassociation from the NIL collective in question. In an article from On3, Florida State athletic director Michael Alford expressed his pleasure with the closure of the situation.
“We are pleased to reach closure to this situation and view this as another step in strengthening our culture of compliance at Florida State University,” Alford said. “We take all compliance matters very seriously, and our full cooperation with the NCAA on this case is a clear example of that commitment. We remain committed to compliance with all NCAA rules including disassociation of the booster and collective.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker was the governor of Massachusetts when Florida governor Ron DeSantis sent immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard
In June 2022, Florida governor Ron DeSantis set aside $12 million to transport unauthorized migrants away from the state of Florida. The money ended up being used to collect Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio, and ship them to Massachusetts on private planes.
NCAA president Charlie Baker, who was the governor of Massachusetts at the time, was not happy with the situation. He said in an article from Boston.com that it was an indictment on the U.S. immigration system.
“Sending people all over the country, many of whom have no idea why they’re being sent where they’re going, isn’t a solution to the very screwed up immigration system we have in the U.S.,” Baker said.
Patronis alleges that this feud is why Baker and the NCAA are singling out Florida State. The Seminoles were notably left out of the college football playoff after going undefeated and winning their conference, and now they are facing violations that many fans don’t think are fair.
It’s always been Florida State against the world
— Barstool FSU (@FSU_Barstool) January 12, 2024
If an FSU assistant introducing a transfer to a school collective is the new standard of cheating then I think we can go ahead an vacate the entire 2023 season.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) January 12, 2024
Eventually you just accept it’s because it’s Florida State. No other reason.
For whatever reason the powers at hand want to rip FSU down at every turn. It’s beyond targeted. Ridiculous. https://t.co/WEIl9lmxqT
— KCamp (@kcampdesign) January 12, 2024
Sad what the NCAA just did to Florida State. You can’t police what’s going on now in this era.
Recruiting violations now are like holding. You can call it on every play.
— Carl Reed Jr. (@CoachReedLive) January 12, 2024
NCAA executive vice-president of regulatory affairs was the former Florida State athletic director, and he hired Willie Taggart
The NCAA executive vice-president of regulatory affairs Stan Wilcox, who has a lot to do with any NCAA sanctions that are handed out, was the former Florida State athletic director. His role is officially described as overseeing all NCAA regulatory functions, including academic and membership affairs, the NCAA Eligibility Center and enforcement.
Wilcox was the athletic director for the Seminoles from 2013-2018, and he was responsible for the hiring of former head coach Willie Taggart. Taggart went 9-12 in two years at Florida State, and Seminoles fans were not happy with Wilcox for the hire. Many claim that he forced national championship winning head coach Jimbo Fisher out of the program in favor of Taggart.
Patronis says that the bad blood between Seminoles fans and Wilcox is the reason Florida State is being treated unfairly by the NCAA. Fans of Florida State seem to agree with Patronis.
Stan Wilcox is a racist whose tenure at FSU is a stain on my Alma Matar.
Better days ahead! https://t.co/USPomVBUaC
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 12, 2024
Former FSU athletic director Stan Wilcox- who is universally hated in Tally and left the program an absolute mess heads up the NCAA Enforcement function. You can’t make this stuff up.
— Nole91 (@TheRealNole91) January 12, 2024
This is a Stan Wilcox hate account. Has been for years but d*mn are we now at another level.
— Wayne McGahee III (@WayneMcGaheeIII) January 12, 2024
All of this because a coach drove a kid he didn’t even sign to a meeting with a NIL person. And he didn’t even stay for the meeting. Stan Wilcox hired Willie Taggart, left the disaster he created and now has his fingerprints on this. Unreal. https://t.co/IUPJqhythm
— Dustin McComas (@DustinLMcComas) January 12, 2024
Although it may be nearly impossible to prove, Florida State fans feel they are being targeted by the Wilcox and the NCAA. Regardless of how they feel, they will have to endure the penalty given to them by the NCAA.
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