Sen. Marsha Blackburn has pointed exchange with NCAA president Mark Emmert over James Wiseman eligibility

Nick Gray
Nashville Tennessean

Several college athletic administrators testified before a Senate committee in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, and the most intense exchange took place between NCAA president Mark Emmert and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee.

Blackburn first focused on the NCAA's handling of sexual violence before focusing on the situation surrounding former Memphis freshman star James Wiseman and his eligibility.

Wiseman was initially ruled eligible last summer, but the NCAA ruled him ineligible just before the regular season began over a $11,500 payment from then-Memphis East coach Penny Hardaway to the Wiseman family for moving expenses from Nashville to Memphis. Wiseman was suspended 12 games, and he left the university in December to prepare for the NBA Draft before his suspension ended.

"I will tell you, there has been little if any transparency between James Wiseman, the University of Memphis and your organization," Blackburn said. "The way this went about, the way you arrived at your decision, when you talk about student academic success, well-being and fairness, this has been a failure for you all and the way that you have handled this."

Blackburn also discussed how some athletes are now considering the option to skip college and head straight to the pros. In Wiseman's case, he announced his departure before the start of his second semester of his freshman season.

"Mr. Emmert, if there was a potential conflict of interest, why wasn't the university and the Wiseman family informed earlier in the process?" Blackburn asked.

Emmert responded: "No one anywhere in the intercollegiate system takes any pleasure in sanctioning or punishing a university or especially a young man or young woman around these issues through an enforcement action. I'm not involved in the details enough of that particular case to be able to answer your specific question."

Blackburn was not pleased.

"But you're the CEO, and when there is a lack of transparency or subjectiveness, the objectivity should come to you," she said. "I yield back my time."

The NCAA's Board of Governors said last October that it voted "unanimously to permit students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model." 

What that means for athletes in the future is unclear, but states are beginning to draft and pass bills allowing athletes to profit off of their name, image or likeness. 

Last September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into a law a bill that would allow California-based athletes to do just that while also allowing them to hire an agent to deal with the business side. The bill does not come into effect until 2023.

Emmert and his fellow administrators' presence at Capitol Hill mostly focused on ways to compensate college athletes.

Blackburn's exchange with Emmert had little to do with athlete compensation but everything to do with the perception that the NCAA isn't fair or reliable when it comes to several issues.