When Kirk Ferentz first said it, he sounded whiny. But given the context of what’s happening—or not happening—in the rest of college sports, his words are worth reconsidering.
“For whatever reason, we’re the lucky ones,” Ferentz said last month. “We’re the chosen ones.”
The Iowa Hawkeyes football coach was referring to the gambling investigation that has consumed the athletic departments at Iowa and Iowa State, a sprawling sting operation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation that implicated dozens of athletes in violating NCAA rules and will cost some of them their college careers. Others will be suspended for significant periods of time, up to a full season. In addition to the alleged NCAA violations, criminal charges have been part of the equation for 17 athletes so far (five of them accepted a plea deal Wednesday).
