The UConn Huskies became the first No. 7 seed to win the National Championship with their 60-54 win over the Kentucky Wildcats, but was their victory overshadowed by Shabazz Napier’s jab at the NCAA?
One Awkward Moment: Shabazz Napier uses UConn's title to call out the NCAA. https://t.co/vjDzJuNqDP — CBSSports.com (@CBSSports) April 8, 2014
Napier used the national stage to take a shot at the NCAA for bringing down sanctions on UConn for academic issues in 2013. Napier won a National Championship his freshman season and the team was put on sanction his junior year for problems with the team's academic standing within the university. Napier has the right to say whatever he likes about the NCAA, but when sanctions are brought down on a school for academics, is there really an excuse? The rumors are that members of the team wouldn’t attend classes and fell out of good academic standing.
In light of this, the NCAA gave the Huskies a one year tournament ban--seems fair to me. Even if some of the players are one-and-dones, the academic standing of the university is still a standard that players must live up to. For Napier to attack the NCAA for academics of all reasons isn’t right. Waking up today the story is that UConn beat Kentucky, but soon after you hear about Napier’s words toward the NCAA. There is a time and a place for everything and fresh off a National Championship victory, the time and place to bash the NCAA just didn't seem appropriate and slightly in bad taste.
All Shabazz Napier missed from his speech was calling Michael Crabtree a sorry wide receiver. — Faux John Madden (@FauxJohnMadden) April 8, 2014
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