Steve Masiello will be allowed to return to Manhattan as the basketball team's head coach on the condition he obtains his college degree on an unpaid leave from the college.

Masiello’s fate has been up in the air since he accepted the South Florida position only to have South Florida nullify the deal when they discovered Masiello had never graduated college. Masiello put on his resume that he did graduate from Kentucky although he never took the additional summer courses to achieve a degree. Manhattan released an official statement concerning Masiello.

“After an extensive review of the situation and extenuating circumstances, we determined that Mr. Masiello executed poor judgment but did not intentionally misrepresent himself in applying to the College. After participating in graduation ceremonies at the University of Kentucky, he enrolled in summer courses with the intention of completing his degree, but never followed through to make sure that the degree was awarded,” Manhattan president Brennan O’Donnell said in the statement.

“We appreciate the counsel of all involved in assessing this complex situation. Our policy was always that the coach must have at least a four-year undergraduate degree. We are confident that Mr. Masiello will be able to complete his degree this summer and return soon thereafter to resume his duties.”

In the ultimate irony, Masiello will not have his job or get paid until he graduates from college. Masiello escapes his dishonesty with a job and Manhattan should be applauded for their execution of punishing him, but should be criticized for not doing the research South Florida did to find that Masiello was being dishonest.

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