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Ohio State’s Chase Young Suspended Indefinitely As Athletic Department ‘Looks Into’ Possible NCAA Violation

A loan from a family friend sparked the “investigation.”

Ohio State Buckeyes’ star defensive end, and likely top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Chase Young was suspended last Friday (November 8) for a possible NCAA issue from 2018, according to the university

We’ve learned that the “issue” in question was a loan received by Young, which has since been paid back, from a family friend. The proceeds of the loan were used to fly Young’s girlfriend to California to see him play in the Rose Bowl, according to The Athletic

The amount of money and the relationship between Young and the family friend will be at the center of the current investigation, and whether or not NCAA rules were violated. 

Young shared a message with Ohio State fans via Twitter on Friday.

The rule in question is NCAA Bylaw 16.11.1.3, “a student-athlete may receive a loan from an established family friend without such arrangement constituting an extra benefit, provided: (a) The loan is not offered to the student-athlete based in any degree on his or her athletics ability or reputation; (b) The individual providing the loan is not considered a representative of the institution’s athletics interests; and (c) The relationship between the individual providing the loan and the student-athlete existed prior to the initiation of the student-athlete’s recruitment by the member institution.”

That’s a lot of language and stipulations in a bylaw. 

If you’ve ever been a college student, or frankly if you’ve ever struggled financially, this seems pretty innocuous.

For many people all over this country, and that includes college students, coming up with the funds to purchase an airline ticket is difficult. There are a litany of reasons why someone doesn’t have a few hundred dollars to spare. 

If someone is willing to provide that person with the money and the borrower pays it back, who cares?

The NCAA cares, that’s who. 

You know the NCAA. A member-led organization dedicated to keeping specific athletes at its member institutions broke. 

As usual, this violation is much ado about nothing, and just another example of the NCAA’s corrupt, self-serving infrastructure, flexing its draconian power.

If the athletes at member institutions that generate billions of dollars for the NCAA were paid fair market value for their labor, this wouldn’t be an issue. 

There have been conflicting reports as to how long Young will be suspended. 

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, an OSU alumnus, tweeted that the suspension is slotted at four games based on the loan amount, but could be reduced to two on appeal.

OSU spokesperson Jerry Emig says the university has no expectations on the length of the suspension, but hopes for a quick resolution.

Young missed Saturday’s (November 9) game against Maryland, and OSU plays Rutgers next (November 16).

The last two games on the schedule are at home against #9 Penn State, and the annual showdown against #14 Michigan, to be played in Ann Arbor. 

As the OSU athletics department looks into this situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if OSU's president, Michael Drake (who is on the NCAA Board of Governors), and athletic director, Gene Smith (co-chair of the NCAA NIL working group), come to a quick resolution. 

There’s a difference between games against Maryland and Rutgers versus games against Penn State and Michigan...

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