Mike Williams: between a rock and a bigger rock

It's almost as if they were trying to get it wrong. And this one was so easy to get right.

Late last month, the NCAA made its latest misstep when it denied Mike Williams athletic eligibility for the upcoming football season. Williams would have been the best returning receiver in the nation, after he caught 95 passes for 1,314 yards and a school-record 16 touchdowns in his sophomore campaign.

Most expected Williams to be in a Trojans uniform when the team kicked off its season a week ago. That expectation probably gave a large boost to SC's No. 1 preseason ranking in both the coaches' and AP poll.

But as the start of the season approached, the NCAA kept the Trojans, SC head coach Pete Carroll and the Williams family waiting in suspense. I understand that sometimes it can take a while to come up with the right decision. But why did it take the NCAA so long to make the wrong decision?

For those unfamiliar, I'll bring you up to speed. It all started with a running back long on talent, but short on smarts. His name was Maurice Clarett. After academic and disciplinary issues forced Clarett off of the Ohio State squad after his freshman year, Clarett petitioned the NFL to be allowed into the 2004 Draft. The reason he had to petition is that unlike in the NBA and MLB, where high school kids routinely skip college to play in the pros, the NFL has an age restriction in its bylaws. In order to play professional football, a player must be at least three years out of high school. Clarett had only finished a year of college and was 18 months shy of meeting the NFL's requirement.

So he went to court. And he won. Last winter, a judge ruled that the NFL's age restriction policy was unlawful and Clarett would have the right to enter the draft.

Enter wide receiving phenom Mike Williams. Williams had no intention of challenging the NFL's policies himself, but now the door was being held wide open. No one doubted his talent, physical maturity or ability to handle NFL pressure. Scouts predicted that he would be a guaranteed top-10 pick, possibly top three. He would be at worst the third receiver taken overall in a very receiver-loaded draft. Many thought he had the best hands of anyone coming out of college, no small compliment considering Larry Fitzgerald of Pittsburgh and Roy Williams of Texas both went in the top 10.

Weighing the options before him, Williams decided he would enter the NFL Draft. He left USC and signed with an agent. It appeared nothing could stand in the way of Williams and stardom except an appeal of the court's ruling by the NFL. And in May, the appeals court judge ruled in favor of the NFL and its right to limit membership in its league on account of age.

Now Mike Williams was out of a job and out of school.

A year without football for Williams, though, would be like a day without sit-ups for Jack LaLanne. It's what he does. Late last season, Williams made a one-handed snag in the back of the endzone that made everyone watching wonder if he was using Elmer's or epoxy. And now he was caught between a rock and a bigger rock. Williams knew if he wanted to go back to school, the path would be neither pleasant nor painless. He embarked anyway.

Williams severed ties with his agent, returned all the money he had made in fees and endorsements and enrolled in summer school to make up his missing credits. According to USC, he passed his courses and returned every last cent he was given. The ball was now back in the hands of the NCAA, who not-so-promptly dropped it.

In a statement issued to defend its decision, the NCAA said: "There were two obstacles facing Mike for eligibility; one related to academics and one related to amateurism, and sports agents in particular. Either one was sufficient to prohibit participation in competition. In this case, neither obstacle could be cleared."

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The committee declined to elaborate further or to specify the exact way in which Williams had failed to meet the requirements for reentry.

Given the broad reply, many were left to speculate as to the NCAA's issues. Assuming SC and Williams are being honest when they said that he passed his courses, the only other academic reason could be a deficient number of courses. Unlikely. On the amateur side, it is true that the NCAA rule is crystal clear: no sports agents. And the NCAA has been consistent with that position. The NFL has also been consistent in its resistance to younger players. But the court changed its mind, and Williams became the victim.

Once he returned all the money, ostensibly putting himself in a position for reinstatement, the NCAA could have shown a warmth and compassion it has certainly not been known for. This was a kid from an underprivileged background who was not responsible for the unfortunate situation in which he found himself. In a way, he was almost the victim of an ex post facto law. While not a perfect analogy, he did get punished for a law changing on him. So if he decided to make the effort and return to compliance with NCAA regulations, why not give him the benefit of the doubt? Beyond that, how about the money the NCAA has made and stood to make off of Williams?

Last year, Charlie Villanueva, a freshman on Connecticut's basketball team, was found in violation for not keeping his receipts from expenses at an NBA Draft camp. His punishment: a six-game suspension. But when Williams, to everyone's acknowledgement, returned all the money he made, that was not enough to regain eligibility. And we are still left to wonder why. The NCAA's silence on the specifics of the matter is baffling. What is clear, however, is that the NCAA has robbed itself of a cash cow, robbed fans of one of the most exciting football talents in recent years, and robbed a young man of his junior season at USC. It is time for the NCAA to start fighting for the students it professes to protect.