Let’s wait before assuming guilt in college basketball investigation

There is absolutely no doubt there is widespread corruption in college athletics in general and college basketball specifically.

So it was no great shock when the bombshell announcement was made Friday that most of the blue blood programs of college basketball and other wanna-be blue bloods were caught up in this FBI investigation involving illegal benefits for top high school prospects.

But the machine-gun style reporting on the story needs to Tighten Up.

It’s not fair to lump together a player who had a meal paid for with a person who was paid $100,000 to attend a certain school. It’s wrong, it’s careless and it’s sloppy.

Oh, and there’s no real evidence that Arizona’s Sean Miller ever paid for the services of superstar recruit DeAndre Ayton or even offered to pay for Ayton’s services.
Ayton was cleared to play against Oregon Saturday then was forced to endure chants of “FBI” and “Where’s the money” by Duck fans.

Ayton’s family is now demanding that the FBI and NCAA clear his name immediately. It won’t happen, of course. Even if it did, he would still be forever linked to this negative story.

If Ayton’s guilty, fine. But we should at least hear the wiretaps or have a reporter hear the wiretaps before we brand him as guilty.

Who do you think needs to Tighten Up? Call in and the best and most entertaining suggestion will win a $25 gift card from Wintzell’s Oyster House.

For Threaded Fasteners, I’m Randy Kennedy with Tighten Up.