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| Notre Dame football players celebrate a touchdown. |
Notre Dame had high hopes going into the 2014 season with the return of their star Quarterback Everett Golson returning from academic suspension. With a star player coming back from an academic issue, the last thing Notre Dame football team wanted was more academic issues. According to Notre Dame's academic offices the reports got to them on July 29th. They stated, "Evidence that students had submitted papers and homework that had been written for them by others was initially detected at the end of the summer session, and referred to the compliance office in athletics on July 29. The Office of General Counsel initiated an immediate investigation." The five suspended players were then ruled out of practice and anything football related that involved the team which included team lifts. The five suspended players contributed significantly to Notre Dame's success during their 2013 campaign. You can argue that two of the players had contributed more than the other three but when you lose players due to graduation or leaving early, others need to fill in regardless.
DaVaris Daniels was heading into his senior season with high expectations to not only be Notre Dame's leading receiver but also to be a top Wide Receiver in the country. Daniels put up outstanding numbers during the 2013 season compiling 745 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns which was second on the team in both categories. KeiVarae Russell was a returning starter at defensive back who also had an impressive 2013 season. He compiled 51 total tackles while starting in every game for the Fighting Irish. Ishaq Williams and Kendall Moore who are two of the other suspended players started games for the Irish and were projected to get a lot more playing time during the 2014 season. Elair Hardy who was later named to this academic suspension scandal helped Notre Dame's special teams through out the previous season. The NCAA and Notre Dame does not put up with academic dishonesty. They take academics seriously when it comes to cheating or anything else that is not allowed. As you know when something like this happens, it tends to get blown out or proportion and is shown all over the place but especially on TV. There is no escaping the fame these players get through both the good and the bad.
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| From left to right: Kendall Moore, KeiVarae Russell, Ishaq Williams, DaVarias Daniels |
The stakeholders involved are obviously the suspended Notre Dame football players, but there are many others involved. The NCAA who is doing the investigation is a major stakeholder as well as every one involved in the Notre Dame athletic family. The football team is obviously the team that is suffering the most because of this allegation, but their coach Brian Kelly has continually tried to get the other players to get past this with their season coming up. The NCAA and the Notre Dame academic committee plays a huge role in this investigation because they are the ones who will finalize the players penalties.
Individualism
According to the Individualist Theory, the goal is the maximize the profit while obeying the law. In this case when it comes to college sports the players are not paid, but they are on scholarship. Essentially Notre Dame is losing profit when it comes to this investigation because the players are still enrolled at the University on scholarship but what they got money for was an athletic scholarship and they are not participating in football activity right now. Notre Dame also brings in revenue through the success of their program and missing important players to there team has impact their season. The popularity of these players encourages fans to purchase their jerseys which brings profit to the school but now that they are suspended fans are not purchasing their uniforms.
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| Elair Hardy, the other suspended Notre Dame player. |
The Utilitarianism Theory, has a goal of maximizing the happiness of everyone that is involved. When it comes to this theory, the only people that seem to be happy are the teams Notre Dame will face because they do not have to worry about game planning around the success of the suspended football players. The players are obviously very unhappy with the situation as they continuously put out on social media that they are innocent and are anxious to get back out on the field and help their teammates and coaches. Anyone who is a Notre Dame fan is obviously heart broken from the situation because they are missing five of there better players. The NCAA cannot be to happy with the situation because it is another thing they have to deal with on top of their other priorities, and their decision with result in a bad reaction no matter what. Many people believe the players should be done for the year because of their academic dishonesty even though they have not been proven guilty. Many people are unhappy from this investigation and that is the opposite of the utilitarian approach.
Kantianism
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| NCAA logo |
Kantianism focuses on always acting the right way to honor individuals and the choices that they decide to make. Under this theory, whatever the NCAA and Notre Dame athletic department decides what the penalty is, the players will have to take it and move on. The others involved will also have to understand the consequences, deal with them, and then make the most out of what they have. The suspension varied from person to person during the investigation, but it still is not completely settled. DaVaris Daniels and KeiVarae Russell decided to take the semester off with hopes to return to the fall next year and suit up for the Irish. The other penalties have yet to be made but the Notre Dame football program and the NCAA honored both Daniels and Russell's decision. With regards to the investigation, the actions by the stakeholders involved praises acting the right way through out the situation according to this theory.
Virtue Theory
The Virtue Theory focuses on four main virtues which promote good character traits so the bad ones are not used. The primary virtues consist of teamwork, care, intelligence, and honesty. It is safe to say that all four primary virtues need to be worked on for the people involved in this investigation. When it comes to teamwork, the Notre Dame football team had to move on and prepare for their season with what they had. With all this investigating and press around the Notre Dame football team, they have to overcome adversity while caring for their other teammates who cannot participate with them right now. Intelligence comes into matter with the suspended football players who have to use their head to not let this happen again so they are not put back in a similar situation. Honesty comes into play through out the hearings with the players and the NCAA so they can get the honest truth which will affect their decision. The Virtue Theory is significant within a business because the primary virtues are always stressed upon to follow.
In conclusion, the investigation takes time because it is a long process that has to go through multiple phases. However whatever the penalty is, the upcoming college athletes need to learn from it so this situation does not occur again. Academics are stressed upon greatly when it comes to student-athletes.
References
Fortuna, Matt. "Brian Kelly: Players Rulings imminent." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 7 Oct.
2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. <http://espn.go.com/college-
football/story/_/id/11658516/notre-dame-fighting-irish-rule-five-suspended-players-
soon-brian-kelly-says>.
"Four Notre Dame Football Players Suspended during Academic Probe." NCAA.com. 14 Aug.
2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2014-08-]
16/four-notre-dame-football-players-suspended-during-academic-probe>.
Trahan, Kevin. "2 Suspended Notre Dame Players 'done,' 2 Could Return." SBNation.com. 14 Oct.
2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. <http://www.sbnation.com/college-
football/2014/10/14/6978527/notre-dame-players-dismissed-academic-fraud-devaris-
daniels-keivarae-russell>.
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