Major Florida State recruit in the Class of 2022, Baba Miller will have to wait until the 17th game of the Seminoles season to begin his “freshman” campaign.
Indeed, the Real Madrid-trained Spanish youngster has been suspended for the first 16 matches of the 2022/23 campaign, which is half of the regular season.
The reason ? Tickets for a round trip by plane between Spain and the United States, offered by Florida State in 2020, when the Spaniard was not yet engaged with the Seminoles. This is effectively a violation of NCAA rules since a prospect is not entitled to receive financial compensation from a university program, except that Baba Miller and his family, upon learning that they were acting in the illegality, had immediately reimbursed the plane tickets.
The NCAA did not want to know, and rejected the appeal of Florida State, which must then deal with a particularly severe sanction, and above all totally anachronistic in the era of the NIL.
” I am very disappointed with the decision, given the facts that we presented » said Michael Alford, the athletic director at Florida State, in a statement. ” This one seems disproportionate and inconsistent with the modern environment [en NCAA]. It is unfortunate that Baba endures this penalty. »
Photo credit: @FSUHoops
