Georgia Tech succeeds in appeal to NCAA over sanctions

As its men’s basketball team is in the midst of a strong run to the end of the regular season, Georgia Tech received word Friday of a victory achieved in a different sort of court. Two penalties levied upon the team for impermissible-benefits violations were overturned by the NCAA infractions appeals committee, the NCAA announced.

Specifically, the committee struck down a two-year ban on conducting official visits that coincide with home basketball games and ordered the infractions committee to reconsider its scholarship-reduction penalty (one scholarship per year for four years).

Tech’s first argument was that the school was wrongly judged to have demonstrated “intentional, willful or blatant disregard for the NCAA constitution and bylaws” as it pertained to the actions of former assistant coach Darryl LaBarrie. In its written appeal, Tech asserted that LaBarrie “acted in isolation from other Georgia Tech employees” when committing the violations, and as such, the school should not be found guilty of disregarding NCAA rules.

LaBarrie was found to have taken a prospect (former Pace Academy and Duke star Wendell Carter) to a strip club during a November 2016 official visit and set up a meeting with a booster (former Tech star Jarrett Jack) and then not been truthful when confronted by NCAA investigators. (LaBarrie has acknowledged arranging the trip to the club, calling it an egregious mistake in a career of following NCAA rules. He also said that he panicked when he was initially untruthful with investigators, but came clean the following day.)

The infraction appeals committee, in a 16-page decision, found that Tech’s argument had merit.

“In this case, the application of the aggravating factor was based on the conduct of the former assistant coach, and included no demonstrable ties to action, or lack thereof, by the appellant (Tech),” the decision read.

With Tech not guilty of the aggravating factor of intentional, willful or blatant disregard of NCAA rules, the appeals committee determined that the infractions committee should reconsider the propriety of the scholarship reduction. The infractions committee determines penalties using a framework that prescribes sanctions based on the severity of the violations and aggravating and mitigating factors of the case.

With one fewer aggravating factor to consider, the infractions committee is likely (though not certain) to decrease the length of the scholarship-reduction penalty from four years or vacate it entirely. There is no timeline for the infractions committee to make this decision.

“We are very pleased by the decision to overturn these penalties and are appreciative to the infractions appeals committee for their work and consideration,” athletic director Todd Stansbury said in a statement.

An ironic aspect of Tech’s appeal is that Pastner generally has used 12 of his allotted 13 scholarships and has typically brought in prospects for official visits in the early fall before the start of the season. Regardless, given the cloud that has hung over Pastner and his team since allegations of violations became public in November 2017 and school officials’ indignation over the penalties when they were handed down in September 2019, getting a win in NCAA court assuredly was satisfying.

Further, Tech – which was represented by the law firm of Jackson Lewis – achieved the unlikely. From 2017-19, there were 21 penalties that were appealed before the infractions appeals committee, which upheld all but four of them.

It brings to an end (for the most part) a case that the NCAA opened in September 2017 and continued through the saga with Pastner’s former friend Ron Bell. The appeals process began in October 2019 but was delayed by COVID-19. An in-person oral argument was scheduled for May 19, 2020, but was delayed and held virtually Oct. 28.

“I’m very happy and thankful that the infractions appeals committee chose to overturn these penalties, as it is beneficial for the future of our program and student-athletes,” Pastner said in a statement. “While this news doesn’t affect our current team or goals, I’m glad to have this part of the process behind us and to be able to continue to put our full focus on this outstanding team and building on the momentum that we have for the rest of the regular season and into the postseason.”