Indiana's President Is a Master of the Obvious and Blameless

When Indiana University President Michael McRobbie made a video conference appearance before the NCAA Infractions Committee regarding the Kelvin Sampson phone call mess he made a bold statement.

As others have stated, Indiana University took a risk in hiring Coach Sampson and giving him a second chance following his problems at Oklahoma. It is now clear that this was a risk that should not have been taken and the university regrets doing so.

McRobbie also added that it was clear that investing in Pets.com based on a sock puppet in the 90s, buying into the Miami real estate market and wearing a meat suit to a dog fight were also risks that should not have been taken and he regrets doing so.

As for the fault, well, he is all about direct accountability.

Some have said that there is a lot of blame to be shared in all of this, suggesting -- and perhaps hoping -- that there can be a dilution of personal responsibility under some notion of collective guilt. I reject that notion completely and I hope this committee will, as well.

That's integrity. That's strong leadership. That's some accountability. Oh, wait, he doesn't mean himself.
And not the Indiana Athletic Department. No, the blame is clear according to McRobbie.

Although it is true that all parties before this committee made some mistakes, there clearly exists a higher level of blame in this matter that we believe should be assigned to Coaches Sampson and (former assistant Rob) Senderoff. And we believe the evidence in this case strongly supports that.

Which just follows the pattern set by the previous president of Indiana who signed off on the hiring of Sampson. Along with the Indiana trustees. It's not their fault for the hire. They just happened to be bystanders.

I have no sympathy for Kelvin Sampson. He fully deserves a show-cause penalty. That said, Indiana's administration shouldn't get a pass. Especially when all parties deny even the accountability on who really supported hiring the guy.

I guess we won't get the full story until after the eventual ex-AD Greenspan writes his book.