Rose Scam Leaves Stench Everywhere

Editor's Note: The following is an updated version of Monday's original column.

CHICAGO -- Don't make the fatal mistake of giving up, of saying you're exhausted by the sleaze, of surrendering to the hopeless truth that college basketball is just a corrupt one-year pathway to the NBA. The Derrick Rose cheating case is maybe the most alarming, disgusting example yet of why we must continue to fight abuses within the educational system. Barack Obama is passionate enough about sports to battle Bowl Championship Series politics and invite teams to his backyard every day, it seems.

It's much more important that he address this: A gifted player from the president's home base of Chicago, just voted the NBA's Rookie of the Year, is accused by the NCAA of knowingly allowing an imposter to take his SAT test so he could gain admission to the University of Memphis, where he spent all of one season leading the Tigers to within a few seconds of a 2008 national championship. Rose also is dealing with published reports that a grade was changed from a 'D' to a 'C' for his collegiate transcript at his high school, Simeon Career (ahem) Academy, which means his two-year leap from a blighted inner-city neighborhood to big-time college hoops to instant stardom with the Chicago Bulls may have been enabled on two levels.

The fallout is wicked in multiple directions. It impacts our perception of Rose, whose potential Hall of Fame career now is marred by the indelible smudge of academic fraud. It casts aspersions on the already suspicious doings of former Memphis coach John Calipari, who may become known as the first coach ever to vacate two Final Four appearances and who knew of the in-house and NCAA investigations for 2 1/2 months when he bolted for Kentucky in April. It makes me wonder why Kentucky, a program scarred by scandal in the past, was so quick to hire Calipari while claiming to have known about the probe and apparently sneaking it past some of the school's trustees. And how many high schools are participating in altering the grades of athletes?

It's all so dirty, so wrong -- with ESPN reporting Monday that Memphis was first notified by the NCAA of the Rose situation way back in May 2008, meaning the university sat on this privately for a year. And to just dismiss it all as life in the 21st century, as a reason to separate college sports from college academia and allow utter chaos to reign in the spirit of March Madness enjoyment, is the easy way out. The Rose episode should lead to lessons in reform, not to an opening of more toxic floodgates because we're worn down and weary from rampant, relentless misconduct.

When commissioner David Stern imposed a rule forbidding players to enter the NBA before they are 19, it was supposed to help teenagers mature while giving the college game more star power, if only for one year in many situations. Turns out the attempt was a sham. From Kevin Durant to Greg Oden to Rose, staying in college for a matter of months only bastardized the academic experience and made us appreciate even more the four-year plans of Peyton Manning and Tim Duncan. Calipari recruited Rose knowing he'd stay one year. Rose chose Memphis knowing he'd stay one year. So when Rose didn't feel up to snuff about taking his SAT test, why not agree to have someone else take it? What the hell, it's only one year of his life, right?

Rose needs to come out of hiding and say something, anything. The longer he stays quiet -- the story broke four days ago -- the more guilty he is in the eyes of the public. If he was innocent, wouldn't he be voicing outrage about the allegations? The only comment so far has come from an attorney, Daniel E. Reidy, who said, "Mr. Rose is aware of the allegations recently reported in the press. Mr. Rose cooperated fully with the University of Memphis athletic and legal departments' investigation of this (SAT) issue when he was a student and that investigation uncovered no wrongdoing on his part. At this time, Mr. Rose sees no reason to engage in further discussion regarding this matter and will instead focus on his career as a professional basketball player."

That's not going to be enough. Look, Rose has been protected his entire basketball life. I've often praised his brother, Reggie, for guiding his precocious brother from the crime-and-drugs ravages of Chicago's blighted Englewood section and keeping him grounded. But the same Reggie Rose is accused of not paying for two flights and four hotel stays on Memphis road trips, a $2,260 no-no. Contrary to what the Rose camp seems to believe, this story is not going away like that speeding episode last year, when Derrick was ticketed for going 106 mph in a 65 zone on Interstate 88 and all of Chicago immediately forgave him.

There have been whispers about the Roses and their relationship with Calipari for years. That doesn't necessarily mean Calipari was aware of a muddy SAT test -- and it should be noted that he isn't named by the NCAA in the allegations, saving him from sanctions at Kentucky. But the stain he'll likely leave at Memphis is comparable to that at Massachusetts in 1996, when he fled for NBA millions after his star center, Marcus Camby, admitted he received money from an agent. That forced UMass to vacate its lone Final Four berth ever. Not only might Memphis lose its runner-up finish, it could face sanctions that reduces its new coach, Josh Pastner, to a newer and perhaps more hapless version of Tom Crean, the Indiana coach who is rebuilding a ravaged program after the scandals under predecessor Kelvin Sampson. What's pathetic in Pastner's case is that he wasn't made aware of the full depth of the probe until after he was hired. Shame on Memphis for also sneaking around, like Kentucky. Shame on Memphis for not completely disclosing the garbage out back to an in-house assistant, only 31, who is undertaking his first head-coaching position.

"May not have, may not have, because I'm not sure I do, at the time," Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson said when asked if Pastner knew all. "Josh and I had talked about stuff; we had had some discussions. We didn't get into it in a whole lot of detail, but he was aware."

The fact Calipari and Johnson kept the probe quiet further entangles the mess and raises major questions about Calipari and his new employer. The top officials at Kentucky, including president Lee Todd and athletic director Mitch Barnhart, claim to have known all about the Memphis inquiry during Calipari's interviews with the university. If they knew all, they should have run away from Calipari as fast as possible. Instead, they embraced him? Why? "He was very forthright in the interview process," Todd said. "We're fine with him." Ah, but red flags fly here, too. Barnhart said in a statement that Kentucky covered all bases in scrutinizing Calipari's past, particularly the Rose case. Among those Barnhart said he spoke with were NCAA enforcement officials.

"We talked with several people and thoroughly exercised due diligence during the process of hiring coach Calipari," he said. "We asked the right questions. We support him fully as he participates in the NCAA hearing and we have encouraged him not to comment. We certainly asked him if there was anything the NCAA was looking into. He was open about what he was aware of at the time."

In a chillingly revealing response, the NCAA issued a statement all but accusing Kentucky of embellishing its dealings with the NCAA. "Contrary to what may be portrayed in statements in the media from others, NCAA vice president of enforcement David Price followed standard procedures when Kentucky officials requested information regarding any potential violations regarding John Calipari," a school spokesperson said in an e-mail to the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Price did not discuss any investigations, but instead urged the university to follow up with Coach Calipari directly." As for Johnson, he said he didn't recall a conversation with Barnhart about Calipari and the investigation.

So, who exactly did Barnhart interview about a coach to whom Kentucky is paying more than $31 million over eight years? The family gardener? And why did at least two members of the UK Board of Trustees not know about the investigation until the other day? Price is the one who sent the letter to Memphis in January, yet Kentucky never spoke with Price about the probe. Just what are they doing in Lexington, then?

Your answer can found in the deep fryer known as Rupp Arena, where pressure to land a hot, high-quality coach after the Billy Gillispie debacle forced Todd and Barnhart to move quickly and nab their man. They ignored the possible repercussions over the Memphis probe because they knew Calipari would bring instant excitement and major recruits, accomplishing that in the form of John Wall, the nation's top prep point guard; center DeMarcus Cousins, who was to have joined him at Memphis; 6-10 center Daniel Orton; small forward Jon Hood; junior-college transfer Daniel Dodson and a second star point guard, Eric Bledsoe. Patrick Patterson, the talented big man, decided to eschew the NBA Draft to return. If Jodie Meeks does the same -- he of the 54-point game at Tennessee -- Calipari has the makings of a Final Four team.

Really think they care in Bluegrass Country if their new coach is nailed in a Memphis scandal? They just want to win, period, at any cost, which is a troubling commentary about where college sports has been and continues to be headed. You'd think there would be some measure of outrcry in all of these infected places -- Kentucky, Memphis and Chicago, where Rose's two state high-school titles could be forfeited if he and some Simeon teammates are found by the Illinois High School Association to have had grades altered.

But we hear very little fuss anywhere. School is wrapping up, summer is ahead, and it's no news flash that the world is crooked. Why would anyone care, you ask, if Derrick Rose had an imposter take an SAT test?

I'll tell you why: Because it reeks of flagrant dishonesty, athletic privilege and academic fraud. And one of these days -- or years or decades -- it has to stop.