Two Oregon Players Suspended For Selling Apparel

This week two players from the University of Oregon basketball team were suspended for breaking NCAA rules which prohibit the sale of some of that famous team-issued Nike apparel the school is well known for.

The length of suspensions for guard Dominic Artis and forward Ben Carter have yet to be determined, but additional information is obviously forthcoming. Also not immediately known was what, exactly Artis and Carter had been selling.

Given the nature of the accusations, two relatively recent scandals of similar nature do come to mind. First, there’s the Ohio State incident which cost former coach Jim Tressel his job. And, more recently, there’s the Johnny Manziel autograph kickback scheme.

According to a report by the AP, Oregon uncovered the violations through an internal investigation and reported the to the Pac-12 as well as the NCAA. This latest incident is sure to help keep the issue of whether or not college athletes should be paid front and center.

The suspensions were effective immediately and neither Artis or Carter accompanied the Ducks basketball team on a trip to South Korea to play Georgetown in their season opener this week.

In a statement released by the university, Oregon coach Dana Altman was supportive of his players, without letting them off the hook for their bad judgement. Said Altman, “Ben and Dominic are two good young men who made a poor decision that was against NCAA Rules.”

Adding, “I feel that both regret their decisions and the impact that it has on their teammates and our university.”

Artis and Carter have already applied for reinstatement. And it looks as though they’ll have the support of their coach come time to make that decision.