| | ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan freshman Jamal Crawford, who
had just finished a six-game NCAA suspension, was suspended for
eight more games on Thursday.
|  | | Jamal Crawford could only watch as the Wolverines prepared to play Purdue. |
"I was real disappointed with the ruling," Crawford said after
Michigan's 78-75 loss to Purdue, the game that was to have marked
Crawford's return from the first suspension. "I really don't think
I did anything wrong. But I have to live with the ruling."
The first suspension was for Crawford's living arrangements
while a high school player in Seattle. The eight-game ban came down
after it was discovered Crawford had tried to make himself eligible
for the NBA draft while still in high school and after having
signed a letter of intent to play for Michigan. NCAA rules state that high school or junior college players who declare for the draft immediately forfeit their amateur status, even if they later withdraw from the draft.
"Today's ruling had nothing to do with the prior investigation,
from the original ruling of six games," assistant sports
information director Tom Wywrot said.
The NCAA originally declared Crawford in violation of a rule
that prohibits high school players from declaring themselves
eligible for professional sports leagues' drafts. Crawford signed
and sent a letter to the NBA last May, seeking to declare himself
eligible for the June 1999 draft.
In that letter, which wasn't accepted by the NBA because it
arrived too late to place his name on the draft list, Crawford
expressed the mistaken impression that he wouldn't lose his college
eligibility.
"I was just checking it out," Crawford said. "People said,
`You have some skills. Check it out.' So, I just thought I would."
Crawford sent another letter six days later in which he withdrew
from the draft, the NBA said.
NCAA rules provide a one-time exception for college players who
put their name on the NBA draft list to retain their eligibility if
they aren't drafted. There is no such exception for high school
players.
Meanwhile, Venora Skinner told The Seattle Times that her son plans to turn
professional after this season.
"Jamal is going to enter his name in the draft," she said.
Crawford denied it. He said "without doubt" he would return
and play for Michigan next season.
"That's my mom talking," Crawford said. "That's not coming from me."
Still, it would be hard for him to return to Michigan for his
sophomore year, his mother said.
"The only way is if all this pressure stops," Skinner said.
"I'm not going through another year of this. I'm serious."
After learning about Crawford's letter to the NBA, the ruling
body of college sports said early Thursday that Crawford's college
career was finished. The university appealed and the NCAA came back
later in the day with the eight-game suspension.
"This ruling was based upon the NBA decision," Wywrot said.
"It had nothing to do with the prior investigation at all. The
NCAA, before, withdrew his name from all games, so essentially
Michigan won the appeal."
Still, the university considered the ruling harsh.
"We are deeply disappointed by the inequity of this decision,"
university president Lee Bollinger said in a statement. "Any
sensible approach would have yielded a different result.
"We do not think Jamal's circumstances warrant this level of
severity."
The first suspension also ordered Crawford to repay $15,000 in
benefits he received from Seattle businessman Barry Henthorn, with
whom the player lived for three years while in high school. On
Thursday, the NCAA said Crawford instead could give $11,300 to the
charity of his choice.
"They took off the money for food, clothing and other expenses," Wywrot said.
"This is very unfortunate, to say the least," Michigan coach
Brian Ellerbe said.
There are three regular season games left, and the Wolverines are assured of playing at least one game in the Big Ten tournament. Counting their loss to Purdue on Thursday, that's five games. If that's as far as Michigan advances, the remaining three games of the suspension would be served at the start of next season.
Wywrot also said Michigan won't have to forfeit any of the games
in which Crawford has appeared.
Crawford, a 6-foot-6 swingman, was Michigan's leading scorer,
averaging 16.6 points per game. The Wolverines are 1-6 without
Crawford and have lost eight of nine games overall. They are 4-9 in
the Big Ten and 13-11 overall.
The NCAA reopened its investigation after recent media reports about Crawford's relationship with Henthorn.
In November in Seattle, former Henthorn employee Darcienne LeRoue
filed a civil wrongful-termination lawsuit alleging she was coerced into
cosigning loans for one of the vehicles Henthorn provided Crawford as his
non-legal guardian, as well as for some gold jewelry for Crawford.
Earlier this month, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported, Henthorn told it
he would not dispute that he asked LeRoue to cosign for loans intended for
Crawford. Henthorn now admits he was trying to conceal his identity from
the NCAA.
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