NCAA Wrong To Suspend Florida's Will Grier For Entire Season

Quarterback Will Grier made a huge mistake not checking with the Florida Gators‘ coaching staff to see if an over-the-counter supplement was against the NCAA‘s rules on banned substances, but does he really have to sit out the rest of the year and most of the next just because of a dumb mistake? This punishment just screams excessive.

Look, I could understand if Grier was taking known banned substances, but he wanted to protect himself from a flu bug that was going around the University of Florida campus and just made the honest mistake of not checking in with the coaching staff. Why kill a dream season because of that?

This is just yet another example of why the NCAA needs to be reformed. Severely punishing a player just because he accidentally took an over-the-counter supplement is not “sending a message,” it’s killing the integrity of the game. This is a penalty that needs to be reversed as soon as possible.

Grier was teary-eyed in his apology press conference yesterday, but the NCAA should also hold an apology press conference in this ridiculous punishment that could be a nightmare in the Gators’ dream season. The more appropriate punishment for Grier would be two games, but to suspend him for the rest of the season was just overkill. The NCAA should correct this error, because two wrongs don’t make a right in any situation.

Kareem Gantt gives his two cents on all things sports for Rant Inc. Want to know what’s on his mind? Follow him on Twitter at @kganttwrites.