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When media reports were published claiming the man accusing UGA running back Todd Gurley of accepting improper payment to autograph sports memorabilia had hired an attorney, my initial reaction to the story was one of surprise.

The first, most obvious question that popped into my head was this: Why does the guy who allegedly entrapped Gurley need an attorney?

It turns out that apparently by accusing Gurley, this person has tacitly admitted violating a Georgia law passed in 2003 that would make him legally liable for damages incurred by the University of Georgia through his deliberate causing of recruiting or regulation violations to occur.

Now the conventional wisdom of pundits in the media currently seems to be that Gurley may have played his last game for the University of Georgia. However, I’m not convinced that #3 won’t be suited up again next week for the Dawgs fairly soon, perhaps even as soon as next weekend against Arkansas.

The rationale for my thinking is simply this: unless there is a smoking gun like video of money changing hands or cashed checks showing a direct payment of cash by the accuser to the accused, how will the NCAA justify giving Gurley more than a one game suspension, considering how similar recent cases have been handled?

Reports in the media have emphatically indicated that the video allegedly showing Gurley autographing merchandise does not show any money changing hands. These reports suggest it is only the word of one accuser described as disgruntled and unscrupulous versus the best player in college football, Todd Gurley.

And most people who enjoy college football want to see Todd Gurley play.

Interestingly, it appears that Gurley’s accuser cannot repeat his allegations on the record to the NCAA without incriminating himself, which may be why he hired a defense attorney.

Unless I’m missing something, the best move for this memorabilia dealer would be to retract his accusation or simply refuse to repeat it for the record. If he’s smart, he won’t cooperate with any investigation for fear of exposing himself to the risk of personal financial loss.

Here’s why — if this guy repeats his allegations, without hard evidence to corroborate his claims, the NCAA will be hard pressed to accept his unsubstantiated allegation on face value and impose a drastic punishment…and this guy will have made himself vulnerable to civil lawsuit.

You might ask how much might the University of Georgia expect to recoup if they sued Gurley’s accuser and won? Well, consider the fact that the school spent $40,000 alone just for an insurance policy to cover their prized running back for the 2014 season.

Room, board, tuition, lost Heisman publicity — the potential damages could add up quickly.

Given this information, what is the likelihood Gurley has played his last game for UGA?

Consider these precedents set by the NCAA with their handling of similar recent cases: former Alabama players Julio Jones and Mark Ingram were let off with a slap on the wrist, donating “restitution” for allegedly accepting improper benefits. Neither player missed any game time.

Former Auburn Tiger and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton‘s father demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars for Cam to sign with Mississippi State, but because there was no evidence Auburn paid him or that he knew of his father’s demands, the player was suspended and reinstated by the NCAA without missing any game time.

Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M was only suspended for one half of one non-conference game for basically being accused of the same thing as Gurley.

Jameis Winston of Florida State University has only been suspended for one game by the NCAA for far more egregious behavior. Without hard evidence to substantiate these allegations against Gurley, it would hardly seem fair nor defensible for the NCAA to punish him more harshly than any of these other players.

After all, missing the entire Missouri game probably cost Gurley his shot at the Heisman Trophy. It should be noted that the very same memorabilia dealer making these accusations against Todd Gurley has not mentioned Jameis Winston, but allegedly has quite a few of Winston’s autographed items for sale on Ebay right along with Gurley.

Why rat on one guy, and not the other? Why pick on Todd Gurley?

As the story goes, greed is the motive. This particular individual was allegedly upset with Gurley because he wasn’t making enough profit off sales of his merchandise to suit him.

The whole sordid story poses an interesting question: does the NCAA really want to allow this precedent to be set? Do they want to allow serious allegations to ruin the college career of a player without requiring concrete proof that the allegations are true?

If this is despicable practice, allegedly coercing athletes to break the rules and then framing them, is allowed to succeed,the integrity of college sports will be called into question.

Think about it — if this sort of manipulation is allowed to succeed, how long will it be before a die-hard Auburn fan makes a similar allegation in order to get the best player on Alabama, or vice versa, disqualified right before the Iron Bowl? Or a USC fan sets up a UCLA player, or Buckeye does something like this to a Wolverine?

For these reasons, unless that proverbial smoking gun can be produced proving Todd Gurley took money for his autograph, I think the NCAA has little alternative but to reinstate him.

Even if that evidence proves to exist, the NCAA should think long and hard about revising the rules so people with an ulterior motive can get away with the malicious entrapment of a college kid. After all, college football is essentially semi-pro football, especially in the SEC.

Why can’t the players get paid for their autograph, if some fool is willing to pay for it?