Ole Miss NCAA allegations response: Liars, a Joker GIF and the problem has already been solved

Ole Miss issued its latest response to the NCAA allegations against its football program, and the highlights of the 125-page document are interesting.

It looks like the university is preparing to fight the dreaded lack of institutional control allegation that the NCAA has made against its football program based on snippets from the Ole Miss NCAA allegations response published by the school on Tuesday.

The highlights of the document include its own allegations that Mississippi State linebacker Leo Lewis and former staffer Barney Farrar are liars, that the Runnin’ Rebels football program was harmed in a “very public way” by a Joker GIF and the overall position that the problem was solved when the athletic department fired a bunch of people.

Starting in page 53 of the document, the university lays out its argument that former recruiting prospect Lewis misled the NCAA about impermissible benefits he received during his recruitment. It states that Lewis’ word alone is not substantial proof, and presents evidence from its own investigation of the situation that contradicts Lewis’ statements about receiving thousands of dollars in cash from boosters.

It also appears that the fears of attorney Bruse Lloyd were founded regarding his client Barney Farrar, who was the school’s assistant athletic director for high school and junior college relations at the time of the violations. On the document’s 58th page, the university places nearly all of the blame for the 17th allegation that the NCAA made on Farrar. Among the allegations against Farrar are that he intentionally misled his superiors about his activities.

To further its case against Lewis, referred to in the document as Student-Athlete 39, it argues that as a member of the Mississippi State football team, Lewis sought to harm the Ole Miss football program. Their evidence of that motivation is a tweet from Lewis which contained a GIF of Heath Ledger’s “The Joker” character from The Dark Knight on the document’s 57th page.

The dismissal of Farrar and others along with the disassociation of boosters implicated in the investigation form a crucial component for Ole Miss’ defense against the lack of institutional control tag. The argument is that these individuals acted outside of the framework of the football program, concealed their activities from the school and when Ole Miss became aware of them, the university took appropriate action immediately.

The school further states that its current personnel, including head football coach Huge Freeze, have not only practiced impeccable NCAA compliance religiously but advocated for it as well. Finally, Ole Miss details all the ways it has already disciplined its football program in the introduction.

What the university has to fear in the lack of institutional control charge is significant. In addition to potential further loss of scholarships, show-cause penalties on personnel and postseason competition bans, the label could result in the vacating of wins and recruiting restrictions.

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Ole Miss assents to the fact that NCAA rule violations occurred, but argues that the lack of institution control allegation is unfounded. To support its case, it has called former staff members and a recruits liars, used a Joker GIF as evidence of ill will, and informed the NCAA that the issue has already been taken care of. Whether or not the NCAA will agree remains to be seen.