NCAA Announces Ridiculous Stanford Football Violations

The NCAA announced that former Stanford receiver Devon Cajuste received impermissible benefits in 2014, and the list of “benefits” is ridiculous.

The NCAA has always been strict about what kinds of benefits student athletes are allowed to receive while being recruited or playing with their respective schools. While some infractions deserve to be punished, other incidents feel a bit ridiculous.

On Thursday morning, the NCAA announced that two Stanford football boosters had provided “impermissible benefits” to former receiver Devon Cajuste back in 2014. The benefits were valued at over $3,500 and included a loan, use of an automobile and free meals.

At first, that sounds pretty serious, but when you see the detailed list of benefits Cajuste received, you might be curious as to how they got to that $3,500 number.

A bike worth $3,000? What kind of bike is a college kid riding that’s worth $3,000 unless it’s a motorcycle? The bike was also supposedly bought by the booster and eventually paid back by Cajuste, but that’s apparently not allowed either.

Stanford’s football team has had an incredibly clean image over the years, but this is the first “serious” violation that the program has reported. On the bright side, the NCAA accepted the school’s self-imposed violations which included a one-game suspension of Cajuste, repayment of the benefits to a charity as well as a $5,000 fine and a public statement from the school.

There are so many things that student athletes have to remember to avoid any potential violations, but this one seems a bit over the top. What do you think?