roothog66 posted:Goosegg posted:Rick, I don't agree with your interpretation (though I wouldn't die on this hill).
You left out a key modifier in your quote:
"(1) off-campus recruiting contacts shall not be made with an individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) before September 1 at the beginning of his or her junior year in high school and that contacts that occur during a prospective student-athlete's junior year may occur only at the prospective student-athlete's educational institution or residence. . ."
The NCAA doesn't have any jurisdiction over a kid in nursery school or before; but if the word individual meant literally an individual, that would be the case as the only distinction made between kids is the term "prospective student athlete."
I read these rules as first telling me to whom the rules apply; then telling schools, coaches, families, etc., what actions are allowed or proscribed to those effected. If it were otherwise, there is no purpose to using the term "prospective student athlete" because the rules would apply to everyone, everywhere, regardless of age, thereby rendering that term redundant and meaningless. (And the term "prospective student athlete" is a term clearly defined by the NCAA.)
See also, ("A contact is any face-to-face encounter between a prospect, or the prospect’s parent or legal guardian, and an institutional staff member or athletics representative during which any dialogue occurs."); ("A prospective student-athlete is a student who has started classes for the ninth grade or above, including students in prep schools and junior colleges, and individuals who have of cially withdrawn from four- year schools. Any student not yet in the ninth grade becomes a prospect if an institution provides him or her with any nancial aid and/or bene ts that are not generally provided to prospective students.)" [In the last quoted passage, there are some narrow circumstances where a pre HS kid becomes a prospective student athlete. By specifically noting this exception, it is implied that other pre HS kids are not yet considered prospects, and therefore, not subject to the rules - yet.)
Speaking as someone whose job is basically spending most of my time interpreting statutes and contracts, I would definitely be arguing Goose's interpretation from a legal standpoint. It may not be what they intended when writing this, but they wrote themselves into a corner. They basically start with "individual" but then use the term "prospective student athlete" as what can only be seen as a synonym. Since they have defined, within the code the term "prospective student-athlete," the proper way to interpret this would be to simply substitute, word-for-word the definition for the term.
As mentioned by Goose, they also specified conditions under which a pre-9th grader can be defined as a "prospective student athlete" which means that any pre-9th grader who does not fit within the parameters of the inclusion clause cannot be defined by the term and are excluded from the rule unless you can find some way to define a home visit as a benefit from the institution that isn't generally provided to prospective students. Logically, there would be NO REASON for this inclusion clause if an 8th grader were assumed to covered by this simply because he is an individual.
If my client were a coach punished for a violation under this code, I would definitely say he has a solid legal action against the NCAA if he is damaged in any compensatable way.
While I am not a lawyer I do read and interpret government hazmat regulations often and I would have to agree that coaches are allowed to talk to and visit anyone prior to stepping foot in 9th grade based on the wording of who is covered.