The NCAA continues to investigate the amateur status of Renardo Sidney, endangering his availability for Mississippi State’s season opener against Rider Friday night, according to Kyle Veazey’s blog on the Clarion Ledger, of Jackson, Miss.
Veazey received word from the NCAA Nov. 6 that Sidney and his representatives “did not provide all of the information requested since April and [Sidney’s] status remains non-certified due to non-response.” NCAA investigators are reviewing how Sidney and his family moved from modest means in Mississippi to a lavish lifestyle while Sidney played for a high school near Los Angeles.
In response to the NCAA’s request, Sidney’s attorney, Don Jackson, accused the NCAA of persecuting Sidney and intentionally dragging out the investigation, according to Veazey’s blog.
Jackson has responded via a series of text messages: “It is clear that the ultimate goal is to prolong this inquiry. For example, after deposit records were provided, the information that they are now requesting includes “records that identify the sources of each deposit,” cellular phone records for every member of the family since January 1, 2006, records to indicate where every payroll check was deposited, etc. In effect, they have been unable to establish a violation despite months of effort to do so and are unwilling to end this investigation until they find something damaging to this family. Since they are unable to find anything damaging, they have opted to prolong the investigation indefinitely….which I predicted at the outset and has been the organization’s practice for years.”
