Todd McNair Case: NCAA Cites Internet Hate in Request For New Judge

NCAA lawyers cited message board comments, media criticism and USC connections in their request for a new judge in the Todd McNair lawsuit.

Just when it seemed like the NCAA couldn’t get more ridiculous, the latest filing in the Todd McNair lawsuit used comments from Trojan fans online as proof that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Frederick Shaller, a USC grad, is biased against them.

“While it is unlikely the NCAA can ever receive a fair trial — just miles from USC where students and alumni publish vitriolic, hateful messages about the NCAA with each case development — the court should guard against any public perception of bias arising from a trial judge’s ties to USC,” the LA Times quoted the NCAA’s motion.

Though the NCAA moans about their treatment in the media, with message board comments and old news articles, the crux of their argument is that Shaller’s ties to USC disqualify him from judging the case fairly.

It’s a last-ditch attempt to quash McNair’s case and the kind of thing that smells particularly desperate five years down the line — It’s not like the NCAA just found out about Shaller’s educational history.

That the NCAA chose to make their argument by using the words of USC fans against them adds a nice comical touch. Look, Trojan fans themselves think his USC affiliation will make a difference, the NCAA claims, as though Joe Trojan’s hopes have any legal authority.

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But at least it’s nice to know that the NCAA is so concerned with the perception of bias in regards to these proceedings.

They certainly weren’t when it came to the Committee on Infractions, a board composed of representatives from schools who would all benefit from USC’s demise, including the Trojans’ biggest rival Notre Dame.

Of course that hypocrisy pales in comparison to the claim that “vitriolic, hateful messages about the NCAA” have any bearing on this proceeding, when the NCAA themselves are asking Shaller to disregard “vitriolic, hateful” statements made by NCAA staff during the course of their ruling on USC.

Those statements, uncovered in emails as part of the discovery process of McNair’s lawsuit, include statements about how the plaintiff is “a lying, morally bankrupt criminal…and a hypocrite of the highest order.”

But what’s that compared to angry USC fans on internet message boards hurling curse words the NCAA’s way?