Notre Dame has suspended four starters on its football team pending an investigation into a possible case of academic fraud.
Yahoo! News reported on Friday that four members of the football team have been interviewed by school officials over what is being called an “honor code violation.”
If such a violation occurred it could cause any player involved to be ineligible for the team. Worse, if the allegations are proven it could lead to vacating wins by the team as well as fines by the NCAA.
Players allegedly involved in the impropriety are receiver DaVaris Daniels, defensive back KeiVarae Russell, defensive lineman Ishaq Williams, and linebacker Kendall Moore.
This wouldn’t be the first case of such a violation at Notre Dame. Last year quarterback Everett Golson lost a season due to what was termed an honor code violation. The case concerning Golson, though, is not thought to be connected to that of the four players listed above.
Reports note that non-athletes are also being reviewed.
None of these claims as reported in the press had been confirmed by university officials but Blue and Gold Illustrated reported that the four players were not at practice on Friday after news of the investigation broke. Late Friday, Notre Dame’s administration addressed the fledgling scandal.
“Integrity is at the heart of our mission and academic misconduct will not be tolerated at Notre Dame,” the school’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, explained in a release. “If the suspected improprieties are proven, we will use the experience to reinforce among our students the importance of honesty in all that they do. We are also examining ways of better conveying to students that they can avail themselves of legitimate academic assistance without resorting to cheating.”
Interestingly, several casinos in Las Vegas have removed Notre Dame from betting lines as the investigation begins.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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