To this day, Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Caesar in Gladiator is my favorite villian. He’s got everything in that role; equal parts powerful and bat-shit crazy. At any moment, he could either embrace you or rip off your ears, and both would be completely believable.
The NCAA is the non-murderous version of this. (unless you’re a Penn State or SMU fan, then they are definitely murderous.) While claiming to be the savior of the purity of college sports, President Mark Emmert could easily jump between statements like (concerning the Miami investigation) “I am deeply disappointed and frustrated, even angry about these circumstances,” and “AM I NOT MERCIFUL?!?!?!” It wouldn’t be that far of a stretch.
Emmert and Co. have been taking it on the chin for a while, and they’ve responded by puffing their chest and coming down even harder to prove they’re in charge (i.e. Penn State and USC). This is a frightening position for Miami, considering all the backlash might propel the NCAA to fight even harder and punish stronger to assure its control (like a dictator squashing a rebellion). Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald said on The Herd;
“You don’t know whether to laugh at them or fear them,”... “These people have to justify their existence. They have to justify the time, money, and resources spent on the investigation over a couple of years, and it’s always scary when you’re looking for fairness from people who have to do this.”
But even with all this uncertainty hanging over them, you gotta love Miami’s “F--- you” message while blowing out Duke, the NCAA’s golden calf. Classic Hurricanes.
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