Facebook may lead to secondary violation for Ole Miss

You wanna talk about a dearth of college football news? This post might be a case study in the (s)lowest of the (s)low.

According to the Jackson Clarion Ledger, an Ole Miss assistant may have committed a recruiting violation by posting a comment to a high school player who has given a verbal commitment to in-state rival Mississippi State.

The issue is with some photos posted on the page belonging to Jermaine Whitehead, a cornerback at a Greenwood high school who has given a non-binding, oral commitment to Mississippi State. Two photos appear to be recruiting letters from Ole Miss but made in promotional poster format. A Facebook user appearing to be Ole Miss assistant coach Chris Vaughn comments on both of them.

NCAA rules prohibit coaches from making public comments on recruits’ Facebook pages. Coaches can send private messages but can’t comment in open forums. Whitehead’s account, along with his photos and wall, is open to the public.

Wait, what? It’s OK for a coach to send a private message to a potential recruit, a message that can’t be held up to scrutiny by the “proper” authorities, but it’s not OK for a coach to post on a public “wall” where everybody -- including the NCAA -- can see what’s being said between the two? What the hell am I missing here, other than the fact that Facebook is the fourth sign of the apocalypse and any public or private message between recruits/football programs via that social media site should be banned?

The NCAA has commented generally on this situation and, as always, basically said nothing.

“Our members are concerned about the level of intrusion in a young person’s life related to recruiting, and the celebrity culture that can develop around the recruitment process, which is why limits are placed on how often coaches can contact recruits,” a spokesperson told the paper.

Again, coaches can send unlimited private messages to further intrude on a young person’s life, and that’s fine by the NCAA.

Somebody help me here. I get the whole “public” Facebook thing, but surely I’m missing the big picture of why unlimited PMs/Facemails are A-OK and aren’t banned as well.

Oh, and, if Ole Miss self-reports this incident, it would be considered a Kiffin secondary violation.

68 days until the 2010 college football season kicks off...