Unfortunately for Miami president Donna Shalala, it lasted nearly a decade
By now, the name Nevin Shapiro has become practically a household name for all the wrong reasons. The former UM booster allegedly provided millions of dollars in gifts to Miami athletes over the span of two coaching eras and could now bring down the program through one extensive tell-all with Yahoo! Sports.
How Shapiro was able to get away with as much as he allegedly did without so much as a double-take from either Shalala or then-AD Paul Dee is astounding. Unless, of course, UM’s administrative suits knew what was going on.
Shalala, in an interview with Time magazine dated about a month ago, said nothing could be further from the truth.
“I have no tolerance for breaking rules,” Shalala said before later adding that misconduct like Shapiro’s “wouldn’t have lasted two minutes under me.”
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There isn’t much else in the form of football-related content in the interview; it’s more about Shalala’s work as UM’s president. In fact, if you get a minute, it’s a pretty great read over some of the academic accomplishments she’s overseen.
Unfortunately for Shalala, football is often the public face of a university, and a damning report such as the one Yahoo! broke yesterday can overshadow other achievements.
Besides, pleading ignorance doesn’t exactly bode well for the NCAA’s confidence in a program.
Especially when one of its Committee on Infractions members, and former UM employees, already said it doesn’t.