By Sports Editor Anthony Bosco
The NCAA announced Tuesday that St. John's sophomore point guard Erick Barkley would be suspended for three games, citing an infraction concerning the governing body's general regulations. The suspension was retroactive, meaning Barkley would miss only two further games – Providence this past Tuesday and Villanova on Saturday – after having already missed one game.
St. John's is appealing the ruling to the NCAA's Division I Subcommittee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. The university said it expects the NCAA's next decision no later than Friday.
“It's very unfortunate and we are deeply disappointed,” said Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Edward J. Manetta Jr. “We will exhaust all options on Erick's behalf.”
Barkley was “reluctantly” declared ineligible by St. John's prior to Saturday's game against Boston College “under strong protest,” citing different interpretations of the rules that applied to the case.
According to a source close to the St. John's basketball program, the NCAA rule in question is 12.1.11.1.6, which states that a student-athlete cannot receive any benefit which is considered preferential over a non-athlete.
The source said Barkley swapped a late-model Jeep Cherokee sport utility vehicle for an older model Ford Explorer SUV with a longtime family friend, who also coached Barkley during the summer at the Rucker League.
“What can be construed as a simple exchange of one friend to another can many times be interpreted the wrong way by our organization,” Manetta said during the press conference Saturday afternoon following the team's 59-58 win over Boston College. “How a rule is written and how it is interpreted are two different things.
“We have applied for immediate reinstatement. The process is what we're concerned with.”
Under NCAA rules, the university had to suspend Barkley for Saturday's game and then file an appeal. If St. John's allowed Barkley to play, it would have run the risk of being found lacking institutional control, which could lead to sanctions by the league such as probation, loss of scholarships, loss of television and post-season appearances.
Barkley also could have filed an injunction against St. John's in order to play against the Eagles.
“Erick Barkley could have played [Saturday] if he wanted to file an injunction” head coach Mike Jarvis said at the press conference. “Erick loves St. John's, so he didn't.”
A source added the NCAA was informed of the possible violation by an alleged street agent, who was trying to court Barkley to sign with an agent he works for when the point guard decides to go to the NBA. Barkley had spurned the alleged street agent, who in turn called the NCAA, the source said.
Tuesday's decision comes on the heels of three days of speculation and waiting by members of the media and the university. The NCAA contacted Manetta Monday to request further clarification from St. John's as it related to Barkley's case.
St. John's responded later that day, but the NCAA's failure to issue a decision Monday prevented Barkley from joining the team on its trip to Providence to play the Friars Tuesday.
The crowd and the media were informed of Barkley's suspension Saturday just prior to the Red Storm's victory over Boston College, a game which saw St. John's record a season-high 21 turnovers. Without Barkley in the line-up, the Red Storm has 10 players, seven on scholarship and three walk-ons.
At a post-game press conference, Jarvis blasted the NCAA and its actions pertaining to Barkley.
“I hope and I pray to see a day when there is no NCAA,” Jarvis said. “Enough is enough and it's time for a change. It will be proven Erick Barkley had done absolutely, positively nothing wrong. Unfortunately, today, a lot of people are going to think he did.
“This is about America, this is about human rights,” the coach added. “This is not a communist country. There is no Gestapo here. The NCAA is a business that can do basically whatever it wants, a business that can come in and conduct investigations whenever it wants.”
Barkley sat stoically silent as his coach and Manetta addressed the members of the press and was forbidden from taking questions by Jarvis, for fear of further repercussions from the NCAA.
“I asked Erick to come to this and listen,” Jarvis said. “Erick will not be taking any questions. This isn't about Erick Barkley. This is about something else. I give him tremendous credit. Maybe somebody is afraid of St. John's.”
The NCAA informed the university Thursday of Barkley's possible rules infraction, Manetta said, but he added that the university did not receive any formal letter from the NCAA intimating an investigation of any kind, despite published reports to the contrary.
One report stated that the NCAA was investigating three St. John's players, one for the alleged improper use of a vehicle and two others for alleged contact with a professional agent.
“There is no investigation,” Jarvis said. “There was no rules violation in my opinion.”
According to published reports, the suspension is in line with similar incidents, including that of Michigan point guard Jamal Crawford, who was suspended for six games – approximately 20 percent of his team's remaining games. The Red Storm had eight games remaining including Tuesday's contest with Providence.
