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- Nick Saban called out Texas A&M over the football program’s recruiting practice, which pissed off Jimbo Fisher.
- Now the Aggies’ athletic director is crying to the SEC over sportsmanship despite the skeletons in his closet.
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Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork is up in arms over Nick Saban’s recent comments about Name, Image and Likeness. Specifically, he believes that the Alabama head coach’s comments on the Aggies’ recruiting practices are a direct violation of the SEC’s sportsmanship bylaws.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, Bjork has discussed the situation with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. And he sounds like a huge crybaby.
On Wednesday night, Saban went full scorched-earth about the current climate of recruiting and how college football programs are using NIL to entice recruits into a commitment. In doing so, he claimed that A&M football “bought” every one of its Class of 2022 commits, said that Jackson State paid $1 million for a top player, and called out Miami for booster John Ruiz’s actions.
Since then, Travis Hunter Jr. clapped back at Saban with one simple tweet and Jimbo Fisher called an impromptu press conference to discuss the comments. While at the podium, Fisher teed off on his former friend and mentor, which left Lane Kiffin reaching for his popcorn.
Now, just a few hours later, Bjork is claiming that Saban displayed bad sportsmanship and violated SEC bylaws, which is super, super lame.
According to Dellenger, Bjork said that Saban’s comments are a “personal attack” and that the the league office should reprimand him for his actions.
“I don’t know why Nick Saban would say what he said except he’s threatened,” Bjork said to Sports Illustrated. “There is a saying … an emperor who loses their dynasty lashes out. He seems to be making excuses. This is personal. Coach Fisher views this as a personal attack on his integrity and on Texas A&M’s integrity. To have personal attacks, to say that the only reason A&M is [recruiting well] is NIL money is wrong.”
First and foremost, Saban did not say that the “only reason A&M is recruiting well” is because of NIL money. For Bjork to say that almost implies that there was some level of NIL involved, no?
Secondly, it’s important to remember who these cries of sportsmanship are coming from.
Prior to A&M, Bjork served in the same role at Ole Miss. He oversaw a program that was hit with an NCAA investigation and sanctions and then immediately left.
While in Oxford, Bjork cooperated with the NCAA (something that schools should not do) and multiple programs for which he oversaw were caught committing violations.
In particular, Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss football were accused of 15 (!!) Level I violations, were forced to vacate 33 wins and were hit with a two-year bowl ban, three years of probation and multiple scholarship violations. The NCAA panel on infractions said the school lacked institutional control and fostered “an unconstrained culture of booster involvement in football recruiting.”
Although a few of the violations occurred prior to Bjork’s arrival, the vast majority occurred under his nose. The fact that he now has the audacity to try and take the high road at A&M is truly ridiculous.
And Bjork’s comments on Saban, NIL and recruiting get even more absurd!
During Fisher’s press conference, he implied that Saban and Alabama would have some skeletons in the closet regarding their recruiting practices in the past. When Dellenger asked Bjork for comment on that notion specifically, he said “that speaks for itself. People who know college football know the history.”
Of all of the people to know the history, Bjork would be the first. His previous program was hit with vicious sanctions for illegal recruiting. Is he not the pot calling the kettle black?!
After Saban’s rant on Wednesday, Bjork is clamoring for “sportsmanship” and wants him to be punished by the SEC. That is about as cowardly as it comes.
Basically, Bjork is like a child on the playground who got dunked all over at recess. Instead of taking his lumps and accepting that he got dunked on, he ran whining to the teacher that the person who dunked on him was mean. Grow up.