NCAA went to bat for Shapiro in sentencing

After admitting to troubling improprieties on the part of its investigators, it didn't seem like things could get much worse for the NCAA in its investigation of the Miami athletic department. But, oh, it did. Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press is reporting that former NCAA investigator Ameen Najjar wrote a letter on behalf of tipster Nevin Shapiro prior to his sentencing on counts of securities fraud and money laundering. Najjar went so far as to suggest that Shapiro could eventually work for the NCAA as a consultant. Shapiro, of course, tried to take a blowtorch to the Miami athletic department with revelations that he allegedly lavished illicit extra benefits on university student-athletes, primarily football players. The idea that Shapiro could help the NCAA with his insights into boosters' relationships with athletes does square with an occasional practice in law enforcement in which scofflaws are hired as advisers. On the other hand... For starters,...