Sports
Wetzel: Is the NCAA infraction system now too speedy to be fair?
In an effort to “accelerate the infractions process,” the NCAA implemented a new system in 2023. It was a worthy goal — NCAA cases often dragged on for years through an elaborate and expensive maze of hearings.
Among the new features was a bifurcation process that allowed some parties in a case to simply resolve the charges and begin dealing with any penalties rather than get left in limbo as a full adjudication played out. The school, for example, can admit guilt, but individuals involved get a separate case. Or vice versa.
It allowed UCLA, in 2024, to quickly negotiate a resolution after being charged with two relatively minor Level II violations involving its women’s cross country and track programs.
The penalty was so light — a $5,000 fine and a few recruiting restrictions — it would have been more costly for UCLA to fight even if it believed it was innocent. Meanwhile, the NCAA cleared its docket.
Win-Win.
Except it has been nothing but a loss for the assistant coach caught in the middle, Sean Brosnan.
The bifurcated process meant that even though Brosnan vehemently denies committing any violations, he never got to present an official defense in his individual case before the system incentivized his now former employer to just say he did it.
“The NCAA decided in UCLA’s Negotiated Resolution that Sean Brosnan had committed tampering violations before we had even submitted his response,” said Scott Tompsett, Brosnan’s attorney and a three-decade veteran of NCAA cases.
“I don’t see how a coach can get a fair hearing after the NCAA already decided he’s guilty,” Tompsett continued.
The NCAA declined comment on this case.
The question remains: In trying to fix a slow system that was sometimes unfair to participants, did the NCAA make things so fast that it’s sometimes unfair to participants?
The accusations here are pretty simple.
Brosnan coached Thousand Oaks (Calif.) Newberry Park High School to four state titles before UCLA hired him as an assistant in 2022.
In 2023, the NCAA charged Brosnan of tampering with two potential transfer recruits — Samantha McDonnell of Alabama and Mia Barnett of Virginia — before they officially entered the transfer portal.
Brosnan, however, countered that he had a preexisting, personal relationship with the families of both runners.
Brosnan coached both Samantha McDonnell and her older brother at Newberry Park and had become close friends with their parents, particularly father Todd. The dads hung out together, surfed together and often texted and talked on the phone. The families even shared holidays.
Mia Barnett was from a different Southern California high school, but Brosnan met her and her father, Matt, during COVID-19 when Brosnan organized some track meets in Arizona. They communicated often as friends through the years.
Once Brosnan got to UCLA, each father separately mentioned that their daughters wanted to transfer. Brosnan said he told them he couldn’t talk about that until they entered the transfer portal. The fathers both backed him up to NCAA investigators.
“The first thing [Brosnan] said [was] ‘I can’t talk anything about that until [Samantha’s] in the portal,'” Todd McDonnell testified.
“Sean made it very clear,” Matt Barnett testified. “He goes, ‘well, I understand … but any discussions would have to go through the transfer portal.'”
Both runners eventually transferred to UCLA, although neither received any scholarship money. They both later left for Oregon.
After receiving a tip about the transfers, the NCAA opened an investigation. UCLA settled fairly quickly, which, again, made sense for the school. UCLA declined comment for this article.
Brosnan, though, was suddenly stuck. His contract with UCLA was not renewed and, with his own employer saying he committed recruiting violations, he said he has been passed over for other college jobs.
In July, the NCAA’s committee on infractions ruled Brosnan did tamper, citing that any communication between a coach and the family of a student-athlete at another school is considered “impermissible contact.” It didn’t matter if he was friends with the fathers or if they were discussing unrelated topics.
“The bylaw does not make a distinction between recruiting contact and non-recruiting contact,” the COI wrote in its judgement. “Nor does it create any exceptions for preexisting relationships.” It further noted that even if communication was personal in nature, “those relationships provided an advantage that other compliant coaches … did not possess.”
Brosnan argues that such a hard-line interpretation is not only incorrect, but impractical and absurd since it would cause any NCAA coach to have to break off all communication with even lifelong friends or relatives who have a child playing somewhere else.
Brosnan has appealed, arguing that the standard for a violation should be if any actual “recruiting talk” occurred. A decision on that is pending.
In the meantime, Brosnan wonders what role UCLA’s resolution played in his verdict. After all, three of the seven members of the committee on infractions that ruled in his case also approved the NCAA-UCLA deal that already found him culpable.
An NCAA spokesman noted that “the Committee on Infractions is not bound by earlier resolutions within the same case. More specifically, the rules contemplate — and all parties acknowledge — that different outcomes are possible for the same case.”
Sure, in theory, but can they really be expected to reverse course and suddenly say a guy they agreed was guilty is now not guilty?
“I think it creates an implied bias,” Tompsett said.
Maybe Brosnan is clean here. Or maybe the committee on infractions is correct.
What is undeniable is that the new system has delivered as intended for the NCAA and the school — this was a swift and cheaper resolution of a low-stakes infractions case.
For Sean Brosnan though, this is very much high-stakes, fighting for his reputation and career from a perhaps impossible spot — and deemed guilty before he had the chance to prove he’s innocent.
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Xia Brookside certainly has made an impact on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) over the last few weeks.
As Brookside climbs the ladder to get back into the TNA Knockouts World Championship, she appeared to make an enemy along the way. Brookside helped Arianna Grace retain the title over Lei Ying Lee at Rebellion when she put Grace’s foot on the rope to break up the pin attempt.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Xia Brookside attends the “Freelance” screening at Regal Waterford Lakes in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2023. (Jose Devillegas/Getty Images)
Brookside was far from finished with Lee. Last week, Lee wanted answers from Brookside. The English wrestler gave Lee a hug in the middle of the ring, but assaulted her. Their feud is heating up.
Outside of the ring, Brookside revealed on Sunday she was starting “a new chapter.” She posted a video of herself getting baptized.
“Something I’ve been considering for a very long time, after getting consistent in going to church weekly, reading daily and the incredible support from my man, it felt like the easiest decision I’ve ever made,” she wrote on X. “Thank you to everyone that came to support me.”
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Candice LeRae and Xia Brookside compete during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 2, 2025. (Matt Pendleton/WWE)
Brookside, whose real name is Xia-Louise Brooks, is the daughter of retired pro wrestling star Robbie Brookside. He currently works as a trainer and producer for WWE NXT.
She started her pro wrestling career in the United Kingdom and worked her way through the independent scene, eventually joining WWE in 2018. She was featured in WWE NXT UK before she joined Stardom in Japan and eventually TNA.
She’s held championships in International Pro Wrestling United Kingdom and Rise Wrestling during her career. She was also ranked No. 91 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s list of top women’s wrestlers in 2019.
Mina Shirakawa enters the ring during the women’s pro-wrestling event Stardom at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Dec. 29, 2022. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
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Brookside is back to making an impact on TNA again and is sure to be in line for the knockouts title down the line.
TOULOUSE:
Clermont stunned Toulouse 27–24 on Sunday to hand the Top 14 leaders their first home defeat in nearly a year.
Toulouse still have a 12-point cushion over their closest challengers Pau at the top of the table, but this result showed coach Ugo Mola and his staff have work to do before the end of the season.
“It’s a bit more than just a reminder. We’ll take the time to analyse this in order to come back with a different mindset,” Mola said.
Clermont, on the other hand, climbed to fifth place with 61 points, cementing their status as serious contenders for a playoff spot.
Toulouse had not lost at home since May 17, 2025, but perhaps it was the the sight of France superstar Antoine Dupont on the bench or their unfamiliar beige jerseys — matching those worn by the city’s football team the same weekend — that upset the league leaders.
They began smoothly enough as Teddy Thomas crossed the try line after just 42 seconds, superbly set up by Romain Ntamack.
The prospect of a one-sided match grew when Emmanuel Meafou powered over in the ninth minute, and then Paul Graou, in his 100th appearance for Toulouse, made it 21–0 after just 10 minutes.
But Toulouse lost their grip on the game.
Second-rower Marcos Kremer picked up an orange card and a 20-minute suspension and Harry Plummer was shown a yellow — both for head contact with Kalvin Gourgues — allowing Clermont to work their way back into the match, relying on solid set pieces and Toulouse’s many errors.
Leon Darricarrere got Clermont back on track before captain Baptiste Jauneau brought his team within seven points in the 31st minute.
After the break, prop Giga Tutisani helped Clermont close the gap to just three points and their iron defence, combined with Toulouse’s indiscipline, then turned the match on its head, with New Zealand kicker Harry Plummer kicking two penalties to give his side the lead.
Clumsy and lacking inspiration, Toulouse squandered chances in the opposition 22 and ultimately had to concede defeat.
Sports
Diego Pavia accepts Ravens rookie minicamp invite after making unfortunate NFL Draft history: reports
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Diego Pavia, the polarizing former Vanderbilt quarterback who was runner-up in Heisman voting last season, has reportedly found a home in the NFL after going undrafted this weekend.
Pavia accepted an invitation to the Baltimore Ravens’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, per multiple reports. He doesn’t have a spot on the roster yet, but it’s a start as he looks to crack into the NFL with Baltimore.
Of course, Lamar Jackson, the two-time MVP quarterback, is cemented as the team’s starting quarterback, but perhaps Pavia can stand out enough in rookie minicamp to earn an invitation to training camp this summer.
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Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia throws a pass against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first quarter during the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 31, 2025. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
Pavia was not expecting to be undrafted this weekend, but he became the first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2014 to not hear his name called through the seven rounds in Pittsburgh.
Pavia won the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award for best upperclassman quarterback after throwing for 3,539 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, both of which single-season school records, to give the Commodores its first-ever 10-win season.
Vanderbilt just missed out on the College Football Playoff after finishing 10-3.
POLARIZING COLLEGE FOOTBALL STAR, HEISMAN TROPHY FINALIST GOES UNDRAFTED
Pavia ultimately finished second in Heisman voting to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza – the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft by the Las Vegas Raiders. So, what ultimately led to Pavia not getting drafted?
While his personality may have factored in, Pavia’s official height at the NFL Scouting Combine turned some heads. Vanderbilt had him listed at 6-foot, but he was measured at 5-foot-9 7/8, which would make him the shortest quarterback in the NFL if he were to step foot on the gridiron today. The average height is 6-foot-2 for an NFL quarterback.
However, those shorter than the average have seen success, including Minnesota Vikings newest member, Kyler Murray, who went first overall to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 coming out of Oklahoma. He’s listed at 5-foot-10.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia celebrates after the team’s win against Kentucky at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 22, 2025. (Mark Zaleski/The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Pavia barked back at critics during the Senior Bowl in January regarding his height.
“Yeah, my size has been doubted my whole life,” he said at the time, via AL.com. “I feel like the only thing the NFL cares about is can you win, and I view myself as a winner. I’ve been fortunate with all these great teams that I’ve had — we’ve never had a losing season. So that’s something to look forward to, I hope, for the rest of my career, that’s how it’s going to be.
“I feel like God has blessed me in so many ways to be a connector, and I feel like that’s one of my superpowers that I’ve got — I can connect. We unite, and then once you unite, you want to play for one another, and once you give 120% effort, there’s no one that can stop your team.”
Pavia’s personality, viewed by some as more cocky than confident, may have played a factor as well. After finishing runner-up to Mendoza in Heisman voting, Pavia was spotted at a New York City nightclub next to a sign that read, “F— Indiana.” Then, he posted on social media a photo with friends and a caption that read, “F— ALL THE VOTERS, BUT…FAMILY FOR LIFE.”
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia throws a football during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 28, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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Pavia later apologized for his decision to post that on his socials.
No matter the case, Pavia has a shot now with the Ravens and new head coach Jesse Minter, as he aims to show enough to join the quarterbacks group in training camp. Other than Jackson, the Ravens have Tyler “Snoop” Huntley on the roster to start the season.
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