OK, this is ridiculous

Starting with excerpts from the AP report:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four other Buckeyes were suspended by the NCAA for the first five games of next season for selling championship rings, jerseys and awards, and receiving improper benefits from a tattoo parlor. All can still play in the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas.

Along with Pryor, running back Daniel Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas must sit out and repay between $1,000 to $2,500 to charity.

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Lennon said a game was added on to the usual four-game penalty "because these student-athletes did not immediately disclose the violations when presented with the appropriate rules education."

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Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling his Big Ten ring, Fiesta Bowl sportsmanship award and his 2008 gold pants, a trinket given to players who are a part of a team which beats rival Michigan.

Adams must repay $1,000 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring.

Herron must repay $1,150 for selling his football jersey, pants and shoes for $1,000 and receiving discount services worth $150.

Posey sold his 2008 Big Ten ring for $1,200 and also received discount services.

OK, I understand that college football has rules for a reason. The NCAA feels the need to preserve the amateur status of its athletes, and when an athlete is caught trying to profit from his or her athletic prowess while playing a sport at an NCAA institution, the NCAA perceives this as a threat to other member institutions whose athletes do not profit thus.

But seriously, who did this really hurt? Show me the victim of the sale of Terrelle Pryor's Fiesta Bowl sportsmanship award. Is it a player at Boise State? How exactly is he hurt? And does the NCAA believe that the only memorabilia sold by its athletes this year was sold by these particular football players at Ohio State? And how can players be expected to report their own violations when they know the probability is great that they will be punished so severely for them?

Here's the thing that bothers me the most about this. If these players had waited a couple of years to sell these items, they'd be out of college, and the NCAA would be unable to touch them. By then, a Terrelle Pryor or a Daniel Herron won't need the money from such a sale, because they'll be drawing NFL paychecks. Now they're expected to pay this money to charity, with very little means of raising it without drawing further penalties from the NCAA.

These suspensions will cripple the Buckeyes' chance at a national championship next year, and even seriously impact their chance at a Big Ten title. The first two games these players will miss are against Akron and Toledo, and Ohio State could win both those games with their fourth-stringers. But then they've got Colorado, Miami (Fla.) and Michigan State. Those would be tough games even at full strength. Without their quarterback and those other key players, they'll be that much tougher.

It will also cost Pryor a shot at a Heisman trophy. And for what? Other than the fact that dictators are irrational, I don't see any real lessons being taught here. I would imagine that rather than play half a season at Ohio State next year, Pryor will enter the draft and play a full season in the NFL.

Yes, rules are rules, and people are responsible for knowing and following them. But this is ridiculous.