https://mutigers.com/news/2001/12/21/MU_Gearing_Up_For_No_9_Illinois.aspx
MU was informed by the NCAA Staff that junior center Uche Okafor was denied his bid for reinstatement, leaving him ineligible pending an appeal by MU.
Okafor, a 6-foot-11 center from Anambra State, Nigeria, came to MU this fall after playing two years at the College of Southern Idaho, where he established himself as one of the top JUCO centers in the country. Okafor was led to Russia out of his home country in order to eventually get to the United States to play basketball. While he was there, Okafor was convinced to sign a contract to play in a Russian professional league. He did so, but never played a game while there, and never received payment.
https://www.mrt.com/news/article/NCAA-Denies-Okafor-Reinstatement-7727157.php
Okafor was suspended indefinitely Dec. 20 when the NCAA said he violated amateur rules by being on the roster of a Russian club. Team Dynamo, which signed Okafor to a contract and paid travel and living expenses for him to come to Moscow, is defunct. Okafor never played a game for the team.
http://a.espncdn.com/ncb/s/katzqa/020118.html
This is an innocent person who hasn't committed a criminal act. The issue is whether or not he intended to professionalize himself when he was fleeing Nigeria to go to Russia and then to Canada.
But the NCAA isn't going to bend. If a player's name is on a contract then he will be ineligible. If that's the case then it should have been decided months ago. That information wasn't new. Okafor could have made choices in the summer instead of being in idle for almost the whole season.
Edited by FIJItiger at 13:17:52 on 11/09/18