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Shabazz Muhammad’s family releases a statement

Indiana State v UCLA

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 09: Ineligble player Shabazz Muhammad of the UCLA Bruins applauds during the game with the Indiana State Sycamores at Pauley Pavilion on November 9, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

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On Friday, the NCAA announced that star UCLA recruit Shabazz Muhammad was ineligible to play, but they didn’t really elaborate beyond that.

How long is he out? Can he ever play in college? When will an official announcement be made? No one knows.

What we do know, however is how the Muhammad family feels about it. They released a statement to the LA Times this afternoon saying, more or less, we didn’t do anything wrong, and what we did do wrong, the NCAA had already ok’d.

The full statement can be read here, but I’ll pull the important quote:

Last Friday, the NCAA released a Press Release which not only was wrong in its conclusions but which also inaccurately portrayed the investigation process in this case. For over a year, the NCAA has known all of the relevant facts related to its ruling last Friday. Prior to the unofficial visits in question, Ron Holmes and Ben Lincoln received approval from NCAA (through its member universities) for Mr. Lincoln (who has had a continuous close friendship with Shabazz’s family since 2007) to pay for airline tickets and hotel rooms. In 2010, Mr. Holmes openly and honestly revealed to the NCAA the source of the payments on the NCAA’s compliance form.

I almost feel bad for Shabazz at this point. He did what he did, but the NCAA owes him an answer. The season has started. UCLA has already played a game. The NCAA needs to tell him what his punishment will be.

Enough with the nonsense already. If anyone in any other profession hit deadlines at the same rate as the NCAA, they wouldn’t be working in that profession anymore.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.