NewsOK: OU fan asked to stop fund-raiser for slain recruit

Gotta love the NCAA!

By Jake Trotter
Staff Writer

NORMAN — Just hours after Oklahoma football recruit Herman Mitchell was shot to death Friday in Houston, Adam Fineberg started raising money for Mitchell's family.

But after raising $4,500, enough to cover almost half the cost of Mitchell's funeral, Fineberg stopped. An OU compliance officer told him his actions would constitute an NCAA rules violation against the Sooners.

Now, Mitchell's mother likely will never receive that money.

That money is considered illegal financial assistance under NCAA rules because Mitchell's brother is a sophomore fullback at Westfield High School in Spring, Texas, and because Fineberg is an OU fan who attends Sooner football games and solicited donations through an OU fan Web site.

"I think it's wrong,” said Fineberg, an Oklahoma City native who graduated from Heritage Hall in 1995 and lives in Houston. "Mitchell's mom is a single mother, and I just wanted to help the family out.

"I was just starting to get it rolling, too.”

OU spokesman Kenny Mossman said the an official with the university's compliance office contacted Fineberg on Monday asking to him halt his fundraising efforts until the OU received a rules interpretation from the NCAA. That interpretation came Tuesday.

"This is not a permissible expense for OU or someone who could be construed as an OU supporter,” said Mossman, an associate athletic director for communications. "We're not trying to be the bad guys, but we have to play by their rules.”

OU could apply for a waiver that would allow Fineberg to resume his fundraising and allow the Mitchell's family to receive the money, an NCAA official said late Tuesday.

"We would consider that if the university chose to go down that avenue,” NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said.

Herman Mitchell, 17, was on his way to Westfield for a football scrimmage last Friday afternoon when a fight broke out between Mitchell and 19-year-old Emile "Rusty” Lewis over ownership of a dog, according to police.

Police said Lewis went to his apartment and returned with a rifle, shooting Mitchell several times and killing him.

Police have arrested Lewis and charged him with murder.

Coming into this season, Mitchell was regarded as one of the top high school football players in Texas.

The 6-foot, 200-pound outside linebacker had several college scholarship offers but chose the Sooners in June.

Fineberg, who graduated from the University of Houston-Downtown, received donations from posters on the Sooner fan Web site, OUInsider.com, and used "HermanMitchellOUSooners.pledgepage.org” as his Web address. He said he expected to raise at least $10,000, which would've covered the costs of Mitchell's funeral.

Fineberg said since he's been asked to stop raising money, he's had to turn down donation offers from Houston's Heisman Trophy winner, Andre Ware, and a player from the NFL's Houston Texans.

"I understand that rules shouldn't be broken,” said Fineberg. "But I don't understand this rule.”

Last month, the NCAA imposed sanctions on OU after an investigation revealed that three football players, including starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, had received payment for work they had not done at Big Red Sports and Imports, a Norman car dealership.

"I'm trying to do the right thing,” Fineberg said. "But I don't want to put the university in trouble.”

Now, Fineberg is working OU's compliance office to figure out what to do with the money.

If Fineberg doesn't refund his donors, he might be able to give it to the Texas High School Coaches Association benevolence fund, which Fineberg said already gave $3,000 to Mitchell's family for funeral expenses.

But Fineberg's money would go to a general fund and not to Mitchell's family.

The other option being discussed is creating a scholarship in Mitchell's name in cooperation with the OU club of Houston.

But first, Fineberg's donors would have to agree with how their money is used. And in either scenario, the money wouldn't reach Mitchell's family.

"The plan was for it all to go to his family with no stipulations,” said Fineberg, who originally was going to collect funds until Oct. 1, then present the money to the Mitchell family on Oct. 5. "Now, they won't get it, just because Herman had a younger brother.

"And that's unfortunate.”

__________________
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. --Master Yoda
Facts can change opinions, opinions cannot change facts.

This was all done through ouinsider.com, a site where I'm an administrator (and where I promote this site and receive lots of new users as a result).

The guy meant well and even asked others about the NCAA consequences before making the post that asked for donations.

Since the young man has passed away, I can't see how the NCAA would have any issues with this... There is no way the school could benefit from helping the kid's mother.

I know the NCAA has rules and that they apply to everyone, but....
You know this is cannot be the first time a situation like this has come up.
There should be a rule to address it.
I suppose being able to ask for a waiver is the way around it.

What makes it really sad...Is that the NCAA has rules in place because of all the unethical actions of others in the past.
So once again...those that choose to cheat, lie and steal...make the rest of the world pay.

JMHO
This sucks!!!!

The problem, according to the NCAA, is that he has a brother in high school and the money can be viewed as an "influence" should he decide to attend OU.

Still a bunch of hogwash.

__________________
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. --Master Yoda
Facts can change opinions, opinions cannot change facts.

maybe if OU would stop breaking the rules they would stop getting threaten/ punished by the ncaa.

its always something with you cry babies. you cant give money to players or their familys - dead or not.

I don't know this has anything to do with our recent infractions.

My guess is if the recruit did not have a brother still in high school - and therefore capable of influence - this would not have been an issue at all. It's not about being a cry-baby, it's about doing what some consider to be right and charitable for another human being.

Sometimes our blood doesn't have to bleed any particular color to teach us that.

And tacky comments like yours about "dead or not" players (not to mention your atrocious spelling) only provide us a glimpse of your true colors. Go Pokes!

__________________
My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind
Albert Einstein

Sorry for using familys instead of families - i wasnt aware that it was unforgivable.

I guess its right and charitable to just give bomar the money as well -

Bomar apparently filed for 40-hour work weeks at a Norman, Okla., auto dealership, making up to $18,000, when he only worked 5 hours a week, Schad reported.

ESPN - Sooners dismiss Bomar, Quinn - College Football

I really hope you guys keep it up, the NCAA thinks OU is a joke - you might as well go ahead and prove it. Dont make me even bring up basketball....

It just always surprises me that you never hear of any other Colleges having these problems...but each year OU is always involved in some breaking of the rules.

Only OU? Not quite -- Sooners have lots of scandalous company - CBSSports.com

maybe that will make you guys feel better.

brado -- don't be such a punk.

For chrissakes, a kid died, a guy was raising money to help with funeral expenses for a cash-strapped family and to help pay for the kid's younger brother's college. What this has to do with any ex-OU player who is no longer with the team is beyond me. Your posts are so far afield as to leave most of us wondering where in the heck you're coming from. 3 posts in a row? We get it, you don't like OU. This thread isn't about your dislike though. It's about a kid who died very tragically. Were OU fans behaving like you when Vernon Grant had his tragic accident? No? Show some class.

You want to assume there's something bad going on here?

This really has nil to do with any of OU's past NCAA infractions which neither you nor anyone else can prove OU knew anything about until it was too late.

If the NCAA has half a heart, they'll grant OU's request for a waiver.

__________________
It's a friendlier OKCTalk!

__________________
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. --Master Yoda
Facts can change opinions, opinions cannot change facts.

OU haters.....Unite!!

Someone must have sounded the alarm

__________________
Dr. Spaceman: Now Jenna, medically speaking for your height your weight puts you what we call the "disgusting" range. Fortunately there are solutions. For example, crystal meth has been shown to be very effective. How important is tooth retention to you?

quoted for truth. -M

Who is a crybaby?


This is for you:

you cant give players or their familys money - its not hard to understand, i dont see why OU supporters cant seem to grasp this simple idea.

brado,
an entity can give players or their families money if the ncaa grants a waiver... hence ou's request for such a waiver. this is obvious to any rational person. what's truly sad is that you hate the university of oklahoma more than you care about a family who is grieving the loss of a son.

-M

NCAA grants waiver for fundraiser for Oklahoma recruit's funeral

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — The NCAA said Thursday it has granted a waiver for the University of Oklahoma to set up a fund to assist with funeral expenses for the family of a slain football recruit.
Herman Mitchell, a 6-foot, 200-pound linebacker, verbally committed in June to play for the Sooners, but the 17-year-old from Westfield High School in Houston was shot to death Friday after getting into a fight at an apartment complex.

Soon after, Oklahoma booster and Houston resident Adam Fineberg began raising money for Mitchell's family to help defray the player's funeral costs. Fineberg had raised about $4,500 before university compliance officials told him his actions violated NCAA rules. He has since refunded the money.

Oklahoma officials said they'd been told Tuesday by the NCAA that the money raised by Fineberg would constitute illegal financial assistance under NCAA rules, because Mitchell's brother is a sophomore football player at Westfield and Fineberg is considered to be an Oklahoma booster.

Fineberg said his only intention was to help Mitchell's mother to pay for the funeral. Oklahoma compliance officials requested the waiver on Wednesday.

"We're happy with their decision and now we have we have a little bit of work to do, to make sure we do this in accordance with NCAA rules and with the laws of Oklahoma," Oklahoma athletic department spokesman Kenny Mossman said.

Under the waiver, granted by the NCAA's membership services staff, any funds raised by Fineberg can be transferred to the university to help pay for funeral expenses.

The waiver has three conditions — that the university take control of the fundraising and any funds already donated to Fineberg; that the university use the funds to directly cover the costs of the funeral and memorial services, with no money going directly to the family; and that any excess funds be donated to a Houston-area non-profit organization to be chosen by the university.

"This is a tragic circumstance, and we are glad we were able to work quickly with OU to assist this family in their time of need," said Kevin Lennon, the NCAA vice president for membership services.

Lennon said NCAA bylaws cannot take into account the unique circumstances of every situation.

"This is a case where our waiver process worked exactly as it is intended — to collaborate with a member institution to address an individual situation," he said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Somewhere in the world someone dies every 8 seconds, where is your compassion for those people?

WikiAnswers - How many people die a day

Its the same place my compassion for some kid from houston who got into a fight is......

brado,
that pointless statistic is completely irrelevent to the discussion. a community tries to make life a little better for a family that is grieving the loss of a son and you can't see past some silly college football enmity.

-M

I heard on the radio a couple of hours ago that the NCAA has relented and will allow OU to raise funds for the funeral. The proviso is that all funds have to come directly from the university, no money can go to the family. It has to be used strictly for funeral expenses and any extra money has to go to a nonprofit organization in Houston of the university's choice.

I'll remember this if you ever post about a loved one getting murdered.

And may all the flies in Ethiopia migrate to your bedroom tonight.

I know what i said seems kinda harsh, but when you watch the local 10p news each night they mention 2-3 murders in the metro okc area. (our neighbors) and no one ever mentions anything about those people ever again. But then when we have a kid from houston who verbally commited to OU get murdered everyone acts like its the worst thing in the world and how could something like this ever happen...

Where is the money for the kids family to help with funeral expenses who helped you at the grocery store, or the guy who works in your mail room who lost his son to gang violence?

Im not trying to be 'deep' or an 'as$' but why should i care about someone who died almost 500 miles away when we dont care about someone who dies across town.

How does Vernon Grant's death make you feel?

The OSU basketball team?

Well.. folks die all the time. Get over it!

-- is that how you're thinking here?

__________________
It's a friendlier OKCTalk!

Why do you care to whom other people give their money? I'm not going to be charitable when and where rugbybrado deems it okay. Doctors Without Borders is about helping people on the other side of the planet and by your reasoning, I'm some kind of deviant for giving them money.

Giving money to help somebody 500 miles away and caring for local folk in a bind are not mutually exclusive either. I can do both.

If I knew your name, I'd have half a mind to donate $25 to this kid's fund with it.