FanHouse MayaMoore

I thought Shelley Smith of ESPN did an even-handed job when she broke the news that the University of Connecticut women's basketball team committed a recruiting violation by taking Maya Moore on a tour of ESPN. UConn coach Geno Auriemma does not agree with me.

Auriemma said this on his weekly radio show:

"It's a story that has been rehashed by ESPN to serve its own purposes. ... Shelley Smith came up to talk to me to do a story on [Tennessee women's basketball coach] Pat Summitt and my relationship with her, why the series was canceled, and I flat out said, 'Go ask her. I didn't cancel it.' I didn't want to be involved in [that] story.

"And [Smith's] response was, 'OK, we're going to [report the violation].' ... What purpose does that serve? It's already been discussed and dealt with [last summer]. It's typical: 'Let's drum up some interest before the NCAA Tournament starts and hope these two meet in the finals so we can get boffo ratings' at the expense of Maya Moore."

The notion that this was done "at the expense of Maya Moore" strikes me as rather silly. No one is saying Moore did anything that any high school basketball player wouldn't do: She was offered a tour of ESPN and she accepted. What makes the story interesting is that it was Summitt, Auriemma's arch rival, who reported the tour to the NCAA. If Auriemma doesn't think that's newsworthy, he's wrong.
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Shelley Smith of ESPN.com is reporting that the University of Connecticut women's basketball team committed a recruiting violation by taking Maya Moore on a tour of ESPN.

The violation was brought to the NCAA's attention by UConn's arch rival, Tennessee, and Tennessee's conference, the SEC. Moore was heavily recruited by both schools and is now a star freshman at UConn.

ESPN acknowledges that it agreed to UConn's request to give Moore and her mother a tour. ESPN's headquarters in Bristol are located approximately 45 miles from UConn's campus. ESPN released a statement today saying, "To avoid future incidents, our tour policy will now prohibit high school athletes from receiving tours at the request of a college or university athletic official."

The tour was considered an impermissible benefit, although UConn says it did not receive any NCAA penalty for it. Tennessee had previously accused former UConn players of giving Moore car rides in violation of NCAA rules; the NCAA dismissed those accusations.

It's no secret that UConn coach Geno Auriemma and Tennessee coach Pat Summitt hate each other, and it's safe to say this won't do anything to change that. But it will add another layer of intrigue if UConn and Tennessee play each other in the NCAA Tournament.