Point 1: There are a large portion of fans who believe that UA, like every other school, isn't entirely clean when it comes to recruiting. Not just a coach out of line here or there but a consistent body of work. It's severity unnamed - but debatably the same as another similarly sized Power 5 school's transgressions. Again, not my opinion - but one's I've read here.
Those are called fans of other teams. Seriously, I've been here a while and does anyone want to raise their hand and be the one to say that here? Anyone? Your ambiguous language though, is just... odd to me. "
severity unnamed - but debatably the same as another similarly sized Power 5 school's transgressions"? What does that even mean? If you need someone to spell it out for you though, no Alabama isn't doing what Ole Miss is doing.
I think there seems to be a disconnect here. Knowing the litany of NCAA rules, we all know rules are broken, because so many asinine things are technically against the rules. Think about the things that have become issues in the past, a cookout, a signed napkin, textbooks, a fishing trip, etc... Do any of those things make a program "dirty"? Hell no they don't! Were they all violations of NCAA rules? Yes, they were.
So, when most people say everyone breaks the rules, it's the same as saying every commits crimes. When you have so many rules and laws, they get broken. There's a world of difference between going a few miles over the speed limit and robbing a bank though. For comparison purposes, Ole Miss robbed a bank. Mind you, I was one of the guys that was saying Ole Miss was doing it before their 2013 class was even finished. It was obvious, it was overt. Here was a mediocre SEC school with very little going for it, and an unproven head coach, suddenly out-recruiting the top programs in the nation, even if a player has no interest previously or no reason to want to go to Ole Miss. That's what dirty looks like.
Nick Saban came to Alabama after coaching in both the SEC and the Big 10, with no history or NCAA run-ins following him. He's a great recruiter and the reason is pretty obvious, he works hard, he focuses on tiny details and he's honest. Alabama as a SEC team with the best history, perched in the heart of SEC recruiting territory always had a recruiting advantage on their own. This, combined with Nick Saban made for an obviously successful mix. Logically Alabama under Saban doesn't have to cheat to bring in great classes and furthermore how would Ole Miss be luring recruits away from other schools if what they were doing wasn't more egregious?
Having said that, are rules still broken? Of course they are! Bo getting fired is proof of that, but what you see at Alabama is basically as clean a program as any FBS program can be. Also, while you claim to be the "messenger" your questions were leading, and as I said before completely unnecessary.
Point 2: There are a large portion of fans who believe that Nick Saban is an ethical man. As often as he preaches doing the right things to his players and what it means to be man and conducting oneself with integrity.
Those two points - for the people that hold those views - would seem to be in competition with one another.
Read what you said in your post before, which basically says how with what is going on can Nick Saban be an ethical guy? You're calling Nick Saban into question solely on the basis of your own speculation! That might not be your intention but at this point you are basically fishing and when someone answers your hypothetical scenarios you use that to just keep going on with something that is baseless. Yes, it is a sore subject because the NCAA has hammered Alabama maliciously in the past, playing into a narrative created by those goons at the NCAA isn't helpful.
Honestly, I'd be fine with this topic being closed at this point. We have a good idea of what actually went on, it was a secondary violation, a minor violation and would have otherwise been of little consequence. Speculation beyond that on unrelated matters, especially when they turn accusatory is of no tangible use.