Mike Boynton Hopes the NCAA Takes Accountability and Apologizes to Oklahoma State
The NCAA has been the subject of criticism by a multitude of coaches due to inconsistent rulings during the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) in relation to multiple investigations including programs like Oklahoma State and Kansas.
While Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton issued no ill will to the recent findings with the University of Kansas, Boynton made it known that he hopes the NCAA would take accountability and apologize for the wrongdoings at Oklahoma State.
Boynton took the stage at Big 12 Basketball Media Days in Kansas City on Wednesday afternoon and spoke about the IARP and the NCAA addressing some issues with the process as a whole.
“What happened to us was wrong,” Boynton said. “That was the point, not that someone else should also be done wrong. But I thought that what happened was the wrong decision to make because of the same reason they’re saying that they are doing what they are doing now. They don’t want to punish kids for something that they didn’t do.”
Oklahoma State was banned from the 2022 NCAA Tournament as punishment for former assistant coach Lamont Evans’ who played a role in the FBI bribery investigation, but to Boynton’s credit, Evans’ infractions against the NCAA took place before Mike Boynton was hired.
While Boynton will more than likely not receive an apology from the NCAA anytime soon, his thoughts are more than justified considering the response to the rulings in the Kansas investigation was because they didn’t want to hurt current kids for something that was done in previous classes.
Boynton continued by praising Bill Self for the job he’s done at Kansas and mentioned that he’s been somewhat of a mentor of his and helped make him a better coach along the way.
“In many ways, I’m happy for Dajuan Harris and Kevin McCullar and even the new guys, Hunter Dickinson,” Boynton said. “They don’t have to suffer for something that somebody else may have done in the past. I was really really disappointed that the guys that I was coaching at the time had to go through that.”
The Oklahoma State head coach paused and reflected don’t he process and mentioned his desire for accountability from the NCAA, and that he hopes to one day receive a phone call admitting that the rulings were unjust.
“I’m a big accountability person,” Boynton said. “I wish somebody would just pick up a call and say ‘Listen, we screwed up. It shouldn’t have happened, we recognize that, and it probably won’t happen again.’ You’re going to be a footnote in the history books, but we apologize.”
Oklahoma State tips off its basketball season on November 6th against ACU in a much-needed fresh start with a chance to find its way to the NCAA Tournament in 2024.
