Baylor walk-on running back Silas Nacita posted on rant on Twitter Wednesday that quickly went viral. In short Nacita ripped the NCAA for declaring him ineligible simply because he accepted housing from a “close family friend” in order to avoid homelessness.
On Thursday morning, Nacita admitted that there was more to the story.
“The bottom line is that I broke the rules,” he wrote on Twitter. “I should’ve never accepted the help and I am deeply sorry for my actions.”
Nacita confessed that labeling the people he lived with “close family friends” was misleading.
“Although in this point in time we consider ourselves as such, at the time I was only close friends with one member of the family,” he explained. “The family members who offered assistance were merely acquaintances whom I met at home in Bakersfield, Calif. At the time I did not think this was inappropriate behavior, but now I can see that I made a mistake by disregarding guidance from Baylor compliance on what benefits I may accept.”
We had a feeling there was more to the story when the NCAA responded on Wednesday by saying Nacita had not been ruled ineligible. Perhaps Baylor knew he had broken eligibility rules and self-reported the violation.
Baylor coach Art Briles said Wednesday that he would welcome Nacita back onto the team if the situation could be sorted out.
If Nacita is ruled ineligible, there is already a silver lining. Fans have started a GoFundMe.com page for him under the premise that they are allowed to help him pay off his student loans if he is not eligible to play football.
Chances are, Baylor and the NCAA will work something out. We saw a similar situation play out when NCAA rules prevented fans from helping out a homeless Boise State player, but that was resolved rather quickly.
