Photos: Tennessee Athletics
Josh Heupel called it bullshit and he is right.
Carter is a captain on this Tennessee football team. He’s one of the leaders in the locker room and a guy who does things the right way. This is the same player who shaved his own head to support his girlfriend while she battled breast cancer. He shaved her head first on her birthday, then turned the clippers on himself so they could go through it together. That video went viral for a reason. It shows who he is.
In a sport where guys are getting paid millions through NIL and schools are throwing money around like it’s nothing, they’re losing their minds over a few hundred bucks on a plane ticket that already got paid back.
That’s not about protecting the game. That’s the NCAA showing they can still swing at somebody when they feel like it. Heupel said the ruling feels completely out of touch with where college football is now. He’s not wrong. Carter has been one of the better linebackers in the SEC and a leader on a defense that needs him. Taking him for the first two games over this is ridiculous. Thats two more games of film he cant show off to the NFL. He did what he was supposed to do after the fact and still got punished.
This is the same group that let NIL collectives and big money deals run wild for years with barely any real enforcement. Then they turn around and hammer a kid over a repaid plane ticket. They move slow or not at all on the big messes, then jump on something like this. Fans see it. Players see it. Coaches see it. Everybody sees it but the people making these insane decisions.
The NCAA has operated for decades with almost no real guidelines. They spin a wheel and hand out whatever punishment feels right that day. You almost have to hope they’ll use common sense at some point. But expecting that is like asking Neyland Stadium to stay quiet when Alabama goes for it on 4th and 1.
Heupel went to bat for his player in public. That matters for a guy like him known for staying extremely quiet in media settings. Carter will serve the suspension and get back to work. The Vols will move on. But this whole thing is still a joke.
The NCAA has always been a bad joke. It’s time to get the comedian off the stage.