MedDawg
07-25-2017, 09:58 AM
In 1977, Ole Miss grads on Mississippi Supreme Court overturn court order that had cleared MSU's Larry Gillard. The court opinion was written by Justice Bowling, who has a scholarship in his name at OM.
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/34118604/
From December 7, 1977
Gillard case Supreme Court overturns order
JACKSON (UPO--The Mississippi Supreme Court today overturned a 1975 chancery court order lhat allowed Mississippi State football player Larry Gillard to continue playing (or the Bulldogs in an eligibility dispute with the National 'Collegiate Athletic Association. The court, in an opinion written by Associate Justice Francis Bowling, said the courts "cannot make rules to govern amateur athletics. All we can do is apply legal precedents to the rules promulgated by the associations involved."
It was not immediately known what impact, if any, the ruling might have on Mississippi S t a t e ' s football program. Gillard, a 255-pound defensive tackle, was a senior this year and already has completed his college career. He had been one of the mainstays on the Bulldogs' defensive unit for the past three years. Gillard had been declared ineligible in 1975 because he allegedly received a one-third :discount on c l o t h i n g purchased from a store in Okolona. His attorneys said similar discounts were offered to other college students.
Attorneys for the university and Gillard obtained an injunction in 1975 from a chancery court judge in Oktibbeha County permitting Gillard to continue playing for Coach Bob Tyler's Bulldogs. The Supreme Court said it was the first time the issues involved had been presented in this state. But Bowling said similar questions had been raised in other states, and the lower court ruling "was contrary to all of them." Gillard's attorneys maintained at a hearing on the appeal that actions of the NCAA were in violation of Gillard's constitutional rights in that he was not granted due process of law. These arguments were rejected by the Supreme Court.
In the o p i n i o n , B o w l i n g said G i l l a r d ' s "right" to engage in intercollegiate football is not a "property" right that falls under the due process provisions of the state constitution or the federal constitution. The original ineligibility ruling had been for an indefinite period, but this was modified later by the NCAA Committee on Infractions malting it apply to only the remainder of the 1975 season, w h i c h w a s G i l l a r d ' s sophomore year.
Attorneys for Gillard maintained the entire matter was now moot since Gillard was concluding his collegiate football career anyway. But the court denied a motion to dismiss the appeal, s a y i n g t h e c a s e i n v o l v e d a constitutional issue that should be considered. The dispute over Gillard's eligibility stemmed from the NCAA's decision in 1975 to pice Mississippi State's football team on probation for two years b e c a u s e of alleged r e c r u i t i n g infractions. This probation exired in September, 1977.
During a hearing before the high court, attorneys declined to speculate what might happen if the chancery court ruling was overturned. However, the NCAA manual provides for several alternatives in such situations: --The NCAA can require either his (Gillard) or team records be vacated or stricken during such time as he participated (1975-1977). --Require any victories be forfeited while he played. --Require any award won during his participation returned to the NCAA. --If a team wins any championships during his participation, these can be taken back. --Can require Mississippi State's share of television receipts during Gillard's participation be returned if it is determined that Mississippi State would not have been on television had it not been for Gillard's presence.
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/34118604/
From December 7, 1977
Gillard case Supreme Court overturns order
JACKSON (UPO--The Mississippi Supreme Court today overturned a 1975 chancery court order lhat allowed Mississippi State football player Larry Gillard to continue playing (or the Bulldogs in an eligibility dispute with the National 'Collegiate Athletic Association. The court, in an opinion written by Associate Justice Francis Bowling, said the courts "cannot make rules to govern amateur athletics. All we can do is apply legal precedents to the rules promulgated by the associations involved."
It was not immediately known what impact, if any, the ruling might have on Mississippi S t a t e ' s football program. Gillard, a 255-pound defensive tackle, was a senior this year and already has completed his college career. He had been one of the mainstays on the Bulldogs' defensive unit for the past three years. Gillard had been declared ineligible in 1975 because he allegedly received a one-third :discount on c l o t h i n g purchased from a store in Okolona. His attorneys said similar discounts were offered to other college students.
Attorneys for the university and Gillard obtained an injunction in 1975 from a chancery court judge in Oktibbeha County permitting Gillard to continue playing for Coach Bob Tyler's Bulldogs. The Supreme Court said it was the first time the issues involved had been presented in this state. But Bowling said similar questions had been raised in other states, and the lower court ruling "was contrary to all of them." Gillard's attorneys maintained at a hearing on the appeal that actions of the NCAA were in violation of Gillard's constitutional rights in that he was not granted due process of law. These arguments were rejected by the Supreme Court.
In the o p i n i o n , B o w l i n g said G i l l a r d ' s "right" to engage in intercollegiate football is not a "property" right that falls under the due process provisions of the state constitution or the federal constitution. The original ineligibility ruling had been for an indefinite period, but this was modified later by the NCAA Committee on Infractions malting it apply to only the remainder of the 1975 season, w h i c h w a s G i l l a r d ' s sophomore year.
Attorneys for Gillard maintained the entire matter was now moot since Gillard was concluding his collegiate football career anyway. But the court denied a motion to dismiss the appeal, s a y i n g t h e c a s e i n v o l v e d a constitutional issue that should be considered. The dispute over Gillard's eligibility stemmed from the NCAA's decision in 1975 to pice Mississippi State's football team on probation for two years b e c a u s e of alleged r e c r u i t i n g infractions. This probation exired in September, 1977.
During a hearing before the high court, attorneys declined to speculate what might happen if the chancery court ruling was overturned. However, the NCAA manual provides for several alternatives in such situations: --The NCAA can require either his (Gillard) or team records be vacated or stricken during such time as he participated (1975-1977). --Require any victories be forfeited while he played. --Require any award won during his participation returned to the NCAA. --If a team wins any championships during his participation, these can be taken back. --Can require Mississippi State's share of television receipts during Gillard's participation be returned if it is determined that Mississippi State would not have been on television had it not been for Gillard's presence.