NCAA finally gets around to tossing a coin, denies Ben Stanley's waiver

First, the news:

On July 29th, Ben Stanley committed his basketball and academic future to Xavier. After a breakout campaign at Hampton as a sophomore, he was looking for a place to test himself against the best the basketball world has to offer, and the Big East was the obvious place to do that.

Additionally, with the coronavirus pandemic (perhaps you've heard of it?) raging, Stanley needed an academic setting that would accommodate his documented learning disability with in-person classes and a high level of general academic achievement. Xavier fit the bill there.

All Stanley needed to be able to play this year would be a rubber stamp from the NCAA on his appeal for immediate eligibility. The NCAA had more than three months to make the decision.

Today, they decided to deny Stanley's appeal.

Is it possible to be disappointed even when you didn't have any expectations? Society has made great strides during just my lifetime regarding how people with learning problems are treated, but it's still not an easy step for anyone to admit they need help. Stanley did that. Now that's out in the open and he has gotten not even an iota of give on the other side from the NCAA.

The NCAA is adamant that people address the players as student-athletes and stick on the point that student comes first. Ben Stanley made the best decision for himself as both a student and an athlete this summer; the NCAA was unwilling to accommodate him in either aspect.