From the Milwaukee paper:
Gard's initial comment about his frustration was the beginning of a slow, steady and length sermon.
The target of his ire: The NCAA.
"The reason why I got into this profession was to try to help young people and make their experiences and their lives better," he said. "Unfortunately, during this scenario that has played out since June, we have not done a good job as a membership and the organization that heads that membership, the NCAA, of making a student-athlete’s experience better.
“Micah will have sat, by the time he plays in December, 47 games."
That includes, Gard noted, the 35 games he didn't play at Ohio State last season, and 12 contests at UW, 10 games, one exhibition game and UW's scrimmage against Iowa State.
"That is 21 months and three semesters," Gard continued. "Find somewhere else that that has happened. This is unprecedented. We did all we could do from an institution standpoint…Micah did everything he could do.
"But aren’t we as a membership in the human business of trying to make the experiences of the student-athlete better?
"The one that gets penalized the most in this is Micah Potter. And that is completely unfair to have to sit this much...
"You see so many negative things. Micah Potter is the quintessential student-athlete. He is exactly what the NCAA should want representing them. Instead of using that as a positive message to the rest of the student-athletes, you took one of your best student-athletes in the country and penalized him further.
"I was hoping common sense would prevail in this. Unfortunately, it didn’t. And again, I just don’t understand when we’re in the business of trying to make these student-athletes’ experiences better…his clock is ticking.
"The rest of us will go on. And the people who are in those positions, in that committee and the NCAA staff, they obviously don’t have their boots on the ground and understand the impact that this has on a young man and on his life and on his future.
"And credit to Micah. I was so irate this afternoon and Micah was the one that took the news better than anybody. Better than me, our compliance (people) and our administration.
"I feel it was such an injustice. It’s unfortunate. It’s really a shame. It’s a shame."
