Well, there were obviously some huge changes in between my post from earlier tonight and the present time.  My apologies for running with the story that Sampson would be suspended or fired today (Friday) — there was a lot of confirmation blood in the water, but it disappeared for some reason.

There are two questions that need to be asked.

The first question - Why did things change so suddenly? I don’t have a good answer to that yet, but I hope to. Did the lawyers get cold feet? Is Greenspan actually considering keeping Sampson on board? Is McRobbie completely clueless about the issues at hand? Are the Trustees completely clueless? Why are the trustees “awaiting a recommendation” about Sampson? What possible new information could be presented to the Trustees that would cause them to vote for anything EXCEPT Sampson’s removal?

The second question - Why on earth haven’t they simply put Sampson on a paid leave of absence until they figure this out? This story has dominated the news cycle with this program for the past two days. It’s going to dominate the news cycle on Friday. It’ll dominate the news cycle on Saturday, when ESPN College GameDay comes to town, and IU hosts Michigan State. It’s utterly criminal that the administration has let this situation fester for a WEEK (since they got the report last Friday) without taking some sort of action.

The news tonight that McRobbie is announcing an investigation was nothing short of comical. What is this, the fourth investigation of this situation? For god’s sake, IU, you know what’s going on here. The NCAA basically handed you and your basketball coach’s ass to you last week. They have called IU’s investigation inadequate, and they’ve called Sampson a serial liar. These opinions are not going to change. Sampson is getting a show-cause tag slapped on him, and the IU program is getting sanctions placed upon it.

The root of the entire problem is Sampson and certain members of his staff.  Now, it is understandable from a legal perspective that IU would want to wait to fire Sampson until the NCAA hearing. But there is no reason in the world for him to be coaching games or engaging in business as the head coach of the Indiana University men’s basketball team at this point — not when you could suspend him TODAY, with pay, and clean up this bullshit circus that has been erected around (and in) Assembly Hall.

You can decide when to fire him later — whether it’s next week, next month, or after the NCAA report. But the man should not be on the IU sidelines. The IU athletic department has the means to keep him off the sidelines without firing him. Yet they refuse to suspend him. Why?