Jonathan Mahler, Columnist

NCAA Punishes Oregon Ducks for Crime of Capitalism

Â In the NCAA's moral universe, the Oregon Ducks committed one of the worst sins, paying a âstreet agentâ named Willie Lyles to steer players to their school.

June 27, 2013 at 6:30 PM UTC

By Jonathan Mahler

Jonathan Mahler is a sports columnist for Bloomberg View. He is the author of the best-selling "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning," the basis for the eight-part ESPN mini-series. He also wrote "The Challenge," the winner of the 2009 Scribes Book Award, and "Death Comes to Happy Valley." A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine and the Times Book Review, Mahler has written for numerous other publications including the Washington Post, Slate, the New Republic and New York magazine. He lives in New York.

University of Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly smiles during a post-game press conference after winning the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, on Jan. 3, 2013. Photographer: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

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It's good to be the University of Oregon. After a 27-month investigation into alleged recruiting violations at Nike's hometown football program, the NCAA has given the school three years probation and taken away just three of its scholarships. Oh, and Oregon's former head coach, Chip Kelly, has basically been banned from college football for two years -- which is fine by him, because he's now with the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the one hand, the punishment is a joke. In the NCAA's moral universe, the Ducks committed one of the worst sins, paying a "street agent" named Willie Lyles to steer players to their school.