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Gene Marsh, a former top regulator for college sports, chuckled when he saw how Kansas Coach Bill Self punched back at N.C.A.A. accusations that he was complicit in Adidas’s improper funneling of more than $100,000 to three basketball recruits. Self derided the N.C.A.A.’s 20-page report as a false narrative “based on innuendo, half-truths, misimpressions and mischaracterizations.”
Marsh’s advice: Don’t tell that to the judge.
“That is a visceral argument and plays to the Bubbas in the crowd,” Marsh said. “Schools that end up on the wrong side of the gun frequently say, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re being singled out.