Brian Bowen does not look the part of a victim. It is hard in our society to view someone so tall and large and physically gifted as being vulnerable. It is hard for many to view him, even, as being 19 years old.
He still has nearly another 10 months, though, as a teenager. He may be one of the nation’s best young basketball players, but the most salient part of that descriptor is his youth. Sometimes young people make foolish decisions. Very often, like all the time, they have decisions made for them.
This is why I believed Bowen when he said to ESPN’s "Outside The Lines" program, “I didn’t know anything — anything at all” about the allegation his father agreed to accept $100,000 to direct Brian to commit to play basketball at the University of Louisville last spring.
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The U.S. Justice Department released documents in October indicating such an arrangement had occurred. In the wake of that revelation, the university parted ways with two assistant coaches, head coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich. It also determined, after some thought, that Bowen would not be a part of its basketball program.
Louisville made the right move. But now it’s time for the NCAA to do the same. The right move now is for the organization to indicate to member schools that he is clear to be recruited as a student-athlete and eligible to compete in the 2018-19 season.
Bowen might not look like a victim, but he is one.
We all forget very easily how little knowledge most of us have regarding our parents’ affairs. Mortgage payments? Credit card bills? Medical insurance? It’s adult stuff.
I remember when I was filling out the form to apply to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test, and there was a chart on the application that asked how high the family income was. I had no idea how much my father earned as superintendent of transportation at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thompson works. And he didn’t want to answer my question until I showed him on the form I needed to check one of the boxes.
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I’m not naive enough to deny that this sort of plausible deniability would make it easy for such a recruiting scam to work: I take the money, you say you know nothing, you’ll get your share. In the absence of evidence or testimony or proof such an arrangement exists, however, the more plausible explanation is that the young person almost certainly doesn’t know about these situations.
Bowen was reluctant to criticize his father to "OTL": "Whatever has happened, I don't want to know anything about it," Bowen said. "I let him know that I'm very upset as far as not being able to play. As far as the investigation and everything, I don't even want to talk about it at all.”
He was more comfortable being critical of acquaintance Christian Dawkins, like Bowen a product of Saginaw, Mich. Dawkins was one of the people charged in the Justice Department’s case; he joined Bowen on his recruiting visit to U of L.
"I would say he was a guy I could go to — a trustworthy guy," Bowen said. " If the allegations are truly true, I'm really mad at him for putting me in this position. There's nothing I can say. I'm just so mad."
When Cam Newton was going through this sort of situation in his Heisman Trophy season at Auburn, when it was alleged Newton’s father and another man had requested a six-figure sum for Newton to attend Mississippi State, there were many who wanted him out of the game on that count alone — without even a credible allegation that Newton was part of the plan.
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Part of what led to Newton being available to play in the 2010 SEC championship game and in the BCS title game was Auburn’s declaration that “Cam had no knowledge or involvement in this misconduct, and Auburn respectfully submits that he should not be punished for the conduct of others.”
Bowen has no such advocate at the moment because Louisville has, given the circumstances that led him there, determined it would be best for him to not play for the Cardinals. There are schools interested, though, that have requested the NCAA review the case and grant him the opportunity to be eligible as a transfer athlete.
One college coach I spoke with Thursday said the shame of the Bowen situation is that it is not unique — that he sees many college basketball prospects each year manipulated by adults around them.
Brian Bowen is 6-7, 194 pounds, with his hair shaved close on the side and dyed blond on the top. He has a beautiful jump shot that might one day lead to him earning thousands, even millions. He may not look like a victim, but until the NCAA declares he will be allowed to play college basketball, that’s as good a word as any to describe him.
