When a Monona Grove High School football standout graduated and went on to the University of Wisconsin to play tackle for the Badgers, a proud Monona sports bar framed his high school jersey and planned to hang it on one of its walls along with the jerseys of other outstanding athletes.
Because his name was embroidered on the jersey, that, under the puzzling and autocratic rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, would have been a no-no. So the proprietor flipped the jersey so that only the number 71 on the front is visible. The guy who wore it presumably will remain anonymous until his college eligibility expires.
If you think this is silly, you’re not alone. But the bigger-than-life organization that controls big-time college sports, and rakes in tens of millions of dollars in the process, has never risen above silliness.