Sports

Jack Del Rio, Pete Carroll Comment on 'Deflategate', Reggie Bush Sanctions at USC Ceremony

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Two inductees into the University of Southern California's (USC) Athletics Hall of Fame have differing views on the NFL's "deflategate" ruling, but neither has forgotten the NCAA's sanctions over the Reggie Bush case.

According to the Associated Press, USC inducted Jack Del Rio, a former student-athlete, and Pete Carroll, a former head football coach, into their athletic department's Hall of Fame. At the ceremony last weekend, Del Rio said he thought the NFL's punishment for the New England Patriots was unfair, though Carroll did not agree.

Del Rio, who was an All-American linebacker for the Trojans football team and catcher for the baseball team, compared the NFL's recent decision to the NCAA's in 2010.

"I think there are some similarities in terms of an overreaction, from my standpoint,'' he told the AP. "I think it was a little bit overdone, but that's somebody else's problem right now.''

The Patriots were fined $1 million and had their first- and fourth-round draft picks next year taken away. Additionally, the NFL suspended Tom Brady for four games without pay. When the NCAA determined Bush accepted impermissible benefits while a student-athlete at USC, they banned the Trojans from the postseason for two years and reduced their scholarships by 30 over three years.

Carroll, who has been vocal of his criticism for the NCAA's sanctions, was less critical of the NFL. At USC, Carroll led the Trojans to two National Title Games and overall dominance in the Pac-12 for several years.

"Nobody wants to play this game thinking that somebody has some kind of advantage, players and fans alike, and so they did the right thing in following up on it," he told the AP. "It breaks my heart that is what happened to the university and for the kids playing here and for the fans that follow it, because it wasn't dealt with properly and it wasn't done rightly."

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