Houston and McNeese tipped off their seasons against one another on Friday evening. The Cougars ended up walking out of the gym with a win by the score of 81-53. They managed to pick up a comfortable victory without Rob Gray, the team’s star guard who has led Houston in each of the last two seasons.
Gray was suspended one game by the NCAA, and he’ll be back on the floor for next week’s game against Drexel. Like many one-game suspensions handed down by the NCAA, the reason Gray was sidelined was ridiculous.
During the offseason, Gray participated in a church rec league game. This led to him getting punished by the sport’s highest governing body at the start of this season.
Duarte published some more details in the Houston Chronicle, including the exact sequence of events that led to him committing a violation. Basically, Gray got suspended over $5.
Gray, one of the nation’s top returning scorers, was suspended for participating in a church recreation league game at Second Baptist Church in March, the school said. The violation occurred when a friend of Gray’s paid a $5 entry fee for Gray to play.
Along with missing the game, Gray had to pay back the $5 entry fee.
This is obviously a ridiculous reason to suspend someone, as there are few things less malicious than getting spotted $5 to play in a church rec league game. It ultimately didn’t mean much to Houston or Gray — the team won the game he missed by 28 points, so whatever — but it’s still a disappointing decision to hold him out for something so minor.