The Peculiar Case Of Jared Foster

First, Jared Foster was ruled ineligible to play baseball for LSU. Them he appealed. Now he can play again. Confusing, but why are people so angry?

After being reinstated to the team this week, an uproar surrounding the cirumstances started to whip up on social media. People thought they smelled something fishy, and it was mostly the speed of the turnaround that did it. Losing Foster was a big blow to the team, so getting him back is clearly an advantage heading into the final stretch of the season. It would be easy to search for conspiracy or collusion, but I'm here to tell you it's simply not there.

Foster's issue arose from a very technical problem, which is well-documented by several outlets. We could spend all night discussing NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.1.7.1 and all its enthralling details, but let's put that pure excitement aside and look at this issue in the proper light: Foster is going to play and there's nothing you can do about it.

Furthermore, it shouldn't make you upset because there was no foul play. Instead of breaking down how his major (Sports Management) has higher standards than others at the university, let's allow Head Coach Paul Mainieri to explain it in something closer to layman's terms.

"He passed the classes. He just didn't pass them with a high enough grade in his specific major," Mainieri told reporters. "But because he passed the classes and those classes would be accepted in another major at our institution, they still count as passed credits."

Makes more sense when he says it, but the result is the same. Not exactly a good look academically, but still legal. It was an error that took Foster of the field in the first place. An error that was fixed after the appeal.

With that said, please stop trying to find the smoking gun that doesn't exist. Mainieri, Foster, Skip Bertman, Bobby Jindal and the President of the United States didn't have their hands in any foul play. There wasn't some compliance officer that shuffled his paperwork under the rug. Any for goodness sake, the NCAA didn't decide to put him back on the field strictly for postseason ratings. Again, it was a mistake, and it was fixed.

The pop from Foster's bat is an explosive addition back into the lineup. Even with a few missed games, he sits at second on the team with eight home runs. Add in his cannon of an arm and athleticism around the base paths and you get a much-needed piece to Mainieri's recipe for success.

The LSU Tigers, ranked #1 unanimously by the USA Today Coaches' Poll, just got back to full strength. It might not be what opponents want to see, but it's what they're going to have to deal with.