By Arlie Rahn
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The UA football team overcame one major hurdle yesterday when junior wide receiver Richard Dice was declared ready to play by a team physician. But Dice will not be suiting up come Saturday. He will be serving a one-game suspension imposed by the NCAA for accepting a telephone debit card from a "runner" for California agent Robert Caron.
"The doctors cleared me (Tuesday) and I feel I could play this weekend," said Dice, who hurt his knee making a cut during practice on Oct. 10 and has missed four games due to the injury.
A preliminary investigation by the Pacific 10 Conference determined Dice never used the card, and that the wide receiver was not at fault. But the NCAA later said its Legislative Services staff had reinterpreted the rules to make acceptance a violation.
And this suspension is not sitting well with Dice.
"To tell you the truth, it kind of rubbed me the wrong way when I heard about it," Dice said. "I think they were making an example of me because nothing like this has ever happened before."
The good news is that Dice will be able to play against Arizona State on Nov. 24, a game that might decide the postseason fate of this year's Wildcat team.
"It was kind of unfair, but it's done now and I'm just going to serve the suspension and move on."