McFadden To Play In Cotton Bowl?

There is a bit of controversy surrounding McFadden and the Cotton Bowl, but part of it has to do with a poorly researched story by KARK. I am a little bit behind because this was issued Friday:

"Yesterday KARK Channel 4 and the Razorback Nation reported that the University of Arkansas is looking into a compliance issue involving Darren McFadden. The story centers around a new Cadillac Escalade that McFadden has been reportedly driving. We will continue to follow this story and how it may or may not affect Darren’s role in the Cotton Bowl on new years day. But at this time we would like to apologize for our station’s poor standards of reporting. While we had multiple sources providing information on this story — just reporting sources does not equate to proper journalism.

In our story we cited sources that claimed sports agent Mike Conley assisted Darren McFadden and/or members of his family to acquire the Escalade. Shortly after reporting this story we were able to reach Mike Conley who made it very clear he was in no way involved in the McFadden/Escalade story. . . And had we talked to Mike Conley before our 5 p.m. newscast we would not have reported this story.

We have already personally apologized to Mike Conley for our poor standards of reporting. And we want to publicly apologize to Mr. Conley for any distress he has experienced. And we also want to apologize to Darren McFadden and his family for reporting details of this story that were not accurate..."

–Rob Heverling, News Director, KARK-TV Channel 4 (... = omitted parts)

A quick scan of Google news tells me the media hasn't picked up on this apology, even this AM. I only saw one article reference the U of A's response, which was issued Saturday:

"Earlier this week, media reports suggested that potentially improper steps were taken to secure a vehicle for an Arkansas student-athlete. The University immediately initiated a review of the matter. Although the television station that reported the story has publicly apologized for its initial report, the University has continued to vigorously review the matter.

The University is appreciative of the cooperation of those who have been involved in the review process. While it would not be appropriate to comment specifically regarding the review at this time, it should be noted that the student-athlete has not been ruled ineligible. We will continue to work judiciously to review this matter."

Which to me means McFadden will play.

Photo copyright Ronald Martinez / Getty Images