Victory Vaka Mistreatment Must Lead to Punishment for WKU, NCAA

College sports have been full of controversy from day one. Schools used to take advantage of athletes. Now, with NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), many argue the pendulum has swung too far the other way.

Coaches have harmed, or even indirectly killed, students (looking at you, Brian Kelly), and expressed little remorse. They’ve abused children and paid players before it was legalized.

College institutions are just as, if not more, guilty, having wrongly scapegoatedcoaches such as Joe Paterno and Michael McQueary for public relations purposes.

Declan tried to come down and was sent back up, Declan even posted on his socials before his death “Gusts of wind up to 60mph today will be fun at work… I guess I’ve lived long enough.”
What bothers me the most was how Brian Kelly handled the post practice/incident press…

— Evan LaPoe (@BillyDaKid_27) October 27, 2025

College sports have always been part of a big business, and sadly, disgusting behavior and significant wrongdoings still don’t come as a surprise. Recently, Western Kentucky University (WKU) cut defensive lineman Victory Vaka from the team after his mother died. WKU has been quiet about the handling of the situation while preventing Vaka from entering the transfer portal.

There is one right way for WKU and the NCAA to right this wrong. WKU needs to fire every staff member involved, and the NCAA should publicly shame WKU and punish them like how they punished Penn State 14 years ago. They punished a righteous man in Joe Paterno all those years ago. Surely they can go after the scum in the sport too…right?

If not, the courts must force their hands.

On April 17, 2026, Victory Vaka went home to California to grieve with his family after his mom died. In May, the WKU assistant strength coach gave him a workout plan and told him they expected his return in June. The entire team was expected to report on May 25, but Vaka was never told that the agreement for him to come back in June had changed.

On the 25th, Vaka’s position coach called to ask where he was. The next day, Chief of Football Staff Travis Taylor contacted him to discuss when he’d be returning. Vaka said he wasn’t ready but was willing to return earlier if needed. The next day, Taylor told him they were kicking him off the team and revoking his scholarship. The WKU football staff did not communicate properly with Vaka, but of course, they pointed fingers and took no accountability.

Vaka was fully committed to continuing to play at WKU despite not one member of the coaching staff checking on him. He received no warning regarding his return timeline.

WKU and the NCAA then worked together to screw him, classifying the incident as a “failure to report” so that he couldn’t enter the transfer portal. Both Vaka’s waiver and appeal to the NCAA were denied. Vaka is now rightfully suing the NCAA in the state of Tennessee.

WBKO News reported on WKU Athletic Director Todd Stewart’s July 30 press conference. Stewart declined to speak on the specific case, as it’s an “ongoing matter”, but he did say that “nobody looks after their student athletes any harder, any better, than we do and our coaches do. While there are always some who don’t have the experience that they would want, there are thousands that have had a wonderful experience here.”

The treatment of Vaka is not just an issue about sports. It’s an issue of human decency. A prime example of how large organizations and institutions can use their power to silence and brush off those they victimize.

The Tennessee courts must deliver a verdict that puts Vaka in a better place to succeed while condemning the NCAA and WKU. Both the NCAA and WKU must then fire anyone who was involved in this process thus far. The NCAA should punish WKU of its own accord, and if not, the courts should get involved once again.

While one case may seem small, it sets the tone for how colleges and large organizations such as the NCAA will operate moving forward. They need to know how to treat their athletes and their employees. There is zero room for any such behavior in the realms of sports, college, business, or our world as a whole.

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