NCAA Fumbles in Ruling on NU's Autry

Which comes first, the student or the athlete?

We're not sure the NCAA knows, in light of its ruling on DarnellAutry, Northwestern University football player and theater major.

The 19-year-old running back, who has been offered the role of"audience member" in a little movie titled "The Eighteenth Angel,"has been told that if he accepts the offer, he loses his eligibilityto play NCAA football - even though it's an unpaid role.Student-athletes are prohibited from appearing in commercialfilms under an NCAA rule designed to protect amateur talent frombeing exploited. It's the principle of the thing, says the NCAA.We agree, but we thought the point of NCAA regulations …