SMU men’s basketball players commented on the NCAA sanctions levied against the program for the first time on Tuesday in a statement issued to CBS Sports.

They expressed their disagreement with the findings. “We believe the sanctions are disproportionate to the infraction and unfairly punish us for things we had nothing to do with and over which we had no control.”

The NCAA handed down a postseason ban for the upcoming season two weeks ago. The university subsequently announced on Friday that it would not appeal the ban nor the nine game suspension of Hall of Fame Head Coach Larry Brown because of the way the NCAA rules are currently written.

For seniors Nic Moore, Markus Kennedy, and Jordan Tolbert, this means that they will never have another chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, and the players made note of this in the statement.

“This punishment is especially unfair to our seniors, who will lose an opportunity of a lifetime despite doing nothing wrong.”

The players also expressed their support for Brown: “Coach Brown is not only a great basketball coach, he is a life-skills teacher, a constantly available adviser, and a father figure to all of his players.”