A couple of months ago, evidence of Ole Miss player Laremy Tunsil requesting and receiving money from Ole Miss during the recruiting process and during his tenure as a player surfaced via an Instagram hack. To further fuel this fire, Tunsil admitted to asking for and accepting money when prompted by the press.
Tunsil's Draft Presser via WBBM. "Was their an exchange between you and your coach for $$?" "I'd have to say, yeah." pic.twitter.com/TqYeOSjOfO
— Robby Donoho III (@RobbyDonoho) April 29, 2016
Tunsil was then pulled from the stage by someone who clearly didn’t want this getting out.
someone came in with a head of steam to get Tunsil off stage (@RyanGinnBSB / Periscope) pic.twitter.com/zpbyAEdUcN
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) April 29, 2016
In response to this evidence, the NCAA launched an investigation into Ole Miss. Today, they announced that the investigation’s net was going to widen, namely offering immunity to students from other SEC schools who also broke NCAA regulations in return for proof against Ole Miss.
Via Sports Illustrated:
“NCAA investigators have expanded their probe into the Ole Miss football program, and have interviewed recruits who were also recruited by two or more rival Southeastern Conference schools, reports Yahoo! Sports’ Pat Forde.
According to the report, the NCAA visited Auburn and Mississippi State and possibly one more SEC West school this summer to speak with players who were recruited by Ole Miss. Those recruited players were granted immunity from potential NCAA punishment if they were truthful in their interviews. Ole Miss released a response to the NCAA’s notice of allegations issued in January, in which the school was investigated on accusations of academic and recruiting misconduct involving the women’s basketball program, the football team and track and field program.
The school self-imposed penalties to the football program, which included three years of probation and 11 fewer scholarships over the next four years. The original investigation focused on former offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil after allegations surfaced of impermissible benefits received by his stepfather. Tunsil was later drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft.”
First of all, I cannot imagine Tunsil will be invited to many college reunions. Regardless, this pretty much just proves to me that the NCAA really has no idea how the world works. Have they just never seen a crime film? ‘Snitches get stitches’ fellas. You know what, you don’t even need to have seen a crime film. If these guys had literally had any friends they would have known that line. Kids from other schools aren’t going to voluntarily provide information about getting perks from a potential landing school. Why? Because they’ve seen crime films and have friends. Even if the NCAA wasn’t crossing their fingers behind their back when making these promises (which they probably are), people will know. If you disappear into a dark room with a bunch of white dudes in suits on Wednesday and Ole Miss has their football program disbanded on Thursday, you’ll probably get jumped in the showers on Friday. That’s just how it works. If these guys really want information, they need to threaten other students with punishment unless they help. That’s how you get the ball rolling.