Laremy Tunsil left Ole Miss fans unsure how to feel
Ole Miss fans don’t know whether to be happy for Laremy Tunsil, and that’s Tunsil’s fault.
It is Tunsil’s fault that Rebels fans have no idea how to feel about a night that should have been talked about for decades – for way different reasons than it will be.
In what should have been a thrilling time as Ole Miss had three players drafted in the first round of Thursday’s NFL draft, the attention abruptly turned to No. 13 pick Tunsil’s weed-inhaling gas mask and alleged hacked messages asking Ole Miss athletic personnel for money.
One player, one of the most important in Ole Miss recruiting history, went from hero to embarrassment, ruining a night that should have been the opposite.
The moment was still celebrated. Twitter still buzzed when WR Laquon Treadwell and DT Robert Nkemdiche (who has embarrassed the university himself) were picked. But the happy tweets were surrounded by tweets the WWE couldn’t make up, all surrounding Tunsil’s bizarre night.
There are plenty of emotional reaction options. Some are furious. Some are in disbelief and some aren’t worried at all, figuring the current investigation into Ole Miss already would have uncovered something if it was there to uncover. If a sadistic enemy was able to get into Tunsil’s phone to uncover a scandal, couldn’t the NCAA?
What should make Ole Miss fans angriest is the ease Tunsil seemed to throw the university right under the bus and move right along into his big salary and new life in the NFL.
Hit with tough questions from national reporters in the post-draft press conference, it wouldn’t be fair to Tunsil not to recognize how unprepared he must have been to answer them. It’s unclear how aware he was of what surfaced on his Instagram account Thursday night in the middle of the first round.
The headlines poured forth: “Tunsil admits to taking money from Ole Miss.”
His answers were scattered and confusing. Yours would be too.
But that was due to unpreparedness, not unfairness. To those feeling bad for Tunsil, don’t. He was attacked by someone probably close to him who wanted to harm him. It worked and that’s terrible. But don’t excuse Tunsil for making the mistakes.
Young people make mistakes. But if you’re on a direct path to NFL stardom and millions of dollars, you can’t afford the same mistakes everyone else can. Fair or not.
Tunsil knew his destination years ago. His actions are unacceptable. Even more unacceptable is his seeming lack of regard for what his words would do to Ole Miss, true or not, legal or not. That is where the anger should be rightfully placed.
Rebels coach Hugh Freeze was all over the ESPN cameras. After Tunsil’s evolving saga, he was nowhere to be found. That’s on Tunsil and that’s unfortunate for Treadwell and Nkemdiche who weren’t able to celebrate with their coach the way they should have.
Two years ago, Treadwell was headed into the end zone against Auburn, about to beat the Tigers and propel Ole Miss right into the first-ever national championship playoff. Instead he broke his leg, lost the ball and the season finished very different than it looked like it would only seconds before.
As Treadwell was carted off the field, the explosion that occurred when fans inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium thought he scored made a wicked turn into utter shock and sadness.
Thursday resembled that night, perhaps the most historic night in Ole Miss history turned into what could turn out to be its most disastrous.
The difference? This time it came because a player put self before team and has so far, showed zero remorse as he heads to the bank and Ole Miss heads back into the hands of the NCAA.