Report: NCAA investigation into Ole Miss goes beyond Laremy Tunsil
The plot thickens in Oxford as the NCAA has reportedly expanded its investigation into the Ole Miss football program and possible violations that may have occurred under head coach Hugh Freeze.
According to Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports, enforcement agents from the NCAA have begun interviewing players at Auburn and Mississippi State, and potentially one other SEC West school, that were recruited by Ole Miss while in high school. These players have allegedly been granted immunity for any wrongdoings during their recruitment process in exchange for accurate and truthful statements to the NCAA’s representatives.
Both Ole Miss and the NCAA declined Forde’s request for comments.
Having already received a notice of allegations from the NCAA, Ole Miss self-imposed a number of penalties in May including probation, the reduction of scholarships and the reduction of its evaluation period of high school athletes, among other penalties.
Following Laremy Tunsil’s admission of receiving payments from a coach at Ole Miss to a room full of reporters immediately following being selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, the NCAA is expected to serve Ole Miss with an amended notice of allegations at some point in the near future.
Pat Forde has no credibility. He’s been out to get Ole Miss since all this started. I’m not worried. If the #1 recruit in the country didnt get offered money (his mom said a school offered him but it wasn’t Ole Miss) then why would we give money to other recruits? It’s been proven that there is no pay to play going on. Again, Pat Forde is a clown looking to bring Ole Miss down at all costs. It’s really getting ridiculous. Now, if there was any wrong doing I accept the punishment the NCAA brings down. But I just don’t think anything will come of this.
LOL, Pat Forde has no credibility but Hugh Freeze does? I guess you still believe the NOA was nothing but a couple of minor football allegations and the rest were women’s basketball or curling or the debate team.
Before commenting you may want to read it. They paid Tunsils light bill. There’s nothing in the NOA about pay to play. If you’re going to try to call someone out, try not to look dumb doing so.
The existing NOA doesn’t contain pay for play allegations. It also doesn’t address Tunsil’s texts.
If you think Tunsil’s texts only refer to a light bill, you need to reread it. Look for comments speaking to prearranged payments, difficulty addressing sudden needs. Its damning if you take off the blinders.
The #1 recruit may not have been offered money. And we know this for a fact because people never lie, especially when they have been given money to.
The only think at all shocking about news of an expanded investigation is OM fans’ continued belief and insistence that Freeze is clean and OM didn’t do anything wrong intentionally.
You’re right. But the NOA said nothing about pay to play. So while there is wrong doing, I don’t believe anything will come of this. Also, love how people ignore that these players need immunity to speak the truth. If they didn’t receive money from their current school, why need immunity? Surely Ole Miss wouldn’t pay recruits that didn’t actually come to the school? Are we really going to all act like they’re that dumb? “Yeah here’s some money choose our school”. I can assure you if it were happening it would be “if you sign with us you’ll get this much money”. And also, asking rival schools players to be honest? Doesn’t seem logical.
You may want to try reading the original NOA. OM lied for months about the contents of the NOA and when it was made public, it showed improper benes provided by coaches and a ACT fraud scheme facilitate by the coaches. Hence, Forde has no credibility but Freeze does.
I didn’t once mention Tunsil in my original response but congrats to you for your blind loyalty.
“They paid Tunsil’s light bill”; how can this not be considered pay to play? That’s an admission they cover his utilities. Are you under the impression that is the only benefit that will come to light? And as far as Pat Forde having no credibility, he’s only following the story to where it leads.
The ACT happened under a different staff. And no, paying his light bill starting his sophomore year isn’t pay to play. Pay to play is paying a recruit to come to the school…
A couple things I see wrong with this. You have players from rival schools with the opportunity to hurt one of their competitors program with immunity…..this is like asking Hillary to speak against any previous corruptness she may ever had with Trump, but Trump is the only one punished by law.
2nd. Didn’t Cam Newton’s dad come out saying that Mississippi State offered him $250,000 to go to State. Funny enough, you couldn’t pay some players to go to Starkville.
3rd. I cant wait to see what the NCAA does about North Carolina’s MASSIVE Academic scandal they did over the past 30+ years.
Here is a great Poll: Name which of the 4 are the most corrupt:
1. NCAA
2. FIFA
3. Hillary Clinton and Party
4. The Olympics Committee
Consider this…the NCAA is not like a court of law. They are more like the IRS. If there is a hint of impropriety, they will open an investigation. The Notice of Allegations is just that, allegations, and just like the IRS, you have to prove your innocence or that the charges are not what they seems where in a court of law, the prosecutor has to have overwhelming proof to be able to take you to court. Unfortunately with the NCAA, a school is exposed to the “court of public opinion” more than anything. Unless you are an investigator or someone directly involved with the investigation, everything outside of that is conjecture. So all of the MS State fans (primarily), et al, who are hoping Ole Miss gets the death penalty, take your boy who has his “book deal” and sit down and wait like the rest of us for the investigation to be complete.
You sound like a typical Rebel fan ignoring the facts and instead trying to discredit the reporter. You do realize Pat Forde is simply REPORTING right?! He’s not just pulling this out of thin air. The fact is, NCAA enforcement agents ARE conducting interviews and investigating. Ole Miss is as dirty as programs come these days and it’s time the NCAA actually did something about it.
Look at Pat Fordes previous “reports” on this. He’s been wrong every time. He loses credibility when he’s clearly after the program.
Point to when Pat Forde was wrong.
You can really sit there and objectively tell me Pat Forde hasn’t clearly been after Ole Miss? I don’t have time to go and find things. Just go look at his Twitter and his articles and tell me he isn’t after us. Him and Wolken both.
You said he has been wrong “every time”. Name one time
What “facts”? The NOA is not fact based. It is allegation based. Know the difference. See my comment above.
your right the NOA is not facts they are allegations however when the school released its acknowledgement and verified those allegations they then become facts. and the facts are this investigation is not about what was in the NOA this investigation is similar to an addendum or continuation due to new found evidence ( Tunsil’s admission) but then again you dont care what i say because this is just some conspiracy to bring down the mighty ole miss.
You don’t think anything will come of it? Surely you don’t really believe that. I mean om offers up 11 scholarships as self imposed sanctions. I guess you think that was out of the goodness of their heart? If you truly believe that then you have your head stuck in the sand. You better hope they don’t get hit with lack of institutional control.
Also, pat forde is not ole miss’s problem. It’s the NCAA. Just because he writes this article doesn’t make him the bad guy. I mean, at least someone is writing more than the clarion ledger and other papers in Mississippi which is essentially whatever ole miss tells them to report.
At this point, “… accurate and truthful statements to the NCAA’s representatives” from (players at Auburn and Mississippi State and potentially one other SEC West school that were recruited by Ole Miss while in high school) doesn’t seem possible. The social-media effect is in place with these kids … If this doesn’t pan out for Forde, Yahoo! will definitely cut ties.
So now you’re an expert on Pat Forde’s employment status with Yahoo? SMH
Yes, because there is suppose to be “truth in journalism”. As I said before, A NOA is allegations of wrong doing, not “FACTS” of wrong doing. All of you keyboard lawyers are hilarious.
I’m no lawyer, but at this point, wouldn’t it just be hear-say? I mean, if they have moved on to other teams, the only evidence they could possibly present would be old texts. Right?! I’m an ole miss homer through and through, but to outsiders, does this not seem like a witch-hunt now? I guess all we can do is wait. I’ll be glad when this is all over whether it’s good or bad.
Nope. Anything we say is excuses and every report is true until proven otherwise. And even then “Ole Miss is still cheating”.
Well, so far every report has been true so…..
Every report? I haven’t hear one report that has been true.
Name one that hasnt been true
How has “every report been true”? The NCAA hasn’t released their finding. So who is lying? A NOA is accusations and not necessarily truths. That is why there is an investigation. Like I said in an earlier statement, the NCAA is not like a court of law where a prosecutor has to have all of his ducks in a row before he can bring charges on someone. The prosecutor requires the police to do an investigation before he can. Once the investigation is complete, he can then bring charges against a perpetrator and take them to court. In a court of law, the burden of proof is on the prosecution to produce evidence of guilt. With the NCAA, a school is charged first and then it is up to them to defend themselves and provide proof of their innocence. Everyone is thinking that the NCAA has all of this proof and they don’t. They are just allegations. That is why in Pat Forde’s and other journalist’s articles you will see the word “alleged” everywhere. They know that the NCAA is like the Communist court of China but they aren’t going to tell you that.
You don’t think the Laremy Tunsil ordeal is true? SMH
You guys do understand that this isn’t court and they don’t have to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt? It is more like a civil trial. The NCAA can and has punished for situations where there wasn’t redhanded proof but they knew things happened. This is not a court of law deal. I know they can’t be happy with ole miss trying to drive the story and lying about it.
That’s right, Ole Miss fans just stick your head in the sand and it will all go away.
When Saban got to town, he sure turned Alabama recruiting around. How come Saban can turn around Alabama recruiting on the up-and-up but Freeze can’t? How come Dan Mullen pulls in top recruits down at Miss State and no one says anything? How did Steve Spurrier go to South Carolina and pull in top recruits? Everyone is acting like the only way it can it done is through money. That would mean that Dan Mullens, Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier must have done it with money too.
Actually, Bama and Miss State have both been caught paying players. But it never makes front page. They suspend a player for 4 games and dismiss a coach and/or a booster and everyone goes along their merry business.
Funny how that works isn’t it?
I’m with ya Weagle99. Let Gus right the ship and I’ll bet ole Nick will sic his buddy Mark Emmert on you guys before quick got fast and y’all will be in the same boat as Hugh Freeze. All of the big boys think they own exclusive rights to the top tier of the SEC. Well, they don’t. They’ve been simply renting space.
Just to be clear Auburn is one of the big boys in the SEC, and Forde wrote like this against us too. We know the feel. I just hope y’all beat bama again, it brings a smile to my face when they lose!
Nick saban had a national championship ring going into bama, and its bama they always got top recruits even when they sucked because they are a freaking cult. Spurrier had a nc a hiesman trophy had coached a hiesman winning quarterback and was known as one of the best players coaches in the nation. Mullen has two nc as an oc and has coached a number 1 draft pick (alex smith) and a hiesman winner (tebow) and his recruiting classes havent been in the top 10. so please what does freeze have to compare him to those three coaches, other than a current ncaa colonoscopy?
right on, on the cult comment… Anybody that don’t believe that, go to AL .com and look at ANY bama article, you’ll see 2, 3, 4 and some over 1k comments. Most other similar sights do good to get a hunnert comments on any one article… Lotsa koolaide drank in T-town…
* 2,3,4 hunnert I mean…
Look at the Alabama fan…26 allegations so far this year. Will the NCAA do anything to them? No…Alabama is their boy. Is it Mark Emmert that is big buddies with Nick Saban? I think so. Alabama has all of the protection it needs…mafiesque if you ask me.
Really can’t wait until this is over with and we just take whatever they give us. It’s hilarious seeing so many other teams fans so happy about this.
If you look hard enough at any program, you will find something simply because the NCAA rules are so wide and complicated. I just wonder why the NCAA is focused on Ole Miss and not other programs. I think there is some politiking going on. I wouldn’t be surprised if SEC rivals are pressuring the NCAA to do something.
1st sentence true in most cases. But until they come-a-callin to one of the other SEC schools, y’all jus gonna have to sit back and take all the attitude or stay away from the net….
But as far as “SEC rivals” dabbling in politics, why would they be after Ole Miss and not one of the consistent conference winners?
I don’t think anyone is necessarily happy, I think it has more to do with the blatant denial of any wrongdoing by freeze/ ole’ miss from ole’ miss fans on this site. Tunsil admitted on national TV that he received payments from an ole’ miss coach in front of a room full of reporters, this is fact, yet you gave the first response to this article claiming a witch hunt is taking place and being convened by a reporter with a hard-on against ole’ miss. It sounds ignorant of you to take that stance and people are simply calling you out on it.
Did I say we did nothing wrong? No. I’m saying this report is crap and it’s now become a witch hunt.
Don’t do anything wrong and their won’t be an investigation. If you don’t like the way the NCAA is handling the investigation, then don’t cheat. You just said yall did something wrong, but then complain about how it is investigated.
Not even mad about the investigation. I fully understand it. But Forde isn’t credible when it comes to Ole Miss. He has proven he wants them to suffer the greatest penalty possible. My only problem with any of this is the Forde is being taken seriously.
Captain Marvel…you know every University has a benevolence fund and every player knows that. The player has to initiate to conversation about the need to someone so of course he is going to tell someone in the athletic department. I admit, Tunsil is not the sharpest pencil in the drawer but I can GUARANTEE you that within the last 30 days a Missouri player went to one of the staff in the athletic department and told them they need money and one of those people helped initiate the process. Was the question asked if Tunsil received money during his post draft interview? Yes and Tunsil said he had received money. The thing is, he wasn’t given an opportunity to say how he got it or what process he went through to receive it. There is no way a coach or staff member would hand a player a few hundred bucks when there is millions of dollars set aside for them to dip from. You people are something else.
Please stay on topic Rebel. If / when Mizzou’s day comes I will be happy to discuss it in an adult way, but it’s currently ole’ miss that’s in the hot seat and trying to guarantee anything about a Mizzou player is irrelevant to the conversation. As far as Tunsil not getting an opportunity to say how he got it, well he’s had plenty of time and hasn’t seen the need to. I’m sure you also saw he looked like a deer in headlights and immediately regretted his response on draft night. It happened; he ratted on the program. I suspect you’ll pay for it and move on.
This fund you are talking about is a student assistance fund and is determined by the conference’s office not the the individually universities themselves. The fund is set up by the NCAA with money from TV deals for student athletes for have unusual financial hardship. One of the main reasons is students who have a death in the family and can not afford a plane ticket home or for clothes. The money can used for almost anything that isn’t covered by their scholarship. Meaning this money CAN NOT be used for rent, which Tunsil asked for. Also, while it is entirely possible that Tunsil was asking for SAF money, I doubt the NCAA would be investigating money that they gave him.
Rebel4laugh,
You CLEARLY either didn’t read Tunsil’s texts carefully or haven’t thought about what you are actually saying. Or likely, both.
If he had made a SAF request, why was the response ‘I thought we had already agreed on an amount… I have no ability to deal with unexpected requests.’
Unexpected requests are exactly what the SAF is designed for. Clearly they weren’t talking about the SAF. And recurring payments for anything are a strictly prohibited use of the SAF. Recurring payments are what they were talking about. Again, clearly not the SAF.
The problem people have with OM fans is the arrogance not only to cheat with abandon but when caught, continue to insist they are just great and the world is jealous or thinks they are racist or whatever. And the continued belief that the program is the best ever if people would just get out of their way and play. Just yesterday on the Bo Bounds show, Jacob went on and on about how every O lineman and every WR was a 4 or 5 star recruit, best ever in the history of the state. Same thing for the D line. Best QB ever. So by that logic, best football team in the history of the state should be a given. An undefeated season is guaranteed?
I wish they’d get it over with too. It is getting old. personally I’m not happy about it at all… BUT… IF OM is found guilty, or to put it another way, unable to prove their innocence, I’ll be happy they got caught. If and when similar crap happens in Baton Rouge, I’ll be just as much a pissed off homer as y’all.. goes with th territory..
I interpret this as they were unable to find much of anything so they have widened the net. The NCAA wants to find anything they can use simply because the public perception is that Ole Miss is a bunch of cheats. The NCAA doesn’t want to walk away with a bunch of minor infractions and some slaps on the wrist. It would weaken the perception of the NCAA.
Laremy Tunsil never admitted to a room full of reporters that he was paid by Ole Miss. If you watch the full video, Laremy was asked two questions in rapid succession and I believe he simply got confused and was naturally nervous and distracted. Even if you confess to something, you need some proof to back it up.
An Ole Miss interprets this as nothing bad! Who would have thought?
Meanwhile every one with sense understands the NCAA is about to make it difficult for Ole Miss to compete with FCS teams.
cb20476…You realize there is a benevolence fund for players at every university right? Ole Miss probably gave Laremy money…from their benevolence fund. Just like at whatever university you support…by the way, are you scared to share that info?
is it common practice for the benevolence fund to be used to pay mama’s bills?
Tunsil didn’t say it? Are you a liberal?
Bear Bryant…is dead. Ever heard of the benevolence fund? Alabama has one for their student-athletes just like Ole Miss and every other University does. Didn’t think of that possibility did you…that just maaaaaybe that is where Tunsil got the money for his light bill? I mean, why would he get it from there, right? That’s what the fund is set up for and all. By the way, you do know what NOA stands for right? “Notice of Allegations”. That is all they are…allegations. They have no proof yet. The NCAA can allege anything they want based on whatever they want whether it be rumor or not. The NCAA is not bound by the rule of law like a prosecutor so you really have to change the way you think that their investigations work. The NCAA accuses and the accused has to prove they are innocent. The NCAA is not bound to prove a schools guilt. In the court of law, an investigative team is required to provide a prosecutor enough proof to accuse someone of a crime. If they don’t have enough proof, then the District Attorney can’t bring up charges. It’s not that way with the NCAA. While a school is working to prove their innocence, a NCAA investigator is working by that persons side to prove their guilt. Everyone needs to adjust the way they think this stuff goes down. The NCAA has zero proof at this point that any of the “ACCUSATIONS” (look that word up in the dictionary and see what it means) in the “Notice of Allegations” that have been levied against Ole Miss are true. By the way, here is the definition of “Allegation”: a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof. Just hope and pray that the NCAA doesn’t make your lives miserable by bringing simple “allegations” against your beloved school.
Laremy Tunsil never said “I got paid to play at Ole Miss.” He was asked two questions in quick succession and said “I would say that.” That is all he ever said. It was never clarified if he heard the question correctly. There was no follow up question to clarify his statement. There is no smoking gun, just a miscommunication between a busy reporter room and a distracted player.
You are delusional!
Enforcement agents begun interviewing players at Auburn and Mississippi State…..Shady. If Ole Miss offer them money then obviously Auburn and MS State gave them a better offer. I hope NCAA doesn’t investigate them. smh.
It seems to me the NCAA is begging anyone to step forward so they can nail something on Ole Miss. If the NCAA closes the investigation with next to nothing to show for it, it will make the NCAA look weak. The public has already made its mind up that Ole Miss cheats. The NCAA not pinning something on Ole Miss is going to just make the public think the NCAA is corrupt and help Ole Miss cover it up. But I think the truth is going to be that Ole Miss didn’t break any major rules so nothing drastic is going to happen. Maybe lose a couple scholarships over minor infractions.
RednBlue…how ironic would that be, right? LOL!!!!!
Well, aside from the predictable, “My team is pure as driven snow and your team cheats like there is no tomorrow” posts here, this is bad for the SEC. Hope this is mostly smoke and no fire. Either way, the best thing that can happen is it gets resolved quickly.
Exactly. The teams commenting on here are no better than any of these reports. But as you said I hope this is over soon. I don’t think this guy has the credibility to be trusted here. So this particular report doesn’t concern me. Anyone with a brain can see Forde and Wolken have an agenda.
You mean anyone that is a Rebel, paints Forde and Wolken as having an agenda. Because everyone else finds them credible.
And Once again, I’m not saying that this sort of thing doesn’t happen at other schools. It does, but apparently OM is terrible at hiding it. All im saying is don’t get mad at the way the issue is being investigated. If you break the rules and get caught, then you are subject to this sort of thing. But, all schools have skeletons in their closet.
What exactly is a “Notice of Allegations” (NOA) anyway? Here is the definition of “allegation”: “a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without PROOF.” There. Do you really think the NCAA has to have PROOF to investigate a school? Hell no! They can roll into Rocky Top tomorrow if a fan of or someone at Florida says y’all have done something wrong. There are a ton of nutjobs over at MSUX like one guy of Genes Page (who supposedly has a book deal about his involvement in the Ole Miss investigation…LOL!!!!! He “supposedly” knows more about the investigation than those involved at Ole Miss) who would lie if the truth sounded better. Just hope there is no one as vindictive at Florida as there is at MSUX.
Besides Freeze welcomed the investigation knowing that their were things that his program had been doing that weren’t exactly kosher. Not a very smart move.
Do you know how stupid that statement sounds??? LOL!!!!!
OldArmy…you are right. What these people seem to forget is that the NCAA isn’t bound by the rule of law. They don’t “gather their proof” and bring up charges like a District Attorney does. No, they simply “allege”, hence the “Notice of Allegations”. Has anyone even thought to look up the definition of the word “allegation” in the dictionary? Here is the definition: “a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without PROOF.” Yea…the NCAA has ZERO proof but it’s up to the universities to defend itself and provide proof of their INNOCENCE. Kinda sounds like the court of law in China if you ask me.
So based on the dictionary definition of allegation, you know with certainty the NCAA has no proof?
Your logical prowess is quite impressive.
If you ask me, this sets a very dangerous precedent. Imagine the NCAA interviewing Auburn/Alabama players about the other school’s recruitment of them. It could get very bad for every school if you suddenly have every player willing to tattle on another school with promises of immunity.
It does seem very odd doesn’t it?
They’re fishing. They’re hoping someone can provide tangible evidence. They won’t act on the word of a recruit alone.
The definition of “allegation” as in “Notice of Allegations” (NOA): a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without PROOF. The NCAA has zero proof. They always HOPE to stumble upon something “during” the side-by-side investigation with the staff of the athletic departments of any school they are “investigating”. Everyone thinks that the NOA is backed up with all of this “proof” that the NCAA supposedly has. It is not. The NCAA does not abide by the “rule of law”. Well…they tend to use the Communist “rule of law” of China. Guilty until you have proven your innocence. Every fan of every school had better hope that their biggest rival doesn’t spread lies about their school…they certainly don’t want to content with the accusations of their rival’s version of Steve Robertson.
it is a slippery slope indeed. Promising immunity to the player, what about to his current school?? Seems they’re either looking for corroborating testimony or maybe going after the whole SEC… wouldn’t that be th schidts?
For me, I want other programs to rise up and beat Alabama, LSU, even home state’s Missouri Tigers. Parody is a very exciting state for a conference to achieve. Now there has to be a limit to how the challengers get there. While at Missouri briefly, Haith turned out to be a loose manager at best. He needed to move on and rededicate himself to compliance somewhere else. We can all hope Freeze is as clean as possible. I certainly hope OMiss can follow these complaints with transparent success. At the same time, it really takes fan enjoyment away from college football when, to remove an example, a Grier takes PEDs, gains a ton of weight, plays like someone artificial, then the institution, which at the very least, fell down on monitoring, still gets rewarded with a division championship. That kind of result just can’t happen and have college football be viable entertainment. The sport, the NCAA, the SEC, the West Division, and the State of Mississippi, are reduced by this. Whatever the fact are, get them out fast, fix it, and let’s move forward. Instead this seems to be lean toward hush and minimize but maybe this is an outside MS media impression.
Like i said I’m ready for it to be over with. I’m not denying anything that’s in the NOA at all. However, Forde isn’t credible here. This is just a story to keep the negative spotlight on Ole Miss. Also the fact that they’re giving players from RIVAL schools immunity to speak against Ole Miss screams to me they don’t have enough to hammer us. The NCAA is stuck. Everyone has decided Ole Miss is dirty and if they don’t hammer us it’ll look bad. But at the same time, if they hammer us without evidence, it’ll also look bad. But asking rival players just isn’t logical. Of course someone from a rival school would take the chance to ruin us. And if the need immunity, wouldn’t that mean their current school paid more? All of this is ignored because that’s not the narrative you all want. You want Ole Miss hammered at all costs at this point. When if you take a step back and look at it objectively, nothing screams bowl ban or hammer them. I know I’m biased but let’s be real here. Are we really saying $17k in benefits over 4-5 years is hammer worthy? When other schools have been caught for much, much more?
I agree with you that no one should ever be given an incentive to make a statement. The very act of providing an incentive taints the evidence beyond use.
Freeze should have never said, “turn us in”. Have fun, because Forde has not been wrong and you had a former player that was investigated go on national television and say he got paid. RIP
Definition of “allegation” as in “Notice of Allegations” (NOA): a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without PROOF. The NCAA hopes they stumble upon some “proof” DURING the investigation because they don’t investigate anything before the NOA. By the way…have you ever heard of the benevolence fund? Every university has one that is set up in conjunction with the NCAA for the financial needs of every student-athlete. Tunsil didn’t say how he got the money. Why would a coach risk everything over $300 when there are millions of dollars set aside for those exact needs? THINK…it’s easy if you try.
Keep copying and pasting that over and over, since it seems you are so proud of your logic, and I’m sure this will just all go away.
Lol.
Tunsil never said “I got paid.” Never happened. He said “I would say so” to two questions asked together in a noisy reporter room to a player who was distracted. It has NEVER been established that he heard the question correctly.
Tunsil’s Draft Presser via WBBM. “Was their an exchange between you and your coach for $$?” “I’d have to say, yeah.”
the problem with your argument is, Tunsil has had several months to clarify his comment and has chosen to remain mum…
The problem that I have is that Ole Miss has admitted that violations were made. However, no one has paid a price for it. That tells me that Hugh Freeze is right at the heart of the problem. If he comes down on someone as a scapegoat, they will roll over on him. He’s screwed.
The problem with this logic is that until the investigation is concluded, firing someone would make matters worse. The media would destroy him. “He fired so and so they’re guilty!” See? So until the conclusion of this I’d say he’s right not to make any moves. Anything he does with staff right now screams guilt. Because if he would fire based on performance you’d think he would’ve already done so by now.
Actually, Tunsil served a 7 game suspension (price paid?) and CJ Hampton served a 2 game suspension (price paid?). The most serious stuff is under the old staff but everyone is still holding on to the hope that the NCAA will find bags of cash given to recruits to sign with Ole Miss.
Let me clarify this for the Ole Miss fans. No one from the Ole Miss staff has paid a price. Namely, Jon Miller and Barney the bagman.
Every program admits to violations every year. That isn’t news worthy. Again, the NCAA rules are so wide and complicated that you are going to violate regulations without knowing it.
No. Not all programs. Many do self reporting. This seems to go past that. The 4 year investigation turned up a lot of violations which Ole Miss seemed ready to take. Tunsil opened up something much bigger that seems to be where the NCAA is going now. It’s like someone getting caught for shoplifting and then someone implicating that person in a bank robbery.
By the way. Paying players is a violation and everyone knows that.
The reason situations like this are so messy is because the NCAA has created a system that allows for the this type of thing to go on at Universities. Even if Ole Miss does have to levy a postseason ban and major scholarship reductions, they are still better off than before Hugh was there and employing his iffy recruiting tactics. So, what has been created is a system were it is more beneficial to cheat, even if you get caught. Than not to cheat at all. And I’m not naïve to think that no one else does it. But apparently everyone else does it better than Ole Miss.
Exactly everyone else does it better Freeze needs some tips. I wonder if Harbaugh will give him some. Lol
I don’t give Harbaugh that much credit to be that smart. It’s obvious that they have pretty smart bag men in the B1G too… For Rashan Gary’s mom to think it is plausible to believe another school offered them money, but they turned it down and went to MU with nothing offered? uh hmmm
Well not completely true. Someone close to Tunsil clearly blackmailed him with those texts. Tunsil didn’t do whatever they asked, and the person exposed him. Thus the investigation continued. Although it was already going on. Tunsil was suspended 7 games and that was after the NCAA knew about all the benefits. Then the texts came out and now here we are. So while other schools may do it, they were just lucky none of their players got into a similar situation. And I do agree that the NCAA needs better policy. But I don’t think hammering Ole Miss does anything to help that. Because these are minor amounts of money in comparison to past cases that didn’t get hear this amount of media coverage.
The sad part is after all this cheating OM can’t even win the SEC west – hasn’t in 50 years. OM should just play 3 games a year, LSU, BAMA and State and call it a season. Next take the grove and build a center for High School students to be taught to take the ACT for players.
Act happened in 2010 but nice stretch. Must suck losing two years in a row to us. Seeing as you’re hoping the NCAA can beat us. Since you can’t.
It really is no big deal when you got 16 Natty’s. Keep hanging your hat on those two wins.
I still don’t understand why you think OM is so hated. I must be missing something because I don’t really hear it.
I’m am honestly hoping that there is nothing further found out regarding this case. IF the NCAA drops the hammer on the Rebels, then that paints the whole conference in a bad light, and will only be further fodder for all those conferences who are currently fighting for second-best.
Most logical response I have read so far.
I have been saying this to friends with other SEC affiliations that IF the NCAA decides to severely punish Ole Miss for something then it would be a black eye for the whole conference.
Thank You keno98 for being logical.
You can’t verify that Tunsil was the one who sent the texts, only that they came from his phone. How are you going to prove he typed them?
it is easier to believe than to prove… However, many legal cases have been won with nothing more than circumstantial evidence…
My issue is not so much with Forde but the NCAA. If you can put investigators on a college campus and drag your investigation for 3 or 4 years long it borders on harassment. They’ve had more than ample time to complete their investigation and yes, it’s starting to look like a witch hunt at this point.
I’m not one to call things a witch hunt. But this is certainly the case here. They don’t have enough to “hammer” us. So now all they can do is ask former recruits from rival schools? It’s past a witch hunt. The media won’t drop the narrative even when this is over.
Give me the reason that you think OM is so hated?
I don’t think they’re “hated”. I just think people can’t accept that they’re trending upwards and getting decent recruits. And it’s articles like this that prove my point.
This is getting silly. I think OM fans are afraid these other recruits are going to lie because they hate OM now or maybe they’re just upset because this shows how inept the NCAA is and how they’re just grasping at straws by this point. Either way I don’t think they need to worry about this. It’s also very disconcerting to see all these other sec fans turn on this school because of a rivalry or some perceived knowledge that they did in fact cheat by paying their players. The NOA says nothing about pay to play. The laremy Tunsil comments happened after the fact and so they basically started a new investigation. I don’t like ole miss. I don’t root for them when they play sports. I don’t want them to succeed in sports. But the NCAA is, in my eyes, unfairly admonishing a fellow sec school when they don’t have any proof of wrongdoings on the level they want so they’re going far and above what they need to do to get that proof. This looks like a witch hunt. I guess it’s too much to ask for the homers on this board to use their minds and stop thinking that ole miss somehow cheated them and they need to be severely punished to make amends.
Honestly, do they expect these players to say:
“yeah ole miss offered me money but I turned it down to play at this sec school because of my strong sense of morality.”
That’s bullsh*t and you all know it.
Rashan Gary’s mom said just that, except about an un-named school… So it is not unreal to believe that it could happen…
That being said, I agree that this has gone on long enough and it’s time for the NCAA to schidt or get off th pot.
I agree and disagree. I fully accept what’s in the NOA and expect fair punishment for that. This, as you said, is now a witch hunt. When have we ever seen the NCAA go to this level to get something on a program? Any school would worry if the NCAA went to ask their rivals for evidence.
As a USC fan I have a a ton of experience with the Railroad company known as the NCAA. Ole Miss fans the sad truth is the NCAA has no checks or balances nor are they a court, their are no guidelines or rules to their investigations or punishments. At USC a slimy agent lied about USC (which he later admitted) and the NCAA took it and hammered us on that weak testimonial. I don’t know how the investigation ends up but I recommend that you fight any punishment as hard as you can, like Penn St. What Penn St. did was so awful but they got a reduction in penalties (why? Cuz the B1G was so weak at the time? Idk)
This is what worries me. What they have simply isn’t enough for a bowl ban, suspension of a coach, or anything major. So it appears they’re digging for more to “send a message”.
Man I cannot wait for this to be over with. Not because I’m tired of all of the Ole Miss fans belly aching, but because I’m tired of this being “news”. While I’m glad this gives them something to say other than how “underestimated/disrespected” they are, or how “dominate” they have been over LSU & Bama in the last 2-3 years, or even everyone’s favorite “huh stupid corndogs”. I just want them to see their punishment, get it over with (if there is one) and then move on.
I think the reason for the “belly aching” is them going to rival schools for “evidence”. That should make you all nervous. This is opening a door no one wants to open. But as you said I want it over with and the punishment to be handed out. Also, I don’t think we’ve dominated LSU. 2-2 in the past 4 years isn’t exactly domination. It’s been a great back and forth series.
Also I hate the corn dogs thing. You’ve never seen me say it and you never will.
TClark thank you for not using that pointless phrase. It tends to only be used by Ole Miss fans when they don’t have much else to say.
If they start to dig too deep then they might have to dig into the B1G and ACC as well. Yes it has been a better series lately, however some Ole Miss fans only look at the amount of time to make it look good for Ole Miss (the last 3 yrs against LSU 2-1). I’m glad you seem to get it and are not too blinded by the Ole Miss moonshine.
There is nothing wrong with an Ole Miss bag man playing “Dixie” in his SUV while driving into the ghetto with a bag full of money to buy a player.
MIssissippi ain’t got no ghetto’s… Ghetto’s are in big cities of which MS has none… Down in this part of the country, the mid gulf states, we got multi racial slums…
Dude, you must have never been to the Mississippi Delta. It’s one bigass ghetto.
Why in the world is everyone so upset? We all like to think that our coach, our team doesn’t do these things but lets not fool ourselves here. Almost every coach at a Power 5 school is going to do everything he can to get a competitive edge including the payment of players. Everyone points at Ole Miss but every school has had some kind of recruiting scandal including SC, Auburn, Bama, and the list goes on and on. I am so tired of hearing about this and everyone acting like we didn’t know it was happening. Yea and Cam Newton didn’t notice his Daddy’s new Bentley in the yard after he committed to Auburn either
This is so hillarious, I’m reading posts from MSST, UT, Mizzou and other fan bases backing up Pat Forde like he is their DADDY!
Ok, Hugh Freeze has publicly admitted that there WAS wrong doing on his staff! He has NOT admitted to any particular allegation, yet every sports analyst or reporter has admitted for him because he isn’t allowed to talk about an ongoing investigation. I expect to hear that Ole Miss is guilty of 90% of what was alleged but that doesn’t mean I’m going to write off Hugh Freeze! He is the HFC of the School I’ve rooted for my entire life, so yeah I will believe what he says until it’s PROVEN otherwise. ( Just like I believe there is a God in Heaven whom I have not seen nor touched, but I have FAITH that he exists.) Some of y’all act like you wouldn’t act the same if your University’s football team actually started winning games and getting Elite players then all the sudden you have the NCAA on YOUR teams Campus for 4+ years investigating, and believe me if you look hard enough you will find infractions at every SEC West school. Maybe even an SEC East school if you look really really hard.
Nobody’s perfect and it’s so hard for rival fans to believe that a coach who ain’t perfect, who starts winning more than 6 games a year, can actually be telling the truth.
Y’all wanna believe so hard that this is it for Freeze and Ole Miss! Maybe it’s jealousy from getting BEAT year in and year out by Coach Freeze… or maybe it’s because you don’t like the schools fight song.. Either way WE will take whatever punishment we get with a big crooked Mississippi smile and get through it.. move past it.. and still beat the hell outta your team! We will not GLOAT to you nor your team when it’s y’all being investigated by the NCAA. We will not talk about it at all! Matter of fact, we will just be talking about how we beat the ever living crap out of your team that particular week, Not trolling your teams Facebook account telling you how “we know y’all are guilty cause ‘Pat Forde’ said so”.
YOU may not be Trollin Facebook or talking about other teams, but I know a few people that post on this site that live under a bridge and will be the first to open their faces.
I admire your loyalty and enthusiasm for your team and look forward to our Matchup.
Is there anybody outside of oxford, that isn’t surprised by this?
Not surprised in the least.
This article from Forde tells me 2 things: 1 Forde is up to his usual hack journalism. 2 NCAA is grasping at straws b/c they can’t to put a solid case together.
If UM was playing recruits wouldn’t they offer something to the two highest rated lineman in the country last year?
“No one offered us money, not at Ole Miss anyways. We were offered money, but not from Ole Miss. I’m close with Terry Little (Greg’s mother) and no one offered Greg money, no one did. No one offered money for Rashan to commit, not from Ole Miss.” Rashan Gary’s mom
Article is from Chat Sports-
chatsports.com/mississippi-rebels/a/exclusive-1-recruit-rashan-garys-mother-jennifer-coney-addresses-ole-miss-recruiting-tactics-28587
And I’ll add one more point- This also shows the new SEC commish doesn’t have the nut sack Slive does. Slive wouldn’t let these “allegations” drag out marring the name of the both the conference and school. This would have been dealt with and closed a long time ago.
Cheated your asses off and still couldn’t win the S.E.C. Haha! What a joke. At least auburn got a ring out of it even though it will always be tainted. Oh, Ole Miss. Just go back to being the west’s Vandy.
Another toothless bama fan-
As an LSU fan who has been pretty annoyed at the arrogance of some OM fans as of late, I don’t think ANYONE wants to see OM get the death penalty. That’s ridiculous. That’s horrible. A team gets hot over a 2 or 3 year period and wins a few games… its not cause for a “target on your back” or “people being out to get you”. That is an incredibly paranoid way to look at this. I’m not trying to talk trash, but there is NOTHING TO COME GET. Finishing 2nd or 3rd in the West doesn’t make you the envy of the NCAA. the only person that was “out to get” anyone were the people/person/step-father of Laremy Tunsil. He blew the thing wide open, and then poor Tunsil was dumb enough to tell a room full of people he was paid. Don’t try to blame all of this on Nick Saban and the SEC commish or NCAA president… your own guy literally fessed up during a press conference. what is the NCAA supposed to do!? If this had happened at LSU or Bama or USC or Ohio State or Notre Dame and went uninvestigated or unpunished, you guys would be screaming your head off for YEARS about how lopsided and unfair it was, how real true southern programs play with dignity, pride, and honor and those other guys are just cheaters at big programs who have money and influence. You’re STILL doing that even though your own guy admitted it! your own school admitted it by self-imposing sanctions! It’s fine to think its unfair because every school does it. You’re probably totally right. LSU probably cheats. Bama… everyone. It’s fine to be unhappy about that, and to complain that you guys are going to unfairly be made an example of while everyone else cheers. As a saints fan, I get that. but please please please, stop pretending like this is completely made up, and that its a conspiracy theory to get you because everyone hates OM…. thats crazy. I love that OM is competitive. It’s awesome. It’s fun. It’s good for the division, conference, and cfb. I don’t hate OM. But why can’t you just admit that this smells a little funny?
Imagine if the NCAA went to Alabama players, former athletes that Les was recruiting, offered immunity. They do not have to show proof that anything happened. And lied about being offered money from LSU. That is the crap we are pissed about. The NCAA goes after us immediately but is keeping the North Carolina scandal hush hush.
It is mainly the way the NCAA is investigating that is so messed up.
Amazon is out of Vasoline…..NCAA purchased it all for the rape that is about to occur against Ole Miss.
rebelsfan88 1 min ago
A couple things I see wrong with this. You have players from rival schools with the opportunity to hurt one of their competitors program with immunity…..this is like asking Hillary to speak against any previous corruptness she may ever had with Trump, but Trump is the only one punished by law.
2nd. Didn’t Cam Newton’s dad come out saying that Mississippi State offered him $250,000 to go to State. Funny enough, you couldn’t pay some players to go to Starkville.
3rd. I cant wait to see what the NCAA does about North Carolina’s MASSIVE Academic scandal they did over the past 30+ years.
Here is a great Poll: Name which of the 4 are the most corrupt:
1. NCAA
2. FIFA
3. Hillary Clinton and Party
4. The Olympics Committee