tibor75
Banned
excellent logic. Hmm...so I guess Minnesota and scUM football were both dirty during the days of Clem Haskins and Ed Martin.
Clarett's claims latest blows for OSU
JEFF SHAIN, [email protected]
At first glance, Maurice Clarett's tale of free cars and academic shenanigans at Ohio State comes off as sour grapes from a debunked star with an eye on revenge.
Except for a certain lawsuit languishing in Franklin County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court.
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That's the one in which two Ohio State boosters are being sued for reneging on a promise to compensate their former baby-sitter for the housing and pocket cash she gave a former Buckeye basketball player.
The collateral damage already includes former OSU hoops coach Jim O'Brien. He was fired after admitting a $6,000 cash payment given to another recruit, first brought to light in the suit.
So there's cause to suspect shady deals took place inside Buckeye basketball. Since football is an even bigger deal in Columbus, it's not a huge stretch to think gridders might have had their hands out, too.
"We're not afraid of what's coming. We're not afraid of what's here," athletic director Andy Geiger told reporters Tuesday.
Good thing, because it's probably going to be messy.
NCAA investigators, having closed the books on Clarett Jam I last fall, were summoned back to Columbus in June when the O'Brien scandal broke. Now a reexamination of the Clarett case seems in order, too.
"If they want to assign somebody to work with us on this," Geiger said, "they are more than welcome."
Then there's the lawsuit by Kathleen Salyers, who alleges she took in Boban Savovic for nearly four years after boosters Dan and Kim Roslovic promised to pay her $1,000 a month plus expenses.
Those expenses, she claims, included cash outlays to Savovic of $150-$200 a week in addition to food, clothing, cellphone bills and car insurance. As legal wrangling unfolded, O'Brien's $6,000 gift to Aleksandar Radojevic became public knowledge.
NCAA rules bar an athlete from receiving financial help from anyone other than family members. O'Brien was fired June 8; Radojevic never played after ties to a European pro team were uncovered.
Anyway, back to Clarett, whose baggage also includes inflating the value of goods stolen from one of those loaner cars on a police report.
Geiger took special effort to note Clarett was cited for 17 violations of NCAA Bylaw 10, which requires players and athletics staff to be forthright with the NCAA.
But Clarett has said his answers of "I don't know" or "I don't remember" were an attempt to keep the sludge from splattering all over his ex-teammates and Tressel.
"What would have become of Ohio State if I said everything?" Clarett told ESPN The Magazine. "Half the team would've been suspended, and it would've been worse for everybody."
The magazine found other ex-Buckeyes to back him up. Marco Cooper said he drove a free car and held a no-show landscaping job. LeAndre Boone and Plantation's Fred Sturrup said they were steered into classes designed to keep them eligible.
"I know who the players are and what their experience was at Ohio State," Geiger said.
Meanwhile, Clarett's stated attempt to "clear the air" with NFL scouts might have the opposite effect. Trustworthiness, ESPN analyst Mark May suggested, could send his draft stock plummeting.
In the tight-knit society of a locker room, May said, "it's all about trust."
Clarett's claims latest blows for OSU
JEFF SHAIN, [email protected]
At first glance, Maurice Clarett's tale of free cars and academic shenanigans at Ohio State comes off as sour grapes from a debunked star with an eye on revenge.
Except for a certain lawsuit languishing in Franklin County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court.
ADVERTISEMENT
That's the one in which two Ohio State boosters are being sued for reneging on a promise to compensate their former baby-sitter for the housing and pocket cash she gave a former Buckeye basketball player.
The collateral damage already includes former OSU hoops coach Jim O'Brien. He was fired after admitting a $6,000 cash payment given to another recruit, first brought to light in the suit.
So there's cause to suspect shady deals took place inside Buckeye basketball. Since football is an even bigger deal in Columbus, it's not a huge stretch to think gridders might have had their hands out, too.
"We're not afraid of what's coming. We're not afraid of what's here," athletic director Andy Geiger told reporters Tuesday.
Good thing, because it's probably going to be messy.
NCAA investigators, having closed the books on Clarett Jam I last fall, were summoned back to Columbus in June when the O'Brien scandal broke. Now a reexamination of the Clarett case seems in order, too.
"If they want to assign somebody to work with us on this," Geiger said, "they are more than welcome."
Then there's the lawsuit by Kathleen Salyers, who alleges she took in Boban Savovic for nearly four years after boosters Dan and Kim Roslovic promised to pay her $1,000 a month plus expenses.
Those expenses, she claims, included cash outlays to Savovic of $150-$200 a week in addition to food, clothing, cellphone bills and car insurance. As legal wrangling unfolded, O'Brien's $6,000 gift to Aleksandar Radojevic became public knowledge.
NCAA rules bar an athlete from receiving financial help from anyone other than family members. O'Brien was fired June 8; Radojevic never played after ties to a European pro team were uncovered.
Anyway, back to Clarett, whose baggage also includes inflating the value of goods stolen from one of those loaner cars on a police report.
Geiger took special effort to note Clarett was cited for 17 violations of NCAA Bylaw 10, which requires players and athletics staff to be forthright with the NCAA.
But Clarett has said his answers of "I don't know" or "I don't remember" were an attempt to keep the sludge from splattering all over his ex-teammates and Tressel.
"What would have become of Ohio State if I said everything?" Clarett told ESPN The Magazine. "Half the team would've been suspended, and it would've been worse for everybody."
The magazine found other ex-Buckeyes to back him up. Marco Cooper said he drove a free car and held a no-show landscaping job. LeAndre Boone and Plantation's Fred Sturrup said they were steered into classes designed to keep them eligible.
"I know who the players are and what their experience was at Ohio State," Geiger said.
Meanwhile, Clarett's stated attempt to "clear the air" with NFL scouts might have the opposite effect. Trustworthiness, ESPN analyst Mark May suggested, could send his draft stock plummeting.
In the tight-knit society of a locker room, May said, "it's all about trust."
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