THE Ohio State University has found itself as THE center of college football scandals lately, and it got a whole lot bigger yesterday. With Jim Tressel out as coach after his failure to acknowledge (read: allowance) of players receiving improper benefits, quarterback Terrelle Pryor announced that he would be forgoing his senior year to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, which is a terrifying thought as a fan of the Miami Dolphins.
But Pryor’s announcement came as little shock to anyone with an IQ above 6 because he was already suspended for 5 games next season for selling memorabilia, he is currently under investigation for improper use of “loaner” vehicles from car dealers, and he has been driving around in a brand new Nissan 350z that he claims his mom is paying for while she’s driving an Oldsmobile Alero. So it is the least shocking revelation in the history of college athletics that a friend of Pryor’s has stepped up to say that Pryor has been receiving money for autographs for the past three years.
Pryor’s former friend, who asked not to be identified, said the player would receive between $500 and $1,000 for his signature on mini helmets and other gear from Dennis Talbott. The friend said the transactions occurred between 35 and 40 times.
When contacted, Talbott, a freelance photographer, would not speak about the allegations to ESPN.
“He’s the type of person that … I think he really took advantage over TP because he was that person, and he would bring him, he would bring TP like memorabilia to sell for other people,” the friend told ESPN. “So Dennis is not a good guy for college athletes. That’s the guy you really don’t want to be around.”
Pryor’s attorney, Larry James, disputed the story to ESPN.
“Terrelle did not sign memorabilia for cash,” he said. (USA Today)
BOOM! You’re busted, anonymous former friend. Case closed. The defense rests. Legal PWNage. You don’t get more lawyerish than that. But seriously, athletes who don’t think they’ll be caught taking money in this age of all-seeing Internet media should be loaded onto a spaceship and shot into the sun.
