Given the self-made pickle Jim Tressel finds himself in, and the basketball team’s loss in the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed, it’s not been the best of months for two of the Ohio State University’s flagship athletic programs. And, apparently, the negativity surrounding the school is set to continue.
Wednesday night, the HBO show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, a release from the cable network states, departs from its traditional format to present a special hour-long edition dedicated to the state of college sports in America. Basically, the show will delve into the sticky issue of whether college athletes -- football players in particular -- should be paid, as well as delving “into the controversial and complex subject of premium college-bound athletes receiving benefits that are prohibited by the NCAA.”
Oh, and sex.
The New York Daily News reports that former college football player Stanley McClover will also appear on the show, and reveals that he received not just cash but (gasp!) sexual services during a recruiting visit to Ohio State. McClover ultimately signed with Auburn, so we don’t know if that says more about quality of the school on The Plains or about the quality of the services (allegedly) rendered at the Columbus school.
And, while we’re on the subject of the HBO show, here are a couple of “teasers” that will give you an idea of what tomorrow’ night’s program will entail.
UPDATED 8:14 p.m. ET: Our buddy at SportsByBrooks.com has obtained an advanced copy of the hour-long program and, suffice to say, it does not paint Auburn University in a very positive light. Four ex-Tigers claim during the course of the program that there was a “systematic pay-to-play” scheme in place during and after the recruiting process in which they were given thousands upon thousands of dollars by people -- including alumni and boosters -- purporting to be associated with the school.
Apparently, the key phrase that will be woven throughout the piece will be “money handshake”.
Based on Brooks’ transcription, which can be viewed in its entirety right HERE, there are some very explosive and damning charges that will be leveled against Auburn. McClover, for example, claimed that he was given $4,000 after a four-sack game against archrival Alabama. As noted by the Birmingham News, the accusations made by McClover, as well as Troy Reddick, fall outside of the NCAA’ s standard statute of limitations of five years. The claims made by Chaz Ramsey and Raven Gray, however, allegedly occurred inside of that five-year window.
What will be most interesting to see, however, is what type of public response, if any, the school gives to the accusations. And if the NCAA issues any sort of statement as well.
UPDATED 9:19 p.m. ET: We would be remiss if we didn’t note the fact that LSU and Michigan State were also accused by at least one member of the Auburn quartet of giving money during the recruiting process.
UPDATED 10:46 p.m. ET: Auburn responded -- sort of -- to the allegations made by the four players during the program.
“Auburn Athletics respectfully declines to comment on these alleged claims apparently made by a few former football players. Compliance with all NCAA and Southeastern Conference rules is a major emphasis and top priority for all of our athletic programs at Auburn University.”