H*****r
发帖数: 764 | 1 COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State can't say it was surprised to hear the name
Dennis Talbott this week in reports claiming he paid former quarterback
Terrelle Pryor thousands of dollars for signing memorabilia.
The Plain Dealer has learned that on at least two occasions, Ohio State was
warned about Talbott and his relationship with OSU football players, long
before ESPN's report Tuesday that Talbott had given Pryor between $20,000
and $40,000.
In a March 21, 2007, email to former coach Jim Tressel, which was provided
to The Plain Dealer, a source gave the following warning about the alleged
online activities of Talbott, a Columbus-based freelance photographer who
also is involved in memorabilia sales:
"He has sold over 50 items with underclassmen signatures before their
eligibility expires and would seem to be someone that both you and the
university is aware of. I have a full report of his eBay activities if you
would like to explore further or require documentation."
The email was sent to the account t*******[email protected]. That is the same
address Columbus attorney Chris Cicero used to email Tressel in April 2010
about OSU players selling memorabilia, an email that Tressel did not
disclose to his bosses, an NCAA violation that eventually led to his May 30
resignation.
The Plain Dealer requested a copy of the 2007 email from Ohio State, but the
school does not retain email records more than three years old.
Despite the warning in 2007, Talbott received free tickets from an OSU
player to eight Buckeyes games during the 2008 season, according to school
records. OSU redacted which player or players left tickets for Talbott.
OSU and Dennis Talbott: a timeline
March 2007: A source, who talked this week with The Plain Dealer, emails
coach Jim Tressel about Dennis Talbott, a Columbus-based freelance
photographer who also is involved in memorabilia sales. The source believes
Talbott is selling memorabilia featuring autographs of Ohio State football
players who have eligibility remaining, and wants to make OSU aware.
2008: Talbott receives free tickets from an OSU player or players for
eight Buckeyes football games.
Summer 2009: Two employees of Scioto Reserve Golf Club contact members
of the athletic department with concerns after seeing Talbott and Pryor
golfing together.
Fall 2009: Talbott remains a credentialed photographer, working the
sidelines of OSU home games.
Tuesday: ESPN, citing an anonymous source, reports that Talbott gave
Pryor between $20,000 and $40,000 for memorabilia.
Thursday: Talbott denies the ESPN report, telling The Plain Dealer that
while he has a friendly relationship with Pryor, he has never given Pryor
money.
-- Doug Lesmerises
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The second warning about Talbott to OSU came in summer 2009.
Two employees of Scioto Reserve Golf Club contacted members of the athletic
department after seeing Talbott and Pryor golfing together. One employee
said he talked to an Ohio State assistant coach he knew socially, and was
told the matter would be taken care of. Another employee, Regan Koivisto,
the club's general manager, said he called the football office and detailed
his concerns while talking to an administrative assistant.
"I just thought it would be best if the coaching staff was aware, because I'
m certain they always had their players' best interests in mind and would
want to know," Koivisto told The Plain Dealer.
Talbott on Thursday told The Plain Dealer that although he golfed with Pryor
, he never paid for Pryor.
Koivisto, who said his concern arose from his understanding that Talbott was
involved in memorabilia sales, said he was asked if he'd like a coach to
call him back, but he felt that was unnecessary because he'd provided all
the information he knew.
ESPN reported Friday that Pryor and Talbott golfed in 2008, but Koivisto
confirmed in a follow-up conversation with The Plain Dealer that it was in
2009.
At the start of preseason camp on July 31, 2009, Tressel said of Pryor, "He'
s gotten this sudden urge to take up golf, and he's addicted to golfing."
For the 2009 season, Talbott remained a credentialed photographer, working
the sidelines of OSU home games.
With Tressel's resignation, Pryor's decision to leave the team and the fact
that Talbott is not under NCAA jurisdiction, the issue at hand isn't about a
coach, a quarterback or a photographer.
The issue is whether Ohio State had reason to act when it came to Talbott's
access to the team; whether his continued presence around the program led to
any NCAA violations that could have been prevented; and whether those at
Ohio State committed potential violations if they failed to follow up on
information.
Tressel faced major violations for not disclosing the Cicero emails to the
Ohio State administration or compliance office.
It's unknown what Tressel or the university did after these warnings about
Talbott; but it is known that Talbott remained around the program. He told
The Plain Dealer this week that he had a friendly relationship with Pryor.
Told of these warnings, Ohio State spokesman Jim Lynch offered no comment,
but did confirm that Talbott was not issued a media credential in 2010.
Asked if that meant Talbott was denied the credential, Lynch said only that
Talbott did not receive one.
Talbott told The Plain Dealer that he chose not to photograph home games in
2010 so he could attend them as a fan, but he did photograph Ohio State road
games last season.
WBNS Channel 10 in Columbus on Friday reported another warning to Ohio State
in the form of a call to the compliance office's anonymous tip line last
July. The station said the office then began to look into Talbott's
relationship with Pryor.
Talbott and Larry James, a lawyer who represented Pryor through his NCAA
issues, both said that money never changed hands between the photographer
and the quarterback.
But it's safe to say that when the allegation came out this week, people at
Ohio State should have known the name Dennis Talbott. |
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