Six student-athletes on The Ohio State University football team have been suspended for NCAA violations, the school said Thursday.
Mike Adams, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Terrelle Pryor (pictured above) and Solomon Thomas will miss the first five games of the 2011 season and must repay money and benefits, the school said.
A sixth player, Jordan Whiting, must sit out the first game, the NCAA determined.
According to a university press release, as part of the players' reinstatement:
- Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling his 2008 gold pants, which were a gift from OSU, his 2008 conference championship ring and his 2009 Sportsmanship Award from the Fiesta Bowl.
- Adams must repay $1,000 for selling his 2008 Big Ten title ring.
- Herron must repay $1,150 for selling his football jersey, pants and shoes and accepting discounted services.
- Posey must repay $1,250 for selling his 2008 conference championship ring and accepting discounted services.
- Thomas must repay $1,505 for selling his 2008 gold pants, his conference title ring and accepting discounted services.
- Whiting must pay $150 to a charity "for the value of services that were discounted,"Â the press release said.
The punishments stem from an incident in which at least some of the Buckeye players received tattoos for their autographs, according to news reports.
Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs, said the penalties were “significant" and "based on findings and information provided by the university.â€
Gene Smith, associate vice president and director of athletics at Ohio State, said at a press conference that the university will appeal the penalties, with hopes of getting the number of game suspensions reduced. Smith also said the university will do more to educate its student-athletes about the rules.
"After going through this experience," Smith said, "we will further enhance our education for all our student-athletes as we move forward.â€
The student-athletes will be eligible to play in the AllState Sugar Bowl on January 4 against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the university said.
Those guys should ashamed...there are former Buckeyes that would have given anything for one pair of gold pants for defeating Michigan
Maybe some of those former players now have a pair of gold pants.
They are already making over a mil a year to play college football, why seel those things? 😀
sell, that is.
college football players do NOT make a million dollars a year where are you getting your info?
Once again, it is painfully obvious how these student athletes are in need of financial resources.
Most scholarship athletes are in the same boat as the Ohio State, Auburn, and every other college in the USA.
But football players are different and get treated differently. Why? Because there is so much money tied up in their recruitment, scholarships, and worth. It's like futures trading for crude oil, orange juice and pork bellies. Yes, the colleges make bank off these players (and fans). But you hardly ever see a scholarship player go hungry or wear ragged clothes. These young men get the best the university has to offer; the best dorms, the best food, the best fitness rooms, the best trainers,ad nauseum.
There is a solution to the problem though. Eliminate athletic scholarships altogether- period. Instead turn them into additional academic scholarships. And if your reading, writing, and science skills are suspect- tough cookies.
And if you need a little extra cash? Get a haircut and get a job! Then go out for the athletic teams. I am absolutely certain the network television outlets will be more than happy to pony up large sums of cash to watch you play on saturday afternoons. And you won't see a dime of it. Except for the perks already mentioned above.
Chris – best post I have read so far........
II don't think they could squeeze the term student-athlete any more into one article.
Dan. On this one I don't agree. Ohio State has lost mega star starters in the past due to graduation and traditionally, as the saying goes, they just reload! It won't kill them for more than next year – if then. Tressel may bench these guys for the bowl game on his own. He is a stickler for playing by the rules and this is a team rule violation. As for Ohio fans liking socker – hell yes. The big ten has had a few good soccer teams in the past. Exception – the stupid county I live in now that I am retired. Meigs County, Ohio. The school super told me at a meeting that soccer is a communist sport. Duh!
NCAA = National Communist Against Athletes. They can make money for the schools and the coaches, but not for themselves. Oh, I forgot, they get a free education, in exchange for free labor. This is nothing but new Era Slave labor for the benefit of the NCAA. You must do no harm against their power base or harm the spirit of the NCAA rules, just like in Russia, they enforce rule only if they like the rules.
They are being punished but not before they add millions to the NCAA coffers when they play in the Sugar Bowl. Doesn't anyone see the hypocrisy in this? True these kids get scholarships to attend these high-powered athletic schools but the NCAA and these schools make millions off of their athletic abilities not their academic accomplishments. How many of these athletes would even be at those schools if they did not have athletic abilities? The rules seem to favor the NCAA and the schools at the expense of the student athletes. Most college students, athletes or not, always seem to be short of money. Something just ain't right...
Why is it against NCAA rules for a student athlete to sell their possessions?
You're a joke NCAA. Can't wait to see you and the BCS die.
They broke major ncaa rules! Yes Cam Newton is a cheater! But, as a hog fan i want their best on the field period, because if not & hogs win, oh all the excuses from yankee nation & espn! GO HOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Smith also said the university will do more to educate its student-athletes about the rules." Unlikely, as you can't educate dumb.
Of course they'll still play in the bowl....if you truly want to punish them, then suspend them from playing in the bowl game instead of just the first 5 games. Letting them play in the bowl game is just a slap on the hand a 'just don't do it again'
As a fan of Ohio State I disagree with your statement. I would rather have them suspended for the bowl game because it really doesn't mean anything compared to the first five games of next season where if they lose one game they are out of the national championship picture. Not to mention this increases the odds some of the suspended players will go to the draft.
PSU > OSU
Why didn't they just sell their books?