The good folks at OutkickTheCoverage.com and SportsByBrooks.com aren’t letting the T-Town Menswear story drift into the backpages of the internet. Both have posted new info on the maybe-it-is/maybe-it-isn’t scandal in the past 24 hours.
First… OKTC reports that they have photographic evidence that there were “autographed jerseys from current players at multiple locations.” And those jerseys were for sale, which suggests either a) the players might have been rewarded in some way for their signatures or b) the players were helping a business promote itself. Case a) would be a violation of NCAA rules and case b) could be viewed as a violation.
The site also takes issue with the idea that Bama’s players didn’t know their signatures were being sold:
“… Would any reasonable person with even a smidge of intelligence not notice if they signed a jersey for T-Town Menswear one day and the next day or shortly thereafter it was for sale at a kiosk in the same mall? Then, if after seeing this you went back and continued to sign autographs, would you lose all ability to play the “I didn’t know,” defense?
I think so. And I think the NCAA will agree with me.”
The site adds this as well:
“So (Tuesday’s) announcement (from UA) was a bombshell. A very bad bombshell for the Crimson Tide program. Prior to now Alabama had been trying to hide the fact that it had been compelled to disassociate (store owner Tom) Albetar. Now we all know. And so does the NCAA.
Good luck with that.”
I find it odd that an SEC fan is rejoicing so in the possible downfall of an SEC team. Clay Travis — the author of the story — is a Tennessee fan. He makes that clear in this “manifesto” that explains exactly what his site is all about.
If you’re an SEC fan — you listening Bama and Auburn-backers — the downfall of a rival program only hurts the league. If a school is out buying players and handing out car keys to recruits, fine, take ‘em down. But these kinds of shenanigans can be found at major schools all across the country. If Alabama or Auburn or another SEC program gets taken to the woodshed to the point that its banned from television — unlikely but possible — then CBS and ESPN would likely have the ability to rework their contracts with the SEC.
“Hooray, we brought down Bama! And cost our favorite school millions in the process.”
And if the NCAA hammer falls on one SEC school, the reputation of all SEC schools will suffer. You better believe that one. Who knows what that would do for the votes of pollsters? If too many people view the SEC as dirty, it could cost an SEC team a BCS title shot somewhere down the road. Just something to think about before you email your favorite scandal-driven website photos of Nick Saban or Gene Chizik shaking hands with Muammar Gaddafi.
Now, someone will no doubt claim that we’re saying a true SEC fan would ignore or cover these types of stories up. Not so. We at MrSEC.com just don’t understand the pure joy some folks get from ripping down a rival program.
Meanwhile, on the site SportsByBrooks, a photo showing Heisman hopeful Trent Richardson is posted today. He’s wearing a red jacket while signing a framed print of Alabama football players. The site’s headline: “Why is Richardson Signing With a Suit Jacket On?” The clear inference being that Richardson is wearing a coat given to him in exchange for signing merchandise.
Seems like a bit of a leap to us. In fact, this just looks like another photo dump. As was the case with much of the “evidence” against Cam Newton and Auburn, the word “circumstantial” keeps popping into our heads.
Sure these photos and this situation looks bad for Alabama. For that matter, it looked like Casey Anthony had killed her daughter. But no one could prove it. And so far, we’ve seen no proof of any type of payment going from Albetar to Bama players. Just as we saw no hard evidence of Auburn paying the Newtons a single dime.
What you and I think — and what OutkickTheCoverage and SportsByBrooks post — won’t matter to the NCAA. They’ll be looking for proof, evidence, and a smoking gun. If they don’t find it, T-Town Menswear might disappear quicker than Scott Moore’s tapes (which I’m still told via email “are going to come out”). In Moore’s case, we said “produce the tapes.” Now we say, produce the proof.
Until that happens, this is just more “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” traffic-generation from a couple of very well-run sites.
The questions raised by their photo dumps need to be answered by someone at this point. Only it won’t be OutkickTheCoverage, SportsByBrooks, MrSEC.com, ILoveBama.net, or ImABarner.org that Tide officials will be answering to. It will most likely be NCAA investigators.
With as much pub as this story has gotten in the past week, it’s hard to imagine NCAA officials won’t drop by Tuscaloosa for a quick Q&A at some point.
oh I found where player have been getting there extra benefits from... .http://www.menswearhouse.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Menswear_-1_10601_10051_10051_10051_Menswear.html
they have been getting up to 70% off a lot of items in that store....wait, I think I might have gotten an extra benefit also....I might have to report myself.
one of the players who seems to be involved but not listed is greg mcleroy. Maybe, because it doesn't fit your logic. His dad is some kind of cfo or something for the dallas cow boys and padres or something like that. If he wanted a free suit, all he would have to do is ask dad. Maybe the store owner could hit up greg for a loan or something, i mean maybe the store owner is looking for extra benefits. You can not ignore all the facts and only apply what works with your logic. It just makes you look like a homer. I've yet to see espn or Si.com run with this story. You want to be taken serious, you can not use faulty logic.
A friend of mine bought a official (game wore) jersey at a online charity auction, this was a SEC team auction. It was stated that the players names had been removed from the back of the jerseys so as to not cause problems with the NCAA. this was several years ago. __Anybody that thinks that no rules were violated needs to get their head out of the sand or simply hope that Bama has some inside help with the NCAA. __The thing that blows me away is that Alabama let this continue even after the Ohio St thing broke. Did they really think they could do their own investigation, put a bow on it and announce that no rules were broken and everybody would believe them?
you are exactly right. The problem here is that there are the last names of the players on the back of these jerseys AND the signature. have you ever seen a collegiate jersey for sale at a store with their names on it? the answer is no, because using their last names is an NCAA violation. even if they cannot prove that the players got benfits, discounts or what have you, there will still be an issue with the names on the back of those jerseys.
I don't wish for the down fall of a rival just for the sake of hatred. I wish they get nailed because they cheat. That cheating hurts my team more than the residual scandal might taint by association. If they won one game because of this crap...got one recruit. Screw them. They need to go down. Why wouldn't you? Stanford isn't tainted by the Reggie Bush crap. They were hurt by the CHEATING! Charlie Weiss could have beat them that one game if Bush didnt play. Also Fresno st. They should revel in the take down. They league was hurt by Cam Newton and will not be better if Auburn skates.
Bad M...
We said if team's are buying players, take 'em down. But to try to destroy programs over signatures seems a bit silly. And I don't understand the glee that goes with it, because -- as we stated -- if the penalties are serious enough, it could hurt all of the teams in the league. That doesn't mean cover it up. It means why celebrate?
John
Well, you got to say though, old Clint is pretty smart. Do you realize how much publicity his website is getting?! I know that I have gone to it a couple of times. If he didn't ever right anything controversial he wouldn't get any views. Not saying what he is doing is right, just saying that he knows what he is doing. And he's not going to stop anytime soon.
In the football world today, before real football season, bad news is almost the only news. Something could come of this.....sure. But even if nothing ever does, he has just put his website out there to thousands of people that wouldn't have ever had heard of it.
Oh, well. Anyways......War Eagle, hope everyone has a blessed day!
The problem with the attempted "oranges to oranges" side by side with Julio Jones and lets say Dyer is this. There aren't any pictures of Dyer signing a stack of a hundred jerseys.... at the store of a banned booster.... while current college player signatures are hanging everywhere....who had sideline passes... who takes football players (Ingram) out to five star dinners....
Not being able to see the forest for the trees is no excuse. No matter how you feel about Clay Travis ( I can't stand the guy, wrote letters to all his employers asking for his firing after the Tebow virginity question, the guy has serious issues) you can't deny the evidence, yes, EVIDENCE.
When you sign a stack of a hundred jerseys at one sitting, it isn't for a single personal collection.
When every prominent football player of the last five years goes and hangs out with a 60's white guy at a mall store... they aren't doing it because it's the coolest thing to do in T-Town.
One or two photos, shady dealings are one thing... what are we up to? 25 players, hundreds of items, a booster who up until very recently represented the school.
Not one for a Bama downfall but call a cheater a cheater... Being a Gator fan I know we didn't get any slack for arrests which aside from kicking the player off the team Meyer couldn't control but this ... this is called a containable, controllable situation. Saban: If I see you or find out you so much as looked towards T-Town's menswear, you're done at the University of Alabama... instead he defends the guy on National radio.
evidence of what?
once again its not illegal to sign jerseys, even an entire stack. I knew Julio had signed lots of things long before I saw that photo, so what is it evidence of?
until someone has a picture of a player being handed cash while signing a jersey, as shady as this may seem there is no evidence of anything other than some players signed jerseys, which isn't illegal
Also, Julio is an Atlanta Falcon now... so he can do as he wants. Is there a date stamped on that photo? Could it have been taken after the season when Julio gave up his eligibility and could trade anything he wishes in exchange for money?
And even if it was taken when he was still elligible, again what is it evidence of. There are plenty of pictures of Julio signing things at fan days and other events
I bet it wouldn't be that hard to find a picture of Dyer signing an autograph if you were so inclined to search facebook all day, but what would that prove and what would be the point?
It is an NCAA violation to offer up your name and likeness on a silver platter for the purpose of someone else profiting off it or using it as a promotional tool for their business. Why are you Bammers so ignorant that this has to keep being explained to you ad nauseum? If I go to A-Day and get Julio Jones to sign a football and then I sell it on E-Bay 6 months later, then Jones had no knowledge that I was going to use his signature to profit. But if I own a clothing store and I get Jones to come into my store, lean over a table with Sharpie in hand and sign a doo-doo load of jerseys as fast as I can get them on a table - that were specifically ordered and embroidered with his name on them for such an occasion - you can't deny that Julio Jones knew what was going on and offered his name and likeness to be used as either a sales enhancer or a promotional tool. Does not matter if Julio Jones saw one red cent from the profits.
Go down to Hibbetts or another sporting goods story and ask them why they don't have Nike jerseys of current Alabama players WITH THEIR NAME ON THEM! They don't sell them. They can't sell them. It is against NCAA rules for them to sell them. It is against NCAA rules for Nike to even make them. Al-Betar was buying these and having them custom embroidered and then having the players sign them. Period. This was a very, very well-oiled machine and ALL PARTIES involved knew EXACTLY what was going on.
you are exactly right. The problem here is that there are the last names of the players on the back of these jerseys AND the signature. have you ever seen a collegiate jersey for sale at a store with their names on it? the answer is no. And, regardless of WHERE the jerseys were being sold (T town store, kiosk in bham or elsewhere), it is still a violation. It doesn't matter if Clay Travis had the location wrong in his article (while it is a bit of a hack journalism move)- the bottom line is there is photographic evidence of the football players signing multiple pieces of memorabilia and illegal jerseys, which have then been sold. Those jerseys with their last names are an NCAA violation. As a former NCAA athlete, I can tell you that schools hammer into you the subtle rules so there is never a violation. These big boys knew exactly what they were doing and that they should not be doing it-clearly there was an incentive to do so and not care about the rules they were breaking...anyone care to guess what that incentive might have been?
and even though its hard to find anyone who wants an autograph of a current Tennessee Player...
there are 10 ebay listings for Janzen Jackson autographs too
Currently for sale on ebay: Signed Memorabelia from current players across the SEC
Michael Dyer, Auburn: 129 Items for sale
Trent Richardson, Alabama: 82 Items for sale
Aaron Murrey, Georgia: 83 Items for sale
Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina: 54 Items for sale
Jordan Jefferson, LSU: 32 Items for sale (lol who would want his john hancock anyway)
John Brantley, Florida: 344 Items for sale
i guess we are ALL royally screwed now!! they even have pictures of the items next to the listings!!!
Aarom Murray only has 20 items on e-bay not (83) and every one is either a football or a helmnt. No signed jerseys. All of Murrays items are the kind of stuff that get's signed at the G-day game, media days, etc. Alabama's players have pulled a Ohio State Tattoo type of deal but it was clothing for autographs instead of tattoos.
Ga fan here. I don't want to see Auburn , Alabama or any team in the SEC go down because it will make the SEC look bad, but if you think that Auburn or Alabama or any one team losing a couple seasons of scholarships, bowl games etc will hurt the SEC in the grand scheme of things or could put any TV package in jeopardy, you have underestimated the overall power of the SEC.
All I wan't is for every team to be held to the same standards. Whats good or bad for A J Green should be the same for Trent Richardson.
As far as casey Anthoney being proven innocent? So was O J Simpson and then the real truth finally came out. Auburn and Alabama have broken the rules and if they go down a notch or two another two SEC teams will simply step in to fill the void, This is the SEC ,not the Big 10m or Pac 10 that has one strong team that carries the whole conference.
trupert...
I didn't say that, so I'm not sure why you thought I might think that. I made it clear I was talking about big penalties -- tv bans, etc.
And in terms of OJ Simpson, the truth never did come out. He went to jail for a completely unrelated crime, not the murder of two people.
John
As a Vol fan there's nothing I like more than trouble in Bama Land. It's proven that there has never been a program in the SEC that cheats more than Alabama. However, I believe Clay Travis is making some assumptions that shouldn't be made with the evidence he has. Case in point, the photographic evidence of Julio "owning" 16 suits. It is very possible that the players "trade" suits on game day so that none of the players wear the same suit from week to week. Look at the suits in the photos, they are all loose fitting and could be worn by several different sizes and body types. There is just as much evidence that Julio owns 1 suit and has traded suits with other players as there is he "owns" 16 suits.
“… Would any reasonable person with even a smidge of intelligence not notice if they signed a jersey for T-Town Menswear one day and the next day or shortly thereafter it was for sale at a kiosk in the same mall? Then, if after seeing this you went back and continued to sign autographs, would you lose all ability to play the “I didn’t know,” defense?
I think so. And I think the NCAA will agree with me.”
----------------------------------
thats my favorite line
since T town menswear is in University Mall in Tuscaloosa, and the kiosk he has "photographic evidence" of is located at the Galleria Mall over an hour away in Birmingham
facts schmacts
saying the kiosk is at University Mall outside the T town menswear entrance sure does sound juicier... as opposed to in a mega mall 50 miles away from campus
anyone think we'll see Clay Travis post a retraction?
Given his history, don't bet on it. He's posted a few fluff stories here and there about other 'sports news,' but it's mostly comprised of defaming op-ed's about Alabama and Auburn. His pseudo journalism is a blatant smear campaign. Have you noticed that he hasn't mentioned anything about the recent UT LB arrest?
So Arkansas' three losses for 2011 were to Alabama, Auburn and OSU. Yikes. VACATED LOSSES NASHINUL CHAMPYUNSHIP PAWWWWWWL!
"the word “circumstantial” keeps popping into our heads. "
Contrary to popular belief, the fact that evidence is circumstantial does not make it useless. Good circumstantial evidence is very very strong. In fact, circumstantial evidence is usually what puts criminals behind bars, and ultimately decides civil suits.
So don't think this kid's going to be acquitted by the NCAA unless they find a check written to him from T-Town Menswear with "jersey signing" in the subject line (even you must admit that would be funny).
However, the NCAA ain't a court of law and they've shown over the last year that they don't really stick to one standard of what constitutes enough proof.
Anonymous...
True enough. But you'll have a lot easier time getting a conviction with hard evidence than circumstantial evidence.
I stand by what I wrote.
Thanks for reading,
John
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The best way to deal with the Clay Travis type is to ignore them. Their too busy trying really hard to be awesome to realize that irony and self-awareness have emasculated them. Don't get sucked into their world and don't visit their sites.
Agreed, im a UT fan and I am disgusted by Travis's actions, going back to the tebow virgin question.
Folks...
If you post links to other stories or if you use obscenities, we will be nuke your post. Period.
We're not going to let this become an R-rated zone and we're not going to let people come here and post links to their own sites -- something that's happened on occasion -- as a means of free advertising.
No obscenities, no links.
Thanks,
John
sorry- i'm surely not trying to get Clay Travis any extra hits... just wanted to point out the incredibly lazy journalism and false info he guesses at and presents as fact
love your site btw
sorry about that... how's this (no links)
Have you seen the latest Clay Travis article ?
The best blunder yet. He posts a pic of a kiosk selling Bama gear claiming it is outside T-town Mens Wear in Tuscaloosa Mall...
ONLY... turns out it was taken at the Galleria in Birmingham, and is 100% unrelated to T-town Mens Wear owner. Better, Clay spent 3 days at that very mall just last week at Media Days!!
also, that very picture, if you look closely, not only has jerseys by Julio, Dareus, & Ingram... but they are side by side with signed jerseys of Cam Newton, Michael Dyer, & Ontario McCaleb!!!
you just cant make this stuff up... Well, nevermind... I guess Clay Travis can
You can't even see who that is in the jacket... his face is covered up.
Clay first said the Kiosk was right outside of his store in Tuscaloosa... then people called out his lie, so he went the "multiple locations" route.... which has no real traction given that some other guy probably owns the kiosk and very well could be just selling fakes (it does happen).
Football jerseys are hazardous to your program. Didn't anyone pay any attention to A.J. Green's example from last season?
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