Pump Your Brakes!

"This could easy be any school's logo!"

Ohio State's director of compliance is reviewing at least 50 car sales to Buckeyes athletes and relatives to see if they met NCAA rules, The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday. The newspaper reported that a salesman who received game passes from Ohio State athletes handled many of the deals at two different dealerships. Ohio State has since taken the salesman, Aaron Kniffin, off the pass list.
Athletes are prevented from receiving special deals not available to other students. They are not permitted to trade autographs for discounts. Both dealerships display signed Ohio State memorabilia in their showrooms.

One car, a 2-year-old Chrysler 300 with fewer than 20,000 miles, was titled to then-sophomore defensive player Thaddeus Gibson in 2009. Documents show the purchase price as $0. Gibson said he did not know why the title showed a zero for the purchase price and said he was still paying for the car.

Before all of the Ohio State haters line up to pile on, pump your brakes. If the director of compliance at your particular school pulled the covers back he'd find the same thing. So don't start diving on top of the Buckeyes because Toto exposed the Wizard. This could easily happen at every big time college program in America.

The reason I can say that is because they are all cooking with the same ingredients, 18 to 22 year old immature young adults and fans that just want to be a part of the program. People that want to say that they know Terrell Pryor or some kid of his level and are willing to do favors for them like give them money etc. I don't care if you live in Knoxville, South Bend, Ann Arbor, Norman or anywhere it's happening. If you're willing to look long and hard enough you'll find something that is in violation of NCAA rules.

When winning is all that matters in some communities, people will be willing to break the rules to make sure that it happens. You'll look pretty silly blasting Ohio State because I can assure you that it's happening on or near your beloved campus.

If your star quarterback is riding around campus right now in a new car or somewhat new car and his parents aren't loaded. There is a good chance that he didn't pay for it. If the players show up to the local restaurant and eat until their full on a regular basis. There's a good chance that they aren't picking up the bill. If guys are constantly in the mall shopping and wearing all of the hottest gear. There's a good chance that they didn't pay full price for the merchandise. These are all violations and any number of schools could be found guilty.  I'm just sayin'!

Now does this mean that the university itself is dirty? Not at all. However, if the student-athlete gets involved with a booster or alumni in this manner it's ruled as a violation. The school can be completely oblivious to what's going on and still get into trouble.

Don't be so naive to believe that Ohio State and USC are the only schools that players are being taken care of. In many cases it doesn't have to be major powerhouse programs. Some boosters just like spending money because they want to be down with the players. Sometimes it's as simple as that. Blows my mind but it's true.

Lastly, before all of the Wolverine fans jump the gun and start throwing darts at the Buckeyes. Send them a thank you note for at least allowing you to have a chance at winning "The Game" for the next few years. So before you call some body's radio show or comment on this blog or anyone else's. Remember that whatever school you cheer on is probably guilty too. So don't let "Toto" anywhere near your campus.

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Jay Graves
jaygraves@thejaygravesreport.com
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.