The NCAA and the Ohio State University’s compliance office are conducting an independent investigation of Terrelle Pryor amid allegations that the star quarterback may have received cars and other extra benefits, sources told The Dispatch today.
Pryor has been questioned by OSU compliance officials in the past, but sources said this is the most significant inquiry to date. He already has been interviewed at least once by investigators within the past few weeks, sources said.
Pryor and the cars he drives have been an issue since he arrived on campus three years ago. Pryor has been connected to more than a half dozen vehicles during his time at Ohio State, according to sources.
Ohio State spokesman Jim Lynch wouldn’t confirm whether Pryor is being investigated.
“The university continues to work with the NCAA as they investigate matters involving our football program, and we will continue to do so until the conclusion of the investigation,” Lynch said. “We are unable to comment on specific players’ situations because of federal law.”
The investigation of Pryor off the field is separate from Coach Jim Tressel’s resignation, which was announced earlier today. Attempts to reach Pryor were unsuccessful.
OSU officials previously said that even before Pryor arrived on campus in 2008, the NCAA examined the ownership of his vehicle and how it was paid for.
Pryor came under scrutiny in December after OSU received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice. It said that during a drug raid, it had recovered Buckeye memorabilia linked to the quarterback and other players.
In the ensuing 11 days, OSU confirmed that Pryor and five other current football players had sold or exchanged memorabilia for cash and tattoos.
On Dec. 23, OSU suspended Pryor, running back Daniel Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, lineman Solomon Thomas and tackle Mike Adams for five games this season. Linebacker Jordan Whiting was suspended for one game.
In January, The Dispatch reported that three times in the past three years, Pryor was stopped for traffic violations while driving cars that were owned by a car salesman or a Columbus used-car dealer for whom the salesman worked.
The salesman, Aaron Kniffin, told The Dispatch that while working at Maxton in 2008, he allowed Pryor to drive his SUV to his hometown in Pennsylvania so that his mother could check it out. Pryor did not buy the vehicle.
Kniffin also said he arranged for Pryor to use a 2009 Dodge while Pryor’s car was being repaired at Auto Direct, a Columbus car dealership where Kniffin worked last fall.
About two dozen autographed jerseys hang inside Auto Direct’s office, including Pryor’s.
Pryor said at the time that he doesn’t remember the circumstances of him signing his jersey that hangs in the dealership, but “I sign a lot of stuff for Buckeye fans – I don’t like to turn down fans. But I don’t do it to get any favors or discounts.”
Kniffin also sold cars to Pryor’s mother and brother as well as dozens of other Buckeye athletes or their family members.
The car dealer has said repeatedly that the vehicles sales with OSU athletes have been legitimate and he has not offered them special deals.
As part of its investigation of Tressel, the NCAA wants to know details about Pryor’s relationship with Ted Sarniak, a 67-year-old businessman from Jeannette, Pa., the quarterback’s hometown.
Doug Archie, OSU’s director of compliance, said in March that Sarniak served as Pryor’s contact person during Ohio State’s recruiting efforts but is not considered a booster.
“Mr. Sarniak and Terrelle Pryor have been friends for a number of years, and their friendship dates back prior to Terrelle’s enrollment at Ohio State,” Archie said. “As the friendship developed, Mr. Sarniak is someone who Terrelle has reached out to for advice and guidance throughout his high-school and collegiate career.”
Sarniak has attended virtually every game, home and away, since Pryor enrolled in 2008.
Sarniak exchanged emails with Tressel last spring when the coach was tipped off that Pryor and others were selling memorabilia.
OSU released two of those emails but refuses to release any others, citing the federal student privacy law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
State courts in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and North Carolina each have ordered colleges in recent months to release documents that they had withheld after citing FERPA. In Arizona, a community college attempted to withhold emails among faculty members about a student.
“Court after court has said that not every cocktail napkin with a students’ name on it is an education record,” said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “An email between a coach and an outside third party doesn’t qualify under FERPA.”
In addition to the emails between Tressel and Sarniak, the university also has censored the Justice Department letter that details by name what memorabilia the players sold and what they received in return.
Inside sources are now saying that Pryor is out; his Buckeye career is over. Expect announcement about that soon.
Supplemental draft?
(@Kade – good form suggests you truncate piece to a couple paragraphs & a link…)
I heard from a little bird that Pryor has indeed made his final appearance. I’m trying to confirm that.