Ohio State Compliance Department Investigating Tattoo Payments

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Ohio State compliance officials are investigating tattoo payments by Ohio State football players.

Ohio State is investigating whether several of its football players traded signed memorabilia for tattoos and perhaps other favors from the owner of a Columbus tattoo parlor, actions that could put their eligibility for the Jan.4 Sugar Bowl and beyond in jeopardy, The Dispatch has learned.

We’ve known about a possible investigation for the past three days, but have stayed deliberately silent on the matter because of a lack of credible sources. However, with the Dispatch confirmation of earlier reports and ESPN's reporting tonight, the news has spiraled into a miniature scandal.

Two days ago, Dave Biddle of Bucknuts.com posted this ambiguous tweet on his Twitter account:

Biddle's report seemed erroneous once word broke that all Ohio State players practiced on Tuesday, but it did send a scurry of activity through Ohio State sites, including the aforementioned Dispatch. A day later, the Dispatch confirmed that an investigation was indeed taking place, although key details were, and still are, not included in the report. ESPN and Yahoo! have both published similarly vague details of an ongoing investigation, but the generally accepted story is as follows.

1. A tattoo parlor is discovered (more on this later) to have undocumented, autographed merchandise from current and former Ohio State football players.

2. Ohio State was contacted and began an internal investigation into the origins of the merchandise, and how it came into the possession of the tattoo parlor in question.

3. Specific players have not been mentioned, except on an unprofessional television report by ESPN and Kirk Herbstreit.

4. On Tuesday, Ohio State denied that an investigation was taking place.

5. Everyone's source(s)-- they may be the same-- indicate that an investigation is most certainly taking place right now, even if it technically was not on Tuesday.

So, what do we take away from this?

One, investigations by compliance departments happen all of the time. They just aren't always leaked to the media like this one. Compliance departments are under siege in this age of instant information, and any place with a visible product like Ohio State football will be inundated with investigations. Also, it's important to note that this is not an NCAA investigation. It is an internal one by Ohio State. The NCAA will only become involved if they determine that Ohio State is not capable or willing to handle the situation themselves. This is extremely, and I repeat, extremely, unlikely to happen.

Two, the number of players involved has not been confirmed, or even plausibly reported, by anyone. Biddle's original report included "up to ten" as a figure, but he's backed off it a bit, most likely because no one-- even Ohio State-- knows how many players may be involved. Specific names have not been reported by anyone credible.

Hit the jump for much more.

Of course, specific names were dropped on national television by Kirk Herbstreit tonight, in an act of complete unprofessional behavior. At the end of the MAACO Las Vegal Bowl, ESPN cut to Brent Musburger and Herbstreit, who informed the audience of the rumors, and then proceeded to name drop a list of players with tattoos.

ESPN has every right to report the story, but that does not include the right to slander the reputation of various players by mentioning them on national television without an inkling of evidence that they are involved. While Herbstreit is not technically a journalist, he is representing an institution of journalism, and as the apparatus of said institution, he is compelled to act in ethical ways when reporting a story. Speculating on names involved is decidedly non-ethical.

Herbstreit also dropped the bombshell that it was the IRS who set this whole investigation off, when, after raiding the tattoo parlor in question, reported the merchandise to Ohio State. As of this writing, no other website or newspaper has corroborated that report. If you wish to see the ESPN segment featuring the news, Eleven Warriors has it here.

In response to Herbstreit's "outing" on national television, Terrelle Pryor turned to Twitter to deny his involvement:

Mike Brewster has also denied involvement, even going so far as posting the name of the tattoo parlor in Orlando where he received his ink. Other Ohio State players have turned to Twitter to vent their frustration, and some have even mocked the situation.

In the event that there is nothing to this investigation, it's clear that Ohio State will still be forced to issue a statement soon. The media frenzy has grown to the point where silence is simply not an option in the interim, and I expect a short press statement to be released in the next few days, either confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.

If there is an investigation taking place, which I think is probable at this point, then it will center around a few players whose merchandise is identifiable at the tattoo parlor in question. This is an isolated situation, and it's very important that it be understood as such by fans. This isn't the Cam Newton situation, or even the smaller A.J. Green one. Player eligibility isn't at stake, so no games are at risk of being vacated, and institutional control is not being questioned, so no penalties to the program will come of the issue.

If it's determined that players did exchange merchandise for tattoos, they will be required to pay the value of the tattoos to the parlor, and will be suspended for some game(s) in the future. Depending upon the length of the investigation, that game could include the Sugar Bowl, or it could apply to next season.

And that's the worst case scenario. Proving that merchandise acted as payment is nigh impossible, especially if the tattoo parlor has issues with records keeping (which IRS involvement would indicate.) Ohio State players sign things for fans all the time, and it's perfectly reasonable that they would sign merchandise for their friends at a favorite tattoo parlor.

My honest expectation is that nothing comes of this.