The Ole Miss football program is accused of several NCAA violations involving former offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, and Tunsil's estranged stepfather, Lindsey Miller, told Sports Illustrated about several of the alleged violations.
After Miller and Tunsil had a physical altercation last June, Miller said Tunsil was associating with football agents and spoke with the NCAA. Tunsil missed seven games at the beginning of the 2015 season, but Ole Miss still faces sanctions from other alleged transgressions.
In a story detailing the NCAA's accusations against Ole Miss, Miller told Sports Illustrated that Tunsil and his family received money, free lodging, moving assistance and more from university staffers and boosters.
Here are a few excerpts from the story:
During a recent meeting with SI, Miller detailed the extent of the extra benefits that he claims Tunsil and his family received. Miller, a first-hand witness and aggrieved party, says he laid everything out for the NCAA during more than 100 hours of interviews. Among the things Miller says he told the NCAA: Ole Miss had an intricate system in which the school arranged for Tunsil and his family through boosters to get loans, money and free lodging at hotels and residences around Oxford, Miss. He claims he told the NCAA of benefits that spanned nearly three years. Included among them: Miller says he told the NCAA that he and Desiree Polingo—Tunsil's mother and Miller's now-estranged wife—moved from Lake City, Fla., to the Oxford area in 2014 along with Miller's two sons from a prior relationship thanks in part to financial assistance from Ole Miss coaches and boosters. "It's like that movie Blue Chips with Nick Nolte, with Shaquille O'Neal in it," Miller says, referring to the 1994 fictional film about corruption in college sports. "It really is."
Tunsil's mother denied receiving assistance for the move from Florida. "[Miller] continued receiving his pension, child support and military benefits," she told the magazine. Why he keeps telling people that Ole Miss promised us something or did something wrong is beyond me, and frankly makes me very angry."
Miller also named assistant coach Chris Kiffin in his conversations with Sports Illustrated.
Miller says he told the NCAA that Kiffin, the lead recruiter on Tunsil, introduced him to an Ole Miss booster who provided Miller with free hotel rooms and lodging in the Oxford area. Miller showed SI a text from his phone that appears to illustrate the charge in the NCAA's Notice of Allegations: "We'll be there Saturday May 10 to pick up Laremy for the summer. Do you have anything at the Hampton or the house. Let me know if you can help either way." Along with free hotel rooms, Miller says two boosters helped arrange stays at local residences during Tunsil's freshman year. Miller showed SI a text that included the location of a key "under the flower pot" at a residence. The orchestrated living arrangements amounted to a Level I violation. The NCAA's Notice of Allegations is consistent with Miller's claims in numerous places, including 12 occasions of free lodging that totaled $2,253. Miller says he told the NCAA those nights were arranged by boosters he met through Kiffin, but the NCAA never found that link. Kiffin's name appears 13 times in the Notice of Allegations, but none of those prove he set Miller up with boosters. Ole Miss admits in its response to the Notice of Allegations that "had it not been for the altercation (between Miller and Tunsil) …. it is unlikely the University or enforcement staff would have discovered (Miller's) connection to the two boosters."
Tunsil and his attorney declined to comment for the Sports Illustrated story. "My only comment would be that you have to consider the source," said Tunsil's lawyer Steve Farese, referring to Miller.
After Miller and Tunsil had a physical altercation last June, Miller said Tunsil was associating with football agents and spoke with the NCAA. Tunsil missed seven games at the beginning of the 2015 season, but Ole Miss still faces sanctions from other alleged transgressions.
In a story detailing the NCAA's accusations against Ole Miss, Miller told Sports Illustrated that Tunsil and his family received money, free lodging, moving assistance and more from university staffers and boosters.
Here are a few excerpts from the story:
During a recent meeting with SI, Miller detailed the extent of the extra benefits that he claims Tunsil and his family received. Miller, a first-hand witness and aggrieved party, says he laid everything out for the NCAA during more than 100 hours of interviews. Among the things Miller says he told the NCAA: Ole Miss had an intricate system in which the school arranged for Tunsil and his family through boosters to get loans, money and free lodging at hotels and residences around Oxford, Miss. He claims he told the NCAA of benefits that spanned nearly three years. Included among them: Miller says he told the NCAA that he and Desiree Polingo—Tunsil's mother and Miller's now-estranged wife—moved from Lake City, Fla., to the Oxford area in 2014 along with Miller's two sons from a prior relationship thanks in part to financial assistance from Ole Miss coaches and boosters. "It's like that movie Blue Chips with Nick Nolte, with Shaquille O'Neal in it," Miller says, referring to the 1994 fictional film about corruption in college sports. "It really is."
Tunsil's mother denied receiving assistance for the move from Florida. "[Miller] continued receiving his pension, child support and military benefits," she told the magazine. Why he keeps telling people that Ole Miss promised us something or did something wrong is beyond me, and frankly makes me very angry."
Miller also named assistant coach Chris Kiffin in his conversations with Sports Illustrated.
Miller says he told the NCAA that Kiffin, the lead recruiter on Tunsil, introduced him to an Ole Miss booster who provided Miller with free hotel rooms and lodging in the Oxford area. Miller showed SI a text from his phone that appears to illustrate the charge in the NCAA's Notice of Allegations: "We'll be there Saturday May 10 to pick up Laremy for the summer. Do you have anything at the Hampton or the house. Let me know if you can help either way." Along with free hotel rooms, Miller says two boosters helped arrange stays at local residences during Tunsil's freshman year. Miller showed SI a text that included the location of a key "under the flower pot" at a residence. The orchestrated living arrangements amounted to a Level I violation. The NCAA's Notice of Allegations is consistent with Miller's claims in numerous places, including 12 occasions of free lodging that totaled $2,253. Miller says he told the NCAA those nights were arranged by boosters he met through Kiffin, but the NCAA never found that link. Kiffin's name appears 13 times in the Notice of Allegations, but none of those prove he set Miller up with boosters. Ole Miss admits in its response to the Notice of Allegations that "had it not been for the altercation (between Miller and Tunsil) …. it is unlikely the University or enforcement staff would have discovered (Miller's) connection to the two boosters."
Tunsil and his attorney declined to comment for the Sports Illustrated story. "My only comment would be that you have to consider the source," said Tunsil's lawyer Steve Farese, referring to Miller.
