He emerged several minutes later, smiling, either oblivious or unbothered by the carnage had been left behind. They shoved him into a room with a copy machine and shut the doors. By saying yes to taking money from Ole Miss he broke the silent covenant all college athletes make when they break NCAA rules: deny to save the coach.Īnd Tunsil’s worried handlers seemed to know just how big a deal this was as they quickly shuffled him down the hallway outside the press conference area behind stage. He is hardly the first football player to smoke pot, but teams appeared terrified by the creepy image of his eyes peering from something straight from the trenches in world war one. His crimes, revealed by an anonymous villain, were using a drug that is now legal in a number of US states, and trying to keep the lights on in his mother’s house. In many ways, the turmoil around Tunsil on Thursday exposed much of what is wrong with the NFL and college sports today. The most extraordinary unraveling of a player at the draft had just happened before her. “This all happened while he was up here,” she shouted. She would try to fix the damage by explaining that Tunsil had not seen the posts on his Instagram account, that he didn’t know what was in the text exchange that clearly suggested a financial arrangement between he and the Ole Miss official. “There will be no more comments,” she said. ![]() Staring at a public relations disaster, an associate of Tunsil’s agent Jimmy Sexton, pushed her head through the blue curtains behind Tunsil, trying desperately to pull her client from disaster. “Have you talked to the NCAA…” someone started to ask. “Jesus,” gasped a reporter at the press conference. He said “yes.”ĭoes this mean you took money from Ole Miss coaches? someone asked. Then after the Dolphins picked him there came another post, this one on his Instagram account, showing a series of text messages between he and a Mississippi athletic department official in which he appeared to be asking for $305 to pay his mother’s electric and water bills.īetrayed by his phone and a friend who had apparently become his enemy and trapped in a press conference that no one could believe he was giving, Tunsil did something few players do when asked if they have cheated. The short video of him smoking a bong hit through a gas mask under a confederate flag was apparently so jarring to NFL coaches and general managers that he tumbled from the fourth or fifth pick to Miami at No13. On what should have been the greatest night of his life, one in which he would be one of the first five picks of the NFL Draft the 6ft 5in, 315lb tackle was powerless to stop the work of someone – he said he didn’t know who – pulling damning videos and texts from the phone’s memory and posting them on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. He smiled at those who stared at him with mouths agape, stunned at rapidity with which his NFL career was careening out of control even before it started. 3 pick in the 2013 draft, and he sat out last season serving a suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy.The saddest part was he seemed oblivious to how much his night was falling apart inside the Auditorium Theatre. When asked if Tunsil loves football more than he loves drugs, Grier said, "Yes." There's no doubt this guy loves football, and football is very important to him." Tunsil has never failed a drug test, either in college or at the NFL combine. He said the team had heard rumors regarding Tunsil's background, and careful research allayed concerns. Grier said the Dolphins knew the story behind the video, but declined to share it. ![]() READ MORE: Chargers Take Local Talent Joey Bosa With 3rd Pick In Draft Tackle wasn't considered a priority for the Dolphins, but they decided the 6-5, 310-pound Tunsil was too good to pass on. I'm going to work my butt off man and give it everything I've got." "Man, it's just a crazy world, and things happen for a reason," Tunsil said. He then exhaled and shook his head, and after accepting congratulations from Commissioner Roger Goodell, Tunsil managed a smile. Tunsil attended the draft in Chicago and waited more than 90 minutes until his name was finally called. His stepfather reportedly filed a lawsuit against him Tuesday related to a confrontation in June, when the men were both charged with domestic violence against each other. He sat out the 2015 season's first seven games after the NCAA ruled he received improper benefits, including the use of three loaner cars over a six-month period. Tunsil said he took money from coaches at Mississippi. Tunsil said he doesn't have a drug problem, but the video reinforced his off-the-field issues. ![]() The pick created a buzz on social media, including tweets of the team logo with a mask over the dolphin's head while using a bong. ![]() READ MORE: LA Rams Find Their Quarterback, Picking Cal's Jared Goff
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