re: SI: LSU Basketball Investigation Could Signal Trouble for Football Program Allegations

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We really need an “As the Bayou Burns” Thread to compile all of LSU’s opt outs and cheating.

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Wouldn't it be more.... "As The Swamp Drains"?

Drain that swamp!

Wow. LSU fk'd

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According to an article in The Advocate today, the football investigation is complete

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Yes, the crux of the article is how LSU is now working to avoid these having these football violations tied with the basketball allegations, so as to avoid the broader designation of "lack of control."

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Enforcement rolled the Kansas football and basketball allegations together for a reason: It helped make a case for one of the most serious charges against the school: lack of institutional control. That’s a Level I violation, which is the most severe in the NCAA’s penalty matrix.

LSU appears to be working to avoid a similar scenario. The school has no objection to the basketball probe being diverted to the IARP, according to The Advocate, but does not want the football violations included.

Per The Advocate’s documents, LSU is trying to put the football allegations to rest quickly via summary review, which would result in agreed-upon penalties without a formal hearing.

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The $180,000 holds new light if the NCAA feels that the LSU athletic department encourages this behavior among its staff. While Coach O will be spared, that doesn't mean the football team will be. That said, the NCAA is notoriously fickle in how it decides to punish departments, teams and schools. So who knows honestly.

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I honestly wonder how they're going to handle it given the unusual circumstances. Vadal Alexander's dad was paid during and after Alexander played at LSU. But we also don't know if he was actually paid that entire $180k because, IIRC, what he was doing (and what Rohan Davey was doing) was helping Funes launder money. So was he laundering $180k and keeping a cut or was $180k was he received for his "services." It seems unclear right now because the feds chose not to indict anyone who helped, I assume, because they assisted the feds in their prosecution of Funes. But yeah, Orgeron is fine personally because he wasn't even an assistant at LSU when this was going on, much less the head coach with any responsibility to monitor.

The Beckham stuff is silly. I thought it was reported that Orgeron made the players return the money, not to mention several of the players we know received money aren't playing anymore: Burrow is gone, Jefferson is gone, Vincent opted out last week. It also happened after the game, so it's not like LSU could be charged with playing ineligible players or anything like that.

And the impermissible contact charge is one of those things that is seemingly reported by almost every program pretty regularly and is a nothing burger of an allegation. I'd guess for the stuff that happened under Orgeron's watch that money would have to be returned kinda like what happened with DJ Fluker (if it hasn't already been returned) and then the have some minor recruiting restrictions imposed for a year.

Your guess is as good as mine as to how they handle the Vadal Alexander stuff as it wasn't really related to the football team, per se, so much as defrauding a hospital. And all the parties that would have had any responsibility for all that have since been fired (Miles, Alleva, Alexander). I also believe the LSU AD severed ties with Funes as soon they knew what was going on. Kind of one o those deals where is it really proper to punish a current regime for the ill deeds of former employees. And does Les Miles get brought into this since he's still coaching? Who knows

We've seen this time and time again. It is about to get UGLY in Baton Rouge. The door cracked open with basketball, the flood gates are opening for everything else.

Look for players and former players to come out of the woodwork.
Better hope Orgeron didn't piss any players off.

LSU athletics are scummy af

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The problem with such statements, though, is if a player refuse to cooperate, the NCAA can't force them to testify, so there would have to be a direct intent of malice, like in Ramsey's case.

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My understanding is they can be forced to cooperate if they're current student athletes. Obviously they are not a court of law, so they have no standing to make former athletes do anything. And former athletes have nothing to gain or lose by saying, thanks but no thanks.

And valid point on the Auburn issue, but hell that was almost 30 years ago. Maybe I should have not been so black and white. It may have happened before, but it's not commonplace or something that should be expected, which I believe is what the other poster was implying. Players don't typically intentionally snitch on their coaches/schools, so I don't believe that is going to be a big concern in the grand scheme of what should concern LSU right now. We already know Javonte Smart was more or less interrogated by the NCAA the season before last about all this and was cleared to play.

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Honestly, the only thing that is a black mark regarding this is the fact that the school tried to claim it was fake money... and it took Joe B. to state that it was, in fact, real. (Presuming my memory is correct and that it was the school that made the claim it was fake). Even so, it's a minor thing at best IMHO.

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Someone from the school told the local newspaper the money was fake initially because there actually was novelty money on the field after the game but said they were still investigating it. This statement was made either the night of or the very next morning after the game. Probably shouldn't have said anything until the investigated because they retracted that statement a day later and confirmed it was real. But like you said, even so, it was pretty minor given it was a total of $2000 spread among a handful of players, most of whom had just played their last game at LSU. Beckham is still a fricking moron for doing that. Not to mention he continued making an arse out of himself in the locker room right after that, slapping a cop on the arse. I'm sure his fame helps with recruits but damn I wish he could just go away..... or just be normal

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SECdragonmaster

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