Ohio St. is investigating whether or not some of their players have received improper benefits in the form of discounted cars over the past few years. Last week, a title for one of the cars in question turned up that appeared to have a value of 0 on the car, meaning that the buyer would not have paid any money to obtain it. But an older title for the car was discovered that showed that the player, former linebacker Thaddeus Gibson, did in fact pay $13,700 for the car, and is "still making payments; according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Now that does not absolve the deal completely, or at least not yet. The car was a 2007 Chrysler 300C that was purchased in June of 2007. The car did have some miles on it, but that seems like an awfully low price for a car that was released so recently. But there is nothing in this article that indicates that this has become an issue for the investigation.
Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon recently was asked about the investigation Ohio St. was facing. According to Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press, he was empathetic with the fight Ohio St. will be facing.
“I know what it’s like to receive the papers from the NCAA … when you’re going through it it’s painful, it’s difficult, it’s stressful and what you don’t need is anybody … particularly a colleague … poking anything at you. There were some people out there that did it, and I remember who they are and I remember what they said.”