ESPN's Lawsuit Against Ohio State Could Indicate They Are Hiding Information

ESPN.com reported Tuesday afternoon they are suing Ohio State University because the sports network was denied requests to see e-mails related to their recent NCAA investigation. Among the requested documents are e-mails sent to or referring to Ted Sarniak.

Sarniak was a mentor to former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and allegedly received e-mails from former Buckeye head coach Jim Tressel in regards to Pryor committing NCAA violations.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the Ohio Supreme Court, because ESPN believes Ohio State has no right to withhold this information because they are public-records.

"Our news gathering operation is asking the court's assistance in a standard public-records request," ESPN said in a statement Tuesday.

Ohio State spokesman Jim Lynch says the university has already provided the worldwide leader in sports with a "voluminous amount" of information and that the federal student-records privacy law is an applicable reason for the denial of the release of the e-mails.

This could be an indication Ohio State still has something to hide in relation to when exactly school officials first discovered violations within the program.

Why else would ESPN, who would likely not engage in a lawsuit such as this unless they were sure they  could win due to their outstanding reputation and image, decide to take Ohio State to court over information they essentially already have?

Perhaps the more interesting question is, why is Ohio State not releasing this information? I understand them not releasing e-mail between Pryor and Sarniak like the Associated Press requested back in May, but it sounds like ESPN just wants to see what Tressel was telling Sarniak about the violations taking place.

If they have nothing to hide then why is the university so reluctant to allow ESPN to use the information for their reporting?

I am not a legal expert, so I do not know who has a better case in this scenario or who will end up winning in court, but there is no way this is good for Ohio State.

Eventually this information will be found out whether the NCAA decides to look into this matter (maybe they have already seen these e-mails though and we will find out about them at the Buckeyes hearing with the committee on infractions in August). 

One thing is for sure though, the Buckeyes' season opening tilt with the Akron Zips on September 3rd cannot get here soon enough for Ohio State fans.

Check out my blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story along with other articles and video reports on the major sports. You can also follow my blog on Twitter, @DirtyDugoutBlog, which will provide you with the latest updates about what will be posted on the blog!