Ohio State Football: Another Investigation Adds to Miserable Offseason

If you’re like most in Buckeye Nation, this offseason has not been ideal. Player suspensions, a head coach that saw his lies snowball out of control and the beginning of the 2011 campaign that might be dependent on the arm of Joe Bauserman has led many Ohio State fans to wonder what the future holds for this program.

Meanwhile, the rest of the nation has basked in Ohio State’s misery. The news this morning added to their joy while making Buckeye fans more miserable.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Ohio State would investigate whether some of its players received special deals on car purchases. The initial investigation showed a significant amount of players and their relatives purchasing cars from two car lots in Columbus. This sounded alarm bells, and as a result, Ohio State will launch an investigation to see if any NCAA rules were violated. Keep in mind it’s only a NCAA violation when a player receives a discount the public wouldn’t receive.

One interesting aspect from the report was Ohio State’s compliance department actually referred players to the dealer. When the player picked out their car, university officials reviewed the documents before the sale was final.

In one case, a Chrysler 300 was sold to Thaddeus Gibson with the purchase price of $0. Now, it isn’t to say that Gibson received this car free. The dealer could have made a typo, or they could have did this so they didn’t have to pay tax on it. Until an investigation concludes, it’s all speculation right now.

Here’s the problem though, why is Ohio State’s compliance department recommending players see a specific dealer? If they review the sales documents when players purchase cars how did the Gibson’s $0 bill of sale go unnoticed? How could the dealership not notice a bill of sale of $0?

While it’s only an isolated incident, it shows inconsistencies and certainly doesn’t make me and probably many fans feel good.

I think I speak for many Buckeye fans when I say, is it September 3 yet?