Comparing the Cases of Laremy Tunsil and Will Redmond
Nov 1, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Will Redmond (2) grabs the ball for an interception against Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Demetrius Wilson (85) at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State Bulldogs defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
Things got interesting in the Laremy Tunsil saga on Wednesday night. Chris Low reported Ole Miss is preparing to be without Laremy Tunsil for several more games, with a suspension of a minimum of four games to be expected.
I immediately began to see people comparing the Tunsil situation with the investigation and punishment of Mississippi State defensive back Will Redmond. Mississippi State fans were saying the two were very similar and Tunsil and Ole Miss should receive a similar punishment. Ole Miss fans were saying there were no similarities, and to compare the two is ridiculous. The real question is should the situations of Laremy Tunsil and Will Redmond be compared at all, and if so, how similar are the two cases?
Reviewing Will Redmond’s Case
If you don’t remember, Will Redmond was punished for receiving a Ford Mustang for approximately $2,000 less than the appraised value along with cash from former booster Robert Herring. Redmond was ordered to pay back a total of $2,660 in impermissible benefits. The worst part of his punishment, at least in terms of his development as a football player, was he was stripped of his red shirt year, and suspended an additional 5 games in the 2013 season. It was a total suspension of 18 games.
Former receivers coach Angelo Mirando was relieved of his duties because he lied to investigators about how much he knew of the infractions taking place. It cost Mississippi State 2 scholarships for 2013 and 2014, and a number of other relatively minor penalties.
Examining Laremy Tunsil’s Case So Far
The most difficult part of trying to compare the two is Tunsil’s case in ongoing. We still don’t know all the details to what the NCAA has found, hasn’t found, or is still trying to figure out. But we do know a few things.
According to the report by Chris Low, we know it involves a car that came from Cannon Motors in Oxford. It was a loaner Tunsil received while his vehicle was in the shop and he kept it for “an extended period of time”.
And right now, that is all we know. Ross Bjork and Hugh Freeze have said the coaching staff has done nothing wrong throughout the course of the investigation. There is currently no allegations or infractions committed by the coaching staff the public has been made aware of.
Comparing the situations of Laremy Tunsil and Will Redmond
The only similarities of the two so far is that they both involved cars, and they each got some impermissible benefit from the use of that car. We don’t know how long the “extended period” Laremy Tunsil actually is, and we don’t even know what kind of vehicle it is.
We also are unaware of any involvement by the coaching staff or if there was any Ole Miss staff aware of the infractions. Mirando lost his job because he didn’t cooperate, and he seemed to know what was going on but basically looked the other way.
At this point, there still isn’t enough known to try to make some type of comparison about how each player’s predicament might be similar. And to be perfectly honest, it won’t matter if they are exactly the same or completely different. The NCAA has a long history of taking cases which most would view as nearly identical and applying a completely different standard of justice to both.
So if you’re a Mississippi State fan who thinks the NCAA will come down equally as hard on Tunsil as they did Redmond, you might be right, but I wouldn’t count on it. If you’re an Ole Miss fan and you think the suspension should be lifted because the two are completely different, you might be right, but I wouldn’t count on it. The only thing certain about the NCAA is it will do what it pleases and not give a darn what the rest of the world thinks about it.