Terrelle Pryor Just Did It For His Mama

One of the biggest scandals to hit college football over the last few seasons has been Tattoo-gate at Ohio State University where several players, most notably quarterback Terrelle Pryor, exchanged memorabilia and autographs for tattoos, a violation of NCAA rules. The program was caught pretty much red-handed all the way up to head coach Jim Tressel who had known about the illegal benefits but decided not to tell anybody because he “wasn’t sure” who to tell. Not surprisingly, “nobody” was not the person to tell and Tressel would later be removed as coach for his role. Pryor and the other players were given 5-game suspensions that they would be allowed to serve the following season because they super super pinky promised they wouldn’t bolt for the NFL Draft which allowed them to play in and win the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas. Seems fair?

Well after their big payday win, more violations by Pryor began to surface, like selling his signature and team paraphernalia which likely would have resulted in a season long suspension for the QB. Instead of sticking around to find out, Pryor declared for the supplemental draft and got drafted by the Oakland Raiders. “But he promised he would come back!” moaned NCAA officials who learned an important lesson on the legal validity (zero) of pinky promises. Good news everyone! Pryor had a really good reason for the whole thing.

From ESPN.com:

“It was humbling,” Pryor told Sports Illustrated. “A mistake I made when I was a freshman by selling my pants for $3,000 just took away everything from me. I was just driven into the ground. I was the worst person in the world. My face popped up on the screen, and it seemed like I was the only one who did anything. I was the only one who was getting attacked.

“At that point last year, I’m 21 and it just felt like everything was against me, like I can’t do anything right. I did something to help somebody else out, and I end up getting into trouble. I understand. I shouldn’t have sold the stuff and taken $3,000. But I was kind of in a place where I didn’t understand why this is happening to me — especially for the reason that I did it.”

“The reason why I did it was to pay my mother’s gas bill and some of her rent,” Pryor told Sports Illustrated. “She was four months behind in rent, and the (landlord) was so nice because he was an Ohio State fan. He gave her the benefit of the doubt and she said, ‘My son will pay you back sometime if you just let me pay you back during my work sessions.’ She ended up losing her job, and she and my sister lived there.

“Let me remind you it was freezing cold in November, December and she’s using the oven as heat. That’s what I did as a kid. I was telling the NCAA, ‘Please, anything that you can do. I gave my mother this so my sister wouldn’t be cold, so my mother wouldn’t be cold.’ They didn’t have any sympathy for me.”

“Whenever I write my book, the proof will be in there, the receipt that the money I gave my mother was to pay the electric and heat bill,” Pryor told Sports Illustrated. “The truth is going to come out one day when the time is right. I don’t think I deserved (being punished) in that way, because of the reason I was doing it. I felt like I was doing God’s work in a way, and I was getting driven into the ground.”

Well that is just the saddest story I have ever heard. He was trying help his mom, you guys! He just didn’t want her to freeze to death because he loves his mom so much. With Mother’s Day just around the corner, the NCAA sure looks like some big meanies punishing a guy who just loves his mama.

Well, except that it’s a big giant crock of hooey. Trading his signature for tattoos? Not going to do much to keep mom warm, even if his tattoo was one of those hearts with “MOM” written in fancy letters across it. Then there’s a report from Outside the Lines, which says a friend of Pryor saw him selling his signature and team paraphernalia anywhere from $500 to $1000 a pop for TWO YEARS making somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000. If that was all for mom’s rent, she needs to think about downsizing.

Pryor can play the victim of the bully that is the NCAA all he wants, but at the end of the day, he knowingly broke the rules for his own personal gain. While he says he has receipts to prove he was doing it all out of love for his mama, we won’t ever see them…unless we pay $19.99 for his book when it comes out. Terrelle Pryor: always looking to make a buck.