http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/04/29/nfl-draft-laremy-tunsil-twitter-instagram-ole-miss
Laremy Tunsil’s Nightmare to Remember
A surreal draft evening in Chicago saw the former presumptive No. 1 tumble out of the top 10 thanks to a bong-hit video from a hacked Twitter account—and that was just the start of the weirdness.
The MMQB staff
CHICAGO — The oak doors were slightly ajar, the only thing seeping through was growing confusion. Laremy Tunsil stood in a storage room in the back annex of the Auditorium Theatre. For 12 minutes, he could hide.
It was less than a half-hour after the Mississippi tackle had been drafted at No. 13 by the Miami Dolphins, and two hours after his life had been rattled by a series of mystifying shenanigans. As he straddled two realities—excitement and humiliation—Tunsil was summoned into this makeshift war room to strategize. How could he explain to the world what the heck just happened? There were at least three people in the room: Amy Milam, who works with Tunsil’s agent, Jimmy Sexton; a public relations assistant from the NFL; and a Dolphins employee. Tunsil also spoke to someone on the phone. The group spitballed ideas.
“You can just leave if you want,” one of the advisors told him. Another said: “You can go back out there and just give really bland answers.” Or, he was told, “You can no-comment everything.”
Photo: Jon Durr/Getty Images
Tunsil fell to 13, where the Dolphins tabbed him.
The 20-year-old considered his options. And then, just past 9:30 p.m. local time, he decided he was ready to re-emerge. Tunsil slipped a teal Dolphins hat on. His copper-studded loafers clicked on the cold floor. He swung open the doors. “How are y’all?” he said to a group of reporters waiting. “Alright, where do I go next? I’m ready.”
Tunsil spent the next 20 minutes working through his media obligations. But by the time he and his mother left the Auditorium and walked into the chilly Chicago night, clarity seemed even further away.
Three weeks ago, before the
Rams hijacked the 2016 NFL draft by trading up for the top pick, Tunsil was considered the surest selection at No. 1. The Titans, under first-year general manager Jon Robinson, had prioritized protecting Marcus Mariota, and Tunsil, a lightfooted 6-foot-5 behemoth from Ole Miss, was considered an elite, top-of-the-draft left tackle. However, as the quarterback-needy Rams and Eagles diverted the draft buzz with their plays for the top two quarterbacks, Tunsil was quietly fading from favor among several NFL teams.
The hot rumor as Thursday approached was that the several teams, including the Chargers at No. 3, coveted Notre Dame tackle Ronnie Stanley over Tunsil. Multiple sources told The MMQB that Tunsil’s off-field behavior was becoming increasingly worrisome and reason for some teams to remove him from their draft boards altogether. Much of it had to do with the culture at Mississippi, sources say. The football program was served in January with notice of allegations of a number of NCAA violations.
Last season Tunsil was suspended seven games for receiving impermissible benefits, and at the combine in February teammate Robert Nkemdiche said Tunsil had been with him when Nkemdiche fell out a hotel window. Then, two days before the draft, Tunsil’s stepfather filed a lawsuit against him for “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” stemming from a dispute last June. For a player pegged as a potential No. 1 pick, there were enough problems surrounding Tunsil to turn some teams away.
The stage was set for perhaps the most bizarre draft night in memory. Minutes before the 8 p.m. ET start to the first round, a video was posted to Tunsil’s Twitter account showing the Mississippi tackle wearing a gas mask and smoking from a bong. As news of the video spread, team executives around the NFL hurriedly reconsidered their draft boards, and Tunsil’s reps frantically worked the phones to limit the damage, claiming that Tunsil’s account had been hacked and that the video was years old.
The Ravens, at No. 6 and in the market for a tackle, chose Stanley. Ozzie Newsome, explaining the pick, acknowledged that off-the-field considerations went into Baltimore’s decision. Two spots later the Titans, who’d traded back into the top 10, took another tackle—not Tunsil, but Michigan State’s Jack Conklin. Giants general manager Jerry Reese, explaining tackle-needy New York’s choice of cornerback Eli Apple at No. 10, said: “He was the highest player on our board without issues.”
It briefly appeared that the drop might be truly precipitous, but when the Dolphins saw Tunsil— the second-rated player on their board—available at 13, they couldn’t resist. Miami GM Chris Grier told reporters at the team facility that he investigated the leaked video but knew it was about two years old. “We know the story behind it,” Grier said. “We’d rather leave that to maybe the kid to address, but we know the story behind it. We’re comfortable with what it is.”
But that was hardly the end of the strangeness. Minutes after the Dolphins’ selection, as Tunsil and his entourage exchanged relieved hugs in the green room, word began to spread that he’d been hacked
again. This time it was his Instagram account, on which were posted images of apparent text messages between Tunsil and an Ole Miss coach discussing arrangements for paying his rent and his mother’s utility bill.
When Tunsil settled into the podium to speak to reporters, he managed a grin. “How are y’all doing?” he asked reporters. “Are y’all good?”
“What the heck happened with that video?” a reporter asked.
Tunsil, hands on the desk in front of him, shoulders relaxed, smiled again. “Somebody hacked into my account,” Tunsil said. “I made that mistake several years ago. And somebody got into my photos…”
Then Tunsil was asked about the Instagram posts. He said he’d just found out about them, and reiterated that he’d made a mistake. Asked by reporter as to whether there’d been an exchange of money between Tunsil and a coach, he first responded, “I wouldn’t say that.” But when pressed a few moments later, he said, “Those messages?” almost as if he hadn’t understood the previous questions. “Those were true. Like I said, I made a mistake.”
Asked again if there had been an exchange of money, Tunsil then responded matter-of-factly, “I have to say yeah.” A further question about whether he’d met with the NCAA was being posed when Milam appeared from behind a curtain, cutting the session short. “He’s got no more comments. Thank you guys so much,” she said, tapping the offensive lineman on the shoulder, whisking him away and leaving media as baffled as Tunsil apparently had been.
“There’s no way I heard that correctly,” a reporter in the front row said. “There’s no f---ing way that just happened.”
The Ole Miss athletic department did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday night.
Admissions by prospects of pot-smoking and allegations of under-the-table payments are draft-season staples, and they don’t dictate how a player’s pro career will play out. But Tunsil’s tumultuous draft night will have reverberations. While he is no longer subject to NCAA rules concerning impermissible payments, the marijuana video could lead to his being entered into phase one of the NFL’s substance abuse program. And, of course, there is the matter of the millions of dollars the episode may have cost him on his rookie contract. According to SportRac, Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick, is projected to receive a contract worth more than $25 million. The deal for a No. 13 pick will be roughly $12 million.
* * *
On the morning of the NFL draft, Laremy Tunsil was sitting on the second floor of a middle school on Chicago’s South Side. As a part of a character service initiative, he and nine other prospects joined Roger Goodell and Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel on a visit to Ariel Community Academy in the Kenwood neighborhood. Upon arrival, the prospects were led upstairs to the school library, where seventh and eighth graders were typing away on iPads. During these types of service events, it’s easy to tell which athletes are comfortable and which have their minds elsewhere. Tunsil promptly went up and introduced himself to two 13-year-olds.
Photo: Emily Kaplan/The MMQB
In happier times (earlier on Thursday), Laremy Tunsil visited with Chicago schoolchildren.
“Hey, little guy,” he said to one student. “What’s up? What y’all working on?”
“Why did you want to be in the NFL?” one of the kids asked.
Tunsil crouched low and looked the kid in the eye.
“It was my dream,” he said. “And it’s always important to follow your dream.”
“Where do you want to be drafted?” another boy asked.
“I just want to go somewhere warm,” Tunsil said with a laugh.
Some 12 hours later, that wish would be granted. Tunsil would be going to Miami. It’s safe to say it wasn’t how he wanted to get there.
—Emily Kaplan