Oklahoma State got out ahead of a series from Sports Illustrated which details widespread corruption within the Cowboys' football program. The root of these allegations begins in 2001, when LSU coach Les Miles coached the team. 85 percent of the alleged infractions ended before 2007, though some were as recent as 2011.
From The Oklahoman:
– Coaches and boosters paying athletes, including violations ranging from paying for jobs not performed, overpaying for jobs and strictly paying players for performance.
Former OSU assistant coach Joe DeForest is accused of running a bonus program – paying players for specific plays – as recently as 2011.
DeForest, who spent 11 seasons at OSU, is in his second year as an assistant coach at West Virginia. Saturday, he denied the charges.
– A environment of academic impropriety, from players not attending class to grade changing to tutors doing work for players.
– Widespread drug abuse and a drug policy that isn’t uniformly administered.
– Hostesses in the Orange Pride program providing sex to recruits.
If these allegations are true, it won't come as a big surprise, as many similar situations occurred at other schools as well (Miami, UNC, anywhere Lane Kiffin coached, etc). Though few have quite this rap sheet, this isn't really an original story. And because the NCAA's statute of limitations is four years, Les can simply issue an apology and walk away.
“I don't know of any improprieties while I was the coach there. I can tell you this: We have always done things right. I really enjoyed my time at Oklahoma State. I felt like I met a lot of wonderful people and we made our football team better. We worked hard. It has never been a place where you needed to cheat to have success."
(Unless, of course, he started it up again at LSU, but let's just assume they'd never turn anything up at Louisiana State University anyway.)
