Oklahoma dismisses QB Bomar/NCAA probation

[Steve19]

Throwing Bomar out permanently reminded me of a scene from Blazing Saddles..."Somebody help that poor man!"

http://highdesertskeptic.blogspot.com/blazing_saddles015.jpg

 

[Steve19]

From Stewart Mandel

Oklahoma bombshell

Bomar scandal will rock Sooners in 2006 and beyond

Usually, August is about the most upbeat month of the year on a college football fan's calendar. The start of practice is here, the first game is now so close you can smell it and every team in the country is still in the hunt for a championship.

This August, however, is off to a Debbie Downer-style start for fans of several of the nation's powerhouses. It's only been two days, and already the headlines section of this Web site's college football page reads like a horror novel. Alleged steroid use at USC. Arrests at Tennessee. Key players suspended for big games at Miami and Auburn.

While I don't want to make light of any of these situations, it's safe to say that none come close to matching the magnitude of Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar's stunning dismissal Wednesday. Not since the infamous Maurice Clarett's suspension on the eve of the 2003 season has such an important player on such a high-profile team suddenly vanished from the landscape. And as the details of Bomar and banished teammate J.D. Quinn's transgressions have begun to leak, it's clear that this scandal is every bit as seedy, if not more so, than Clarett's.

According to reports, Bomar had an arrangement with an OU-friendly car dealership that paid him thousands of dollars for performing little-to-no work. It's the kind of thing so brazen in its stupidity that you wonder how on Earth the involved parties thought they could get away with it, and yet, none of us are naïve enough to think there aren't plenty of others who do.

As long as there are college football boosters, there will be booster scandals. It comes with the territory. By their very definition, these are the people most zealous about their favorite team, and that eagerness motivates them to do whatever they can to help the cause. Unfortunately, however, the misguided ones often wind up doing far more harm to their cherished team than any benefit they could have provided.

In this case, if the allegations are true, the former proprietors of Big Red Sports/Imports (which has since been sold to an Oklahoma City conglomerate), not to mention Bomar himself, have directly jeopardized the future of their beloved Sooners. We don't know at this point whether the program will face NCAA sanctions. We do know it has lost its projected quarterback for not only this coming season but the next two as well. Not just any quarterback, mind you -- the top-rated high school quarterback in the country three years ago, a guy who figured to shatter nearly every school passing record by the time his playing days were done.

In the short term, Oklahoma might not suffer as badly as you'd think. As luck would have it, the Sooners happen to have a veteran quarterback on their roster, fifth-year senior Paul Thompson, though he's been practicing and playing at receiver for the past year. Thompson saw considerable action in 2003 and '04 in relief of Jason White back when OU was beating people 53-7 and 52-9 and was originally the starter coming out of fall camp last season before Bomar supplanted him.

While it's hardly ideal to have to rejigger your entire offense on three weeks' notice, one could easily see offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson employing the more mobile Thompson out of spread formations the way he did with Zak Kustok at Northwestern in 2000-01. And it's not like OU was going to be passing the ball 35 times a game what with Adrian Peterson lining up in its backfield. So long as the Sooners can regroup from the shock of this, they can still contend for the Big 12 title in 2006.

What every OU fan should be frightened about right now, however, is 2007 and beyond. If things had gone according to plan, Bomar by then would have had two years of experience under his belt and the Sooners' cast of talented young receivers, led by Malcolm Kelly, would have established themselves as veterans. In the likely event that Peterson turns pro early, OU would have been able to naturally morph back into a passing team.

Because of Bomar's presence, however, quarterback had not been a big recruiting priority for Oklahoma. After Thompson, the Sooners are down to unimpressive juco transfer Joey Halzle and incoming true freshman Sam Bradford, Scout.com's 17th-rated QB in last year's class. The guy that would have taken over, former stud recruit Tommy Grady, bailed out following Bomar's ascension last year and is currently battling for Utah's QB job. Barring a big-name transfer or heralded blue-chipper arriving between now and then, either Halzle or Bradford will be the starting quarterback next season. (OU is not currently listed among the favorites of any current top-25 QB prospects, though that may change now.)

But the real impact of Bomar's folly is the irreparable stain it will leave on Bob Stoops' previously squeaky-clean program, though you have to give the guy props for reacting the way he did. Stoops didn't have to throw his star player off the team. Normal protocol in such situations is suspension and restitution, a la Troy Smith's two-game ban at Ohio State last year. He really can't help taking shots at Ohio State, can he?

Whether it was the ludicrous amount of money involved, the fact that Bomar has run afoul of his coach twice before with a pair of possession-of-alcohol arrests or just wanting to send a message, Stoops went ahead and booted one of his most valuable players. "I firmly believe that our program is stronger than any individual player, and that a championship program cannot compromise its values," he said in a statement.

But the program isn't without blame in this mess, either. One has to wonder how such a thing was able to go on in the first place. This wasn't a case of Bomar receiving secret handouts from some nefarious mystery figure. If the reports are to believed, he was an actual salaried employee of the car dealership. And not just any car dealership -- the same one that provides free rides to OU coaches and athletics staff (most schools have similar arrangements). And the same one that raised eyebrows in April when it was revealed that Peterson had been allowed to "return" a pre-owned Lexus from there after driving it for several weeks (Peterson was cleared of any wrong-doing because then-owner Brad McRae deemed the arrangement a "standard operating business practice.")

Schools like Oklahoma employ compliance people for the sole purpose of monitoring ticking time bombs like this one. While it's unreasonable to expect them to know every intimate detail of every athlete in their department, the star quarterback working at the shady car dealership should have raised red flags from day one.

Ultimately, Stoops and his program will have to deal with the fallout for years to come. NCAA sanctions are possible, but not likely, unless an investigation uncovers university involvement and/or a repeated pattern of such abuses. (The Wisconsin "Shoe Box" scandal of a few years back comes to mind -- the school received five years' probation.) Rival coaches will use it against him in recruiting. And media outlets will draw inevitable, albeit ludicrous comparisons to the Barry Switzer/Charles Thompson/Brian Bosworth-era "bad boy" Sooners.

Stoops has a far more pressing concern than any of those, however. Fall camp starts Thursday, and two expected offensive starters -- including the quarterback -- won't be there. So much for the happy vibes of August.

 

[Steve19]

From Dennis Dodd

Dismissals damage Sooners badly, on field and in rep

If you're a Sooner and you're freaking out over a Switzerian outbreak of cheating at your school, we're not going to talk you in off the ledge.
It's bad. Barry, Barry bad. Losing the starting quarterback and a starting offensive lineman a month before kickoff can't be couched any other way.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=190 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD width=190>

</TD><TD width=15></TD></TR><TR><TD width=190>Rhett Bomar passed for 2,018 yards and 10 TDs for Oklahoma last season. (Getty Images) </TD><TD width=15></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Coming on the heels of Kelvin's Folly (see 500 improper phone calls in recruits), Oklahoma has its old reputation back.

This time it's not the I Love The '80s version of OU -- guns and cocaine -- it's fawning groupies and players with their hands out.
Has much changed?

We do know that Bob Stoops feels your pain, OU fan. No matter how this plays out on the talk shows, the Oklahoma coach was duped. Rhett Bomar didn't need the money he reportedly received for doing little work at a Norman car dealership.

After jettisoning his quarterback, that has to be what hurts most. The stupid-(bleep) kid didn't have to do it. This wasn't a case of paying rent or buying groceries.

This was Rhett Bomar trying to be a BMOC, just because he could.
Stoops worried out loud again last week at Big 12 media days. Agents and their runners going after his star players is one of his biggest concerns. His No. 2 worry should be car dealers located a couple of miles from his office greasing their palms.

Players getting paid for work they didn't do at Oklahoma is nothing new. If Google doesn't do it for you, just read The Undefeated by Jim Dent.
At times it has been really great to be a Sooner.

When you calm down, OU fan, one of your first questions should be, what was the last top 10 team to lose its quarterback to an indiscretion this close to the season?

Ohio State. Last year. Troy Smith was suspended for last year's opener for taking $500 from a booster. Uh, wasn't that for the previous bowl game too Dennis? Suspended. So why did Stoops take the radical move of booting both players off the team? Uh, what about the difference in circumstances (Smith trying to pay cell phone bill for Mom after Clarett ran it up) and in proportion (Geez, we're talking over $18,000, Smith received an amount less than 3% the size of that)?

Because he was p.o.'ed most of all. One source described Bomar's conduct as "deception." The school just as easily could have declared both players ineligible, suspended them for a game or two and made them pay back the money they allegedly took. This amount?

Stoops knows that his move could ruin the Sooners' season. Well, guess what, it cuts both ways. By taking the money, Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn just ruined their college careers. Have fun in the Sun Belt or I-AA, guys. You're poison to any self-respecting AD now.

Make no mistake, this was Stoops' call. The administration stood firmly behind him knowing this could wreck the season. That administration -- most visibly AD Joe Castiglione -- still cringes at OU's renegade reputation.
This won't help it. Kelvin Sampson just bolted town with the NCAA hot on his heels. Because of that, he damaged the job itself, arguably limiting the candidates Castiglione could attract.

You can argue that Stoops and/or his staff should have known. You can also argue he took the highest road possible, putting the dignity of the program ahead of winning games.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/9582898

 

[OregonBuckeye]

Now OU fans get to experience a media beatdown.

 

[Saw31]

Tough situation...As a college football fan I hate to see this, no matter where it happens. As other have stated, I just don't understand what goes through these booster's heads. I do understand what goes through some dumb 19 year old's head though since I've been a dumb 19 year old. But the boosters should have a much higher level of maturity...I would like to see a University sue one of these guys just once, for the damage they do...I don't really care if it's a winnable case, but at least do something to make an example out of these scumbag boosters aside from just taking away their game tickets...(Don't bother lecturing me about the feasibility of this, I'm just kind of thinking out loud here... )

It's just frustrating to see these booster scandals over and over and the boosters never get the severity of punishment that the kids/coaches/schools inevitably get...

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Oklahoma kicks QB off team
Bomar was paid too much for work at auto dealership
Thursday, August 03, 2006
FROM WIRE REPORTS
<!--PHOTOS--> <table class="phototableright" align="right" border="0"> <!-- begin large ad code --> <tbody><tr><td> <table align="center"> <tbody><tr><td align="center">

</td></tr> <tr><td class="credit" width="200"> TY RUSSELL ASSOCIATED PRESS </td></tr> <tr><td class="cutline" width="200">Rhett Bomar, who was kicked off Oklahoma’s team because of an NCAA violation, passed for 2,018 yards as a freshman last season. </td></tr> <tr><td align="center">

</td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody> </table>
Starting quarterback Rhett Bomar was one of two players thrown off the Oklahoma football team yesterday for violating NCAA rules regarding employment.
Oklahoma confirmed that two players had been "permanently dismissed" but didn’t identify them. Bomar and offensive guard J.D. Quinn were identified by several news sources in Oklahoma.
Their offense was getting paid for doing little or no work, or as the university said in a statement, receiving money "over an extended period of time in excess of the time actually worked." The business where the players worked was Big Red Sports/ Imports, a car dealership in Norman, Okla.
ESPN.com reported that Bomar filed for 40-hour workweeks at the dealership but worked only five hours per week. He was paid about $18,000 by the dealership.
"We spend a considerable amount of time addressing our players regarding their personal conduct and the NCAA rules," coach Bob Stoops said in a statement. "They know exactly what we expect from them. Ultimately, they have to make the right decisions. The same holds true of our boosters."
Bomar, who was redshirted in 2004, lost a quarterback competition to Paul Thompson last fall, but was named the starter after the Sooners lost to Texas Christian in the first week.
Bomar started Oklahoma’s final 11 games and passed for a freshman-record 2,018 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Sooners finished 2005 by winning six of its final seven games.
Quinn started four times at right guard last season.
Thompson, the only quarterback other than Bomar with experience at Oklahoma, was moved to receiver after Bomar became the starter.

 

[CleveBucks]

What's the NCAA's standard penalty for a dollar amount in the $15k-18k range? I doubt Stoops had any say in the matter. The NCAA would've given him probably a lifetime suspension anyways.

 

[Dryden]

So, with an infraction / History that relatively parallels TS, you would like to applaud Stoops for booting him. Then I would imagine that you criticized Tress for retaining TS and allowing him to make amends...

They do not parallel each other at all. Troy had a few incidents early in the first four years of his career, then was found to have taken a $500 advance for a job he wouldn't have to work at. Bomar had a few incidents early in the first two years of his career, then was found to have taken $18,000 for a job he didn't have to work at.

$500 != $18,000

Bomar can't just pay it all back, like Troy did.

The other issue, and the reason Bomar is gone from the team, is due to his deception. When the Adrian Peterson deal was investigated in April, the employment of football players at that dealership was investigated too, and OU was exonerated. Well, Bomar's $18,000 salary was reported on his taxes, so that was money taken in 2005, not this 2006 off season. Bomar apparently lied to NCAA investigators then, since its now been found that the deal was under the table, and that has put the OU program in danger of having to vacate their entire 2005 season.

 

[High Lonesome]

This is from Bomar's Facebook wall....kinda like myspace for college kids

 

[jwinslow]

^^^^

to add a few more gems from soonerfans:

<table id="post1471016" class="tborder" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody> <tr valign="top"> <td class="alt2" width="175"> buck <script type="text/javascript"> vbmenu_register("postmenu_1471016", true); </script>
Sooner Rookie

Posts: 34

</td> <td class="alt1" id="td_post_1471016"> <!-- icon and title --> brett rhomar at airport
<hr style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> I just saw on news 9 bomar at the airport tonite at 9pm picking up his ho...they asked him to comment and he said "no i'm picking up my girlfriend"...the reporter practically begged him to comment but he just walked off with her...this means he's still in town obviously so if you wanna beat his butt maybe you could still find him (sorry if already posted)
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Sooner Rookie

Location: OKC
Posts: 68

</td> <td class="alt1" id="td_post_1469443"> <!-- icon and title --> Re: Story of the Year
<hr style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message -->

I like it. Thompson seems like a really solid guy and he's already proven he'll do whatever he's asked if it's for the sake of the team. OU's already played a couple of former backups in title games.
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8/2/2006, 08:47 PM <!-- / status icon and date --> </td> <td class="thead" style="font-weight: normal;" align="right"> #317 </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="alt2" width="175"> CarolinaSoonerinFla <script type="text/javascript"> vbmenu_register("postmenu_1470566", true); </script>
Sooner All-American

Location: On the innerweb
Posts: 5,219

</td> <td class="alt1" id="td_post_1470566"> <!-- icon and title --> Re: Dean reports Bomar is done
<hr style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> Worst ****ing day in ten years...****ing Rhett just killed us for the entire ****ing year.

Awesome...FCUK
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​

 

[Saw31]

 

[rocketman]

I like the Facebook groups Bomar is in..."If it wasn't for all us Texas kids Oklahoma would suck!"

Can't argue that one...

I must say thanks to all the visiting Texas fans I've grown to hate OU and I don't even know why. We'll crush 'em in 2016!

 

[gregorylee]

They do not parallel each other at all. Troy had a few incidents early in the first four years of his career, then was found to have taken a $500 advance for a job he wouldn't have to work at. Bomar had a few incidents early in the first two years of his career, then was found to have taken $18,000 for a job he didn't have to work at.

$500 != $18,000

Bomar can't just pay it all back, like Troy did.

The other issue, and the reason Bomar is gone from the team, is due to his deception. When the Adrian Peterson deal was investigated in April, the employment of football players at that dealership was investigated too, and OU was exonerated. Well, Bomar's $18,000 salary was reported on his taxes, so that was money taken in 2005, not this 2006 off season. Bomar apparently lied to NCAA investigators then, since its now been found that the deal was under the table, and that has put the OU program in danger of having to vacate their entire 2005 season.

While I would agree that $500 <FONT FACE="Symbol">º</FONT>

 

[Buckeye86]

I like the Facebook groups Bomar is in..."If it wasn't for all us Texas kids Oklahoma would suck!"

Can't argue that one...

the last one is "athletes for drinking"

 

[gregorylee]

They do not parallel each other at all. Troy had a few incidents early in the first four years of his career, then was found to have taken a $500 advance for a job he wouldn't have to work at. Bomar had a few incidents early in the first two years of his career, then was found to have taken $18,000 for a job he didn't have to work at.

$500 != $18,000

Bomar can't just pay it all back, like Troy did.

The other issue, and the reason Bomar is gone from the team, is due to his deception. When the Adrian Peterson deal was investigated in April, the employment of football players at that dealership was investigated too, and OU was exonerated. Well, Bomar's $18,000 salary was reported on his taxes, so that was money taken in 2005, not this 2006 off season. Bomar apparently lied to NCAA investigators then, since its now been found that the deal was under the table, and that has put the OU program in danger of having to vacate their entire 2005 season.

While I would agree that $500 <FONT FACE="Symbol">Ø</FONT> $10,000 - 18,000 but the amount wasn't known at the time, and I would equate 2 underage with 1 fighting.