Jaxbuck;1898037; said:
It really doesn't matter what the relationship was though.
It is almost impossible to interpret the forwarding of the email as anything other than a "help me get TP to knock this shit off" message. This of course would have to mean that JT knew the violations had occurred, was intent on keeping it in house and really wasn't as concerned with confidentiality as he tried to portray.
This all gives the NCAA investigators something tangible to interpret as proof of obstrufication if they so choose and that is most certainly a big deal.
It was "almost impossible", but I came up with this as another theory:
"Tell TP that the guy is a drug dealer under investigation, and to stay the hell away from him."
I'm not saying JT didn't commit a violation, but it's very plausible that there were other things on his mind besides the eligibility of the two players in the original emails.
It seems to me that there are at least 4 things JT could have been concerned about:
- the eligibility of his players
- the future of his players, at risk by apparently associating with a criminal
- the confidentiality of a federal investigation
- protecting the idiot lawyer who sent the emails
Many fans and media members seem anxious to ascribe various levels of importance to one or more of those items, depending on their own perceptions, biases, and motives. And the reality of what made JT do what he did (and didn't do) may very well be altered by his own rationalizations.