An anonymous hacker used the night of the NFL draft to try to take down Laremy Tunsil and the Ole Miss football program.
Moments before the draft began a video of Tunsil smoking out of a bong fashioned out of a gas mask was posted onto his Twitter account. When it had done its damage, moving Tunsil out of the top 10 entirely and to the Miami Dolphins on No. 13, the hacker started on Tunsil’s Instagram account.
There they posted screenshots of alleged text messages between Tunsil and John Miller, assistant athletic director for football operations, in which Tunsil asks for money to pay rent and also for his mother's $305 electric and water bill. In reference to the former, Miller makes a reference to "Barney." Barner Farrar is Ole Miss' assistant athletic director for high school and junior colleges.
“I made a mistake,” Tunsil said in a press conference. “That happened.”
Pressed if that meant he had taken money from a coach, Tunsil said, ‘I’d have to say yeah.’
This is potentially devastating news to Ole Miss, which is already in the midst of an investigation process with the NCAA. A notice of allegations (which included violations that led to Tunsil serving a long suspension during the 2015 season) was delivered to Ole Miss in January. A third party requested a 30-day extension earlier this month.While Tunsil was being asked if he had met with the NCAA, his agent Jimmy Sexton's assistant stopped the press conference and escorted Tunsil to a room down the hall before closing the door.
Tunsil missed the first seven games of the 2015 season for receiving the use of three loaner vehicles over a six-month period without payment; a four-month, interest-free promissory note on a $3,000 down payment for buying a used vehicle; two nights at a local home; an airline ticket purchased by a friend of a teammate; and one-day use of a rental car.
