Wall Street Journal piece on burner phones and Ole Miss

[Dolphus Raymond]

Can't fully read it without a subscription but it came out a few minutes ago.

[Kyper]

I thought Burner Phones were an ED Conspiracy?

[snoopdog]

Mars has a signed affidavit that says there were burner phones used by Ole Miss coaches to contact recruits. Ole Miss reported to NCAA what Mars says he has (which he hasn't shown Ole Miss). Ole Miss coaches were questioned. None (past and present) admitted using burner phones.

[1bigdawg]

Also, Mars says the coaches told recruits not to attach the coach's name to the burner so their name would not pop up when they made an illegal recruiting call.

[mstatefan91]

Get your popcorn ready.. looks like more is on the way. Mars once again extended the olive branch of an apology, and once again, OM said no.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Bjork will probably use the Burner Phone issue as a way to get rid of Luke at the end of the season.

[1bigdawg]

Mars says Freeze and at least three other coaches used them. Also says "coaches purchased the phones with cash, sometimes at out of state locations or using fictitious names..."

Further, sometimes "third parties bought the burners and then gave them to coaches."

To sum up, it sounds as though Mars has evidence from at least one UNM insider with direct knowledge of the situation. UNM denies it all (shocker**). NCAA has a reason to go back to Oxford.

What I don't understand is why UNM won't settle with Nutt. Then, Mars would be off their case. As it stands, I believe that Mars will give the NCAA the evidence if they ask.

[bomanishus]

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[bomanishus]

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[bomanishus]

ok I give up on trying to post....just go to dan wolkien's Twitter feed, the full article is on there that you can copy, paste, etc

[gtowndawg]

What's more shocking is why Freeze would not use that phone to call escorts. What a moron.

[The Federalist Engineer]

WSJ article equates to a complete lack of institutional control. I think 3-to-5 years of no D1 football would allow them ample time to develop robust controls

[ScoobaDawg]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/burner-phone-accusation-marks-new-chapter-in-ole-miss-scandal-1505832124
‘Burner Phone’ Accusation Marks New Chapter in Ole Miss ScandalThe school reported to the NCAA a lawyer’s allegation that its football coaches used prepaid phones to conceal contacts with recruits




https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-VE345_32SMj_OR_20170919103213.jpg?width=860&height=573
Former Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze speaks during an alumni event in April as chancellor Jeff Vitter, left, and athletic director Ross Bjork, right, sit nearby. PHOTO: LAUREN WOOD/ASSOCIATED PRESS



By Andrew Beaton

Sept. 19, 2017 10:42 a.m. ET3 COMMENTS (https://www.wsj.com/articles/burner-phone-accusation-marks-new-chapter-in-ole-miss-scandal-1505832124#comments_sector)


In August, University of Mississippi athletic director Ross Bjork assembled the football team?s coaching staff in a meeting room. He handed out a form that asked the coaches to disclose whether they had used personal phones, including ?prepaid phones, pay as you go, burner, etc.? for recruiting or any other work-related purpose.
If the coaches had done so, the form said, those phones could be subject to records requests or ?required to be furnished upon request of the University or NCAA to ensure compliance with University, SEC and NCAA rules.?
The unusual demand was in response to an accusation that coaches at Ole Miss?already under NCAA investigation for recruiting violations?had improperly used burner phones to contact football recruits, according to records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.




The accusation came from a lawyer for Houston Nutt, a former Ole Miss coach who is suing the school over an alleged smear campaign by the school surrounding its ongoing NCAA investigation. Over the summer, Nutt?s lawyer, Thomas Mars, had previously contacted the university with information showing that Nutt?s successor, Hugh Freeze, had made a call from a university-provided phone (https://www.wsj.com/articles/hugh-freezes-ouster-at-ole-miss-linked-to-multiple-recruiting-trips-1502896100) to a number associated with an escort service. Later, Freeze was ousted (https://www.wsj.com/articles/ole-miss-football-coach-resigns-amid-probe-into-phone-calls-1500604414) as a result.
RELATED



Freeze?s Ouster at Ole Miss Followed Calls to Escort Services (https://www.wsj.com/articles/hugh-freezes-ouster-at-ole-miss-linked-to-multiple-recruiting-trips-1502896100)
Ole Miss Football Coach Resigns Amid Probe Into Phone Calls (https://www.wsj.com/articles/ole-miss-football-coach-resigns-amid-probe-into-phone-calls-1500604414)



Then on July 25, five days after Freeze?s dismissal, Mars wrote a text message to the school?s lead lawyer alleging that Freeze and at least three other staff members used burner phones ?on a regular basis? to hide communications with recruits that would violate NCAA rules. A later letter from Mars said he had a sworn affidavit testifying to Freeze?s use of burner phones, in violation of NCAA rules. The use of unreported burner phones would make it more difficult to monitor recruiting practices, which are strictly regulated by the NCAA.
Mars?s letter prompted Ole Miss to self-report the information to the NCAA and distribute the phone declaration form to the football staff. Of the 29 people who filled it out, the school says, none reported using a burner, prepaid or pay-as-you-go phone during their time at Ole Miss.
?Our coaching staff understands the scrutiny that we?ve been under,? Bjork said in an interview. ?We wanted to be proactive and organized.? He adds that the school and its internal monitoring systems haven?t uncovered any evidence to support the claims about burner-phone usage. ?There?s no indication of any other violations like that,? he said.
For the school, the accusation is the latest in a series of alleged improprieties in a football program that has been turned upside down in a couple short years.




It also is an extension of an uncomfortable public scrape in which one former Ole Miss coach, Nutt, is using an aggressive lawyer?Mars, a former Wal-Mart Stores (http://quotes.wsj.com/WMT) Inc. general counsel?who has uncovered alleged rules violations by his successor, Freeze.
The vehicle for Nutt?s pursuit of Freeze and Ole Miss is a civil lawsuit in which Nutt alleges that Freeze, and possibly other Ole Miss officials, made calls to sports journalists as part of a ?smear campaign? against Nutt and spread misinformation that Nutt was to blame for the school?s NCAA issues.
https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-VE346_2MRaO_M_20170919103350.jpg?width=700&height=466
Former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze looks on during a game last season. PHOTO: JAMES PUGH/ASSOCIATED PRESS


Throughout the NCAA investigation, the university stood by Freeze, the coach who brought top-ranked recruiting classes to Oxford, Miss., beat Alabama in back-to-back seasons and won the Sugar Bowl just two years ago. An attorney for Freeze could not be reached for comment.
The school has denied the allegations in Nutt?s lawsuit. The case was dismissed from federal court on jurisdictional grounds, and Nutt?s team plans to file a new case in state court soon.
The first strike came this summer, when Ole Miss jettisoned Freeze after phone records brought to the attention of Mars showed that Freeze made a call, from his university-issued phone, to a number connected with escort services. The school initially characterized the call as a ?misdial.? Days later, the university parted ways with Freeze after discovering other similar calls, made over the course of several years, which coincided with recruiting trips, the Journal reported in August.
The new accusations began when Mars notified the school in July that he had evidence about alleged misuse of burner phones in recruiting. He alleged that coaches purchased phones with cash, sometimes at out of state locations or using fictitious names, that they used to conceal ?communications with prospects that were prohibited by the NCAA?s rules.?
In some instances, Mars wrote, third parties bought the burners and then gave them to coaches. It also alleges the coaches instructed recruits not to put their names with these numbers in the contacts sections of their phone.
Mars offered to settle the Nutt litigation before making public-records requests to collect additional phone records of Freeze and three other coaches. ?I?m running out of patience, so don?t expect me to sit on this information for more than a few hours,? he wrote.
Ole Miss did not accept the settlement proposal, which among other things involved an apology to Nutt. In an August 9 letter to the school?s outside counsel, Mars wrote: ?While my silence isn?t for sale, our offer was intentionally framed to spare Ole Miss from any more public embarrassment. As I assume you know, this isn?t the first time I?ve attempted to give the university an opportunity to deal with its dirty laundry before it becomes a public spectacle.?
The next day, Enrique Gimenez, an outside counsel representing Ole Miss in its NCAA investigation, wrote a letter to Jon Duncan, the NCAA?s vice president of enforcement, informing him of the accusations. The letter says the university asked Nutt?s legal team to share their information suggesting violations but was denied. Mars says the two sides could not agree on terms for disclosing the affidavit to the university.
?If the staff is able to secure any credible information on which it can move forward, we stand willing to continue our cooperative efforts to develop a full and fair factual record,? Gimenez?s letter to Duncan says.
https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-VE348_38YO6_M_20170919103523.jpg?width=700&height=467
In a civil lawsuit, former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt alleges that Hugh Freeze, and possibly other Ole Miss officials, made calls to sports journalists as part of a ?smear campaign? against Nutt and spread misinformation that Nutt was to blame for the school?s NCAA issues. PHOTO: MARK HUMPHREY/ASSOCIATED PRESS


Per the NCAA?s policy on ongoing investigations, Duncan declined to comment. The NCAA?s alleged violations include charges of lack of institutional control, cash payments to prospective players, and other recruiting violations. The school has disputed some, but not all, of the NCAA?s charges.
This potential burner phone issue would only add to the questions of impropriety at Ole Miss. Ole Miss is under a self-imposed postseason ban as a result of that probe. The school met with the NCAA?s Committee on Infractions about those violations last week. Burner phones were not mentioned in the NCAA?s notice of allegations, and the college sports governing body declined comment on if they were discussed at last week?s infractions meeting.
Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com

[smootness]

https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/burner-phone-accusation-marks-new-chapter-in-ole-miss-scandal-1505832124

[Leeshouldveflanked]

More good news for the ReBearSharkAkbars... Mullen's buddy Christopher is new Chair of COI.... Sankey out.

[Leroy Jenkins]

WSJ will rue...

[Commercecomet24]

So i guess the bears will be sueing the Wall Street Journal next?

[Percho]

Bjork

We wanted to be proactive and organized


Y E A H

[StoneDawg]

Bjork will probably use the Burner Phone issue as a way to get rid of Luke at the end of the season.

Bjork will not be there.

[mstatefan91]

https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/250x250/80428082.jpg

[starkvegasdawg]

So i guess the bears will be sueing the Wall Street Journal next?

We can both wait on our letter in the mail.

[Acid mouth]

At this point, a 3rd NOA is inevitable. If the NCAA allows Mississippi to escape without penalties regarding burner phones, this type of behavior will become rampant in college athletics in just a few short year. A precedent must be set and I can't think of a team more deserving than Mississippi.

[Jack Lambert]

So Mars has sworn testimonies of the burner phones?

[TrapGame]

At this point, a 3rd NOA is inevitable. If the NCAA allows Mississippi to escape without penalties regarding burner phones, this type of behavior will become rampant in college athletics in just a few short year. A precedent must be set and I can't think of a team more deserving than Mississippi.

If they get additional penalties to the hammer that's coming soon it will set that program back to the stone age. They will be a mediocre D2 program for a decade. Two generations of sidewalk fans will be wearing maroon before they actually can field a decent team.

[Tbonewannabe]

Bjork

We wanted to be proactive and organized


Y E A H

So was that Bjork's way of blaming coaches if everything comes out? Trying to pass the blame away from himself.

[Mimi's Babies]

Remember that NOTHING that happened AFTER January 29, 2016 is in the NOA.... NCAA should be very interested in what happened with the 2016 signing class....

Cell Phones, prostitutes, hotels rooms, crootapalozza party, free clothes, cash money... illegal visits to the high schools, air planes flying.....

[Percho]

Remember that NOTHING that happened AFTER January 29, 2016 is in the NOA.... NCAA should be very interested in what happened with the 2016 signing class....

Cell Phones, prostitutes, hotels rooms, crootapalozza party, free clothes, cash money... illegal visits to the high schools, air planes flying.....

Methinks, they be proactive in a lot of things,,,,,,,,,,,illegal.