On Tuesday morning, Baltimore Ravens tight end Billy Bajema read the initial story in Sports Illustrated's five-part look into the football program at his alma mater, Oklahoma State University.
Then he sent a text to John Talley, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes director for the north central region of Oklahoma.
In the SI story, four former players said Talley either "grossly overpaid" players for jobs or "compensated them for jobs they didn't do."
Talley told SI he has paid players to work on his ranch but denied he ever paid players to "not work."
Contacted by the Tulsa World, Talley declined comment and said he was told to refer calls to the FCA's National Support Center.
Bajema, during a Tuesday telephone interview with the Tulsa World, indicated that he's no fan of an SI story which, among other things, alleged that players got envelopes of money from boosters.
"I never once during my time there saw for myself any kind of extra payment going on with an envelope the way it is described in that article," he said. "I never saw a booster handing out envelopes on an airplane. I never saw them walking up and down aisles. I never saw any of that. It's all news to me. If that stuff is true, it's the best-kept secret ever."
And one of the things which bothered Bajema most was the portrayal of Talley. And that's why Bajema sent Talley a text message.
"I let him know that I appreciated all the influence that he had on me as a Christian and as a man during my time at Oklahoma State and that there are a lot of people like me who he made a big impact on their lives," Bajema said.
"We owe him a debt of gratitude and I just wanted to encourage him that I have his back and there are a lot of other guys who are willing to defend his reputation and stand by him through this. To see an article come out about him that mostly seems like hearsay from disgruntled former players is sad and you just want to defend the guy's reputation."
Bajema, who played at OSU from 2001-04, said he never worked on Talley's ranch but knew many guys who did. Bajema said Talley's goal was to give people an opportunity to learn to work hard and earn money.
"I think that rather than (him letting) people have easy jobs or no-show jobs like it is portrayed in the article," Bajema said.
He said Talley "absolutely" does not fit the stereotype of greasy booster.
"He is the FCA leader in that area and part of his job is to have an influence in the athletes at Oklahoma State and try to have a positive impact in their lives and he did that in any way he could," Bajema said.
"I never saw him operate in any way that I thought lacked integrity whatsoever. I always appreciated the influence he had on me and had on my teammates and his conduct was upright."
Bajema said a few guys may have gotten interviewed for the article. "But for every one of those, there are 100 that would say they appreciated the impact that John Talley had on their lives."
Former OSU defensive lineman Jamie Blatnick posted this message Tuesday on his Twitter account: "I worked for John Talley for 4 years and he is the most honest man I've been blessed to work with, true blue collar hard-working Christian."
John O'Dell, the state's FCA director, issued this statement:
"John Talley has been a valued member of the FCA staff for 20 years. I believe in John as a man of integrity who has made a tremendous impact for Jesus Christ on the lives of countless coaches and athletes during his career. The outpouring of support from both current and former coaches and athletes for John during this time has not only a been a blessing for John, but a testament to his character."
READER COMMENTS
Here is a look at some of
the reaction from Tuesday’s
Sports Illustrated article on
OSU athletics from Tulsa-
World.com readers:
You reap what you sow!
— James Cartwright, Jenks
Hope o-state enjoys the
crow they must now eat.
— Joe Harris, Tulsa
I agree that problems likely
exist and need to be dealt
with, but I have to wonder,
why OSU? I’m sure there are
many, many college sports
programs who have similar issues
going on every day. Why
is OSU the only one targeted?
It seems someone has a
vendetta and has a lot to gain
by publishing this. I love my
Pokes and it makes me sick
to see and hear all this. But I
question the motives here.
— Janet Cave, Hominy
An “investigation” by a
biased reporter/hack with an
agenda, resulting in secondhand
hearsay from disgruntled
players who either
flunked out of school, were
kicked off the team, arrested
for various offenses, or, and
this is the best one, are dead;
no proof, no documentation,
nothing to substantiate the
claims.
— Brenda Craige, Tulsa
I believe it could have happened
during the Les Miles
era. Les would cheat his own
grandmother.
— Greg McGraw, Broken Arrow
According to SI story a man
walks by the locker room and
hand a player $200. What
are chances of anybody other
than a coach or player getting
close to the locker room.
— Randy McGivens, Broken Arrow
I am glad that the University
is taking a healthier approach
to this matter than some of
the fans. I support Holder’s attitude
that they need to get to
the bottom of these allegations
and find the facts. Blaming SI
is not going anywhere, saying
that everybody else does it
isn’t very helpful, saying we
can’t expect the players and
boosters to be honest is not
right either.
— Alan Bates, Tulsa
Interesting that on the surface,
I don’t recall the names
of most of these players. And
more interesting are the allegations
that are being made
during Les Miles era. If they are
proven true, then NCAA needs
to immediately investigate
LSU. I’m a Sooner alum and I
have to say that I hope that all
this is proven untrue, although
just allegations can cause
damage.
— Kevin Barrow, Marion, IN
I am definitely a Sooners fan
but I’ll give OSU this, I highly
doubt they’re the only institution
engaging in these practices.
So I can sympathize with
those saying why OSU? (Yes,
I read SI rationale, but still...)
But to pretend it’s completely
fictitious is naive at best.
— Sandra Weiland, Sand Springs
I just finished reading the
SI article again, and it seems
that there are too many former
players, from too many different
playing years, for them
to have essentially the same
story about certain boosters
and former coaches. Either
there is some truth here, or a
bunch of former players who
didn’t know each other, have
been calling each other to
create similar stories. Perhaps
Lie Detector tests for all of
the accusers, and the boosters
and former coaches would
enlighten all of us as to who is
telling the truth?
— Steve Meador, Tulsa
Hard to stop ‘boosters’ from
giving kids money on the side,
but I have my doubts any of it
was coordinated by coaches,
especially Gundy. I am an OU
fan, but until there is a real
smoking gun put forth I am
going with the innocent until
proven guilty road.
— Ron Cameron, Copan
I too am an OU fan but
share you sentiments. Seems
evidence is missing in the
reporting. If this is truly irresponsible
reporting then SI
and the author should be made
to pay! Sensationalism in the
media is getting out of control
now days and from what I read
here, this is a prime example of
exactly that!
— Bill Copple, Skiatook
OSU Administration is taking
the high road and should be
applauded for it. The truth as
best can be determined needs
to come out, punishments, if
necessary, should be dealt, and
the program needs to work on
tightening its compliance office
as deemed appropriate. Stay
on that high road and all will
work out in the end. Hopefully,
NCAA investigators are now
on their way to LSU to determine
if similar shenanigans are
prevalent there. If so, it goes a
long way toward corroborating
the witnesses in the OSU case
and targeting the true villain in
all this, Les Miles.
— George Noland II, Claremore
Jimmie Tramel 918-581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Portrayal of FCA official draws ire of NFL player
OSU football investigation
On Monday, Oklahoma State announced the hiring of Charles E. Smrt to lead an independent review of alleged misconduct in the OSU football program.
