Ohio State investigating possible NCAA violation by Braxton Miller

Star quarterback posed with a number of products in a photo, which would potentially be an NCAA violation.

Only a few short years removed from being a legitimate Heisman trophy contender, Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller may not even be a Buckeye any more.

From NFL.com:

"In a photo that has since been removed, but was captured by the Buckeyes fan site elevenwarriors.com, Miller appears with a number of Advocare products, a line of nutritional supplements, along with trainer Brandon Oshodon. It is a violation of NCAA rules for a student-athlete to endorse a product using name, image or likeness, a rule which has been court-challenged by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon."

While there is no strong evidence for this yet, if Miller received compensation from Advocare, his eligibility could be in jeopardy from the NCAA.

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This is not the first time that an Ohio State football player has been caught up in NCAA violations. Former head coach Jim Tressel was forced to resign in 2011 after it became public knowledge that players had sold signed memorabilia and had received tattoo’s through using their amateur celebrity status.

Ohio State players are finding the oddest ways to break the rules. Rather than simply receiving cash, Braxton Miller is getting involved with a pyramid scheme. Of course, Advocare would spice it up by calling themselves career opportunity managers operating a reverse funnel.

Braxton Miller is embroiled in a thick quarterback competition at Ohio State that includes J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones, who together led Ohio State to an 12-1 season and a national championship victory in January. Violations should make that decision quite a bit easier for Meyer.

The NCAA has drawn increased attention and scrutiny within the past week as a result of the men’s basketball tournament. Namely, the negative attention has been focused on the status of players as student-athletes.

HBO’s John Oliver recently tore into the NCAA on the very issue, pointing out that while coaches end up raking in millions of dollars while having the freedom to pursue endorsements, many feel that the athletes themselves don’t deserve to have any , including Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney who said “There is enough entitlement in this world.” Tressel himself was receiving almost a quarter of his pay from endorsements when the player violations came to light.

There is no reason to specifically feel deep sympathy for Braxton Miller himself. Hawking Advocare is incredibly stupid for anyone, including non-student athletes. But putting the hammer down here sends a clear message: it is the athlete’s performance, but the NCAA’s profit.

[H/T: NFL.com]

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