Was going to say about the same thing. In Chad's defense, this is Schad and ESPN. I take everything they say now with a grain or 20 of salt. The story doesn't sound like it has a lot of evidence substantiating the claims. I will say that much.
To be fair, my evoking of Joe Schad was rhetorical. He exclusively covers the college game. Still, it's the same bunch of zero-credibilty hacks at ESPN that have turned their network into a professional wrestling/Jerry Springer circus. They have long ago wiped their ass with journalistic integrity, taking the word of one anonymous source without any fact checking whatsoever before plastering their website with 50 polls about what the implications and punishment should be for the Saints after their most recent transgression, as if it's 100% factual.
In all seriousness, completely removing myself from this situation AND the Cam Newton situation, while hard to do, this absolutely disgusts me.
This is the worldwide leader in sports. Because of their monopoly, we're force-fed this bullshit, and what's worse is 95% of the country lacks the critical thinking to do anything besides gulp down each spoonful, and vote "Shut the program down and strip them of their Super Bowl" or "Strip him of the Heisman and his school of the BCS trophy", or "Scrape every last trace of dignity from Joe Paterno in the last days of his life, and let's make sure his legacy will forever be that he was equally as vile as Sandusky in this whole child rape thing."
They are TMZ, and they don't even give a shit. And neither does the public. They buy right in and sharpen their pitchforks, loving every second of it.