Laremy Tunsil Almost Made NFL Draft Worth Watching
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil entered the 2016 NFL Draft projected to be one of the very first picks off the board. His slide to 13th to the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins was considered a precipitous drop.
The chain of events that led to Tunsil's drop in the draft, and the bizarre turns that took place even after he was selected, was easily the most entertaining reason to watch the draft - even for Patriots fans.
Granted, Bill Belichick did have a slim chance of trading up into the end of the first round, but there was no reason to believe that the Cardinals, Panthers, or Broncos would have accommodated the Pats. So there wasn't much for Patriots fans to see Thursday night, unless you could have found entertainment in Tunsil's surreal night.
The first big twist came just before the draft began, when a video posted to Tunsil's Twitter account shows the tackle, presumably during his time at Ole Miss, using a gas mask to smoke an unconfirmed substance. You can see the video on Deadspin, if the clip below doesn't work.
Deadspin reported Friday morning that someone emailed them weeks ago seeking to sell them a "40 sec video of Projected top 5 pick in the 2016 NFL draft smoking drugs (crack or weed) from gas mask." Deadspin asked if the player in question was Tunsil, because the emailer contacted the site under ... "Laremy Tunsil." Deadspin decided not to buy the video or pursue the story, because, "a college kid smoking weed is not a story at all."
You can reasonably presume what Tunsil was putting in his lungs in the video. But his agent wouldn't confirm it - except he basically did, with this incredible statement that also blamed the entire tech world for Tunsil's accounts getting hacked:
"To address today's unfortunate distraction: yes, my client smoked a potentially marijuana-like substance one time. In an attempt to shield his teammates from the emissions of hazardous and potentially intoxicating fumes, he used a gas mask to do so. This was an isolated incident that occurred at an undetermined time. After the incident, my client sought treatment and in the process found God.
The real issue at hand is not what a pre-born again embodiment of Laremy Tunsil did or did not do with a gas mask. The issue at hand is Silicon Valley's refusal to reign in unmitigated open source hacking and the United States government's inability to enact and enforce legitimate cyber security legislation.
My client is proud to have brought these shortcomings to light in front of a larger platform."
Later, Tunsil's now-deleted Instagram account posted screenshots of texts that appear to be Tunsil asking Ole Miss Assistant A.D. John Miller for money to pay his mom's light bill, and also insinuating that the school had been paying his mom's rent.
Tunsil's stepfather Lindsey Miller, who filed a defamation lawsuit against his stepson on Tuesday, denied any involvement with the leaking of the videos. Whoever did leak the videos clearly had reason to send Tunsil's draft stock tumbling downward. Forbes estimates that Tunsil lost more than $7 million in potential max salary in sliding from the top-10 to 13th.
Amazingly, the videos still weren't the end of the saga for Tunsil. After getting drafted by the Dolphins he spoke to reporters and actually admitted the authenticity of the text messages posted to his Instagram account, before being hurried off the stage as soon as a reporter began asking him a question about an NCAA investigation.
So, after that last bit dropped by Tunsil himself, plus the pending lawsuits, one can imagine this is only the beginning of what could be an annoying off-field distraction for the Dolphins. Fans of the Patriots, Bills and Jets better hope so, because Tunsil is a premium talent at tackle and could be a steal for Miami at 13th if he can perform on the field in spite of the off-field nonsense.
With the Patriots out of the first round, Patriots fans had good reason to skip the opening night of the NFL Draft. Tunsil's strange night almost made it worth it.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
