Mississippi State had its biggest group of recruits in town over the weekend, and as the week began, rumors popped up everywhere saying at least three of the high school football players who were on official visits to MSU visited a strip club in West Point called The Pony.
One of the first questions to arise asked if MSU or any of the coaching staff knew about the supposed visit to West Point. According to the statement released by Mississippi State, the answer is a resounding, “No.”
“An activity – outside the approved itinerary and certainly without the approval or consent of our coaches or athletic department – may have occurred last weekend,” the statement said.
The statement also said officials believe it was “an isolated incident involving only a small number of individuals.”
These rumors were fueled by screenshots from the Facebook pages of the three players in question, which many believe implied the recruits visited the adult lounge located about 10 miles outside of Starkville.
The most telling quote came from a status update on the Facebook page of Tylertown High School senior Jameon Lewis, who said on a post he enjoyed his visit to MSU. His status said, in part, his favorite activity of the weekend was when “we went to The Pony.”
While many saw these updates as proof the recruits did indeed visit The Pony, Lewis told The Clarion Ledger those claims are false.
“Nah, it’s no truth,” he said. “It was a joke we were playing…I really didn’t even know what The Pony was.”
The 2004 case of University of Colorado linebacker Chris Hollis offers a comparison for the Bulldogs predicament. Hollis admitted to taking a recruit to a strip club in Boulder, Colorado, where CU is located, on his visit to the campus. There were no reports of underage drinking and Hollis had his recruit home by 12:30 a.m. Hollis was initially suspended one game for a violation of team rules, however he appealed the suspension to the university and his punishment was lifted.
MSU’s policy in reference to recruits on their official visits specifically states adult entertainment is not allowed for the visitors, and the NCAA reserves the right to punish schools as it sees fit for breaking their own rules.
While it is unclear whether the NCAA would do so, it appears, based on precedent, the Bulldogs will not be punished at all, and at most will receive a secondary violation from the NCAA.
In his weekly online statement Byrne said Thursday “the breach of policy was isolated and will not affect the eligibility or future eligibility of any of those involved.”