I don't know Bobby DiGeronimo or his company, Independence Excavating. But I do know that Bobby DiGeronimo is now in the crosshairs of both The Ohio State University and the NCAA and for all the wrong reasons.
According to a story in Thursday's Plain Dealer, splashed as it was on the front page above a story on something far more significant, the re-drawing of Ohio's congressional districts, DiGeronimo takes the blame for getting three Ohio State Buckeyes football players suspended for the first two games of the season. The positioning of the story isn't an accident. Far more people care about whether Jordan Hall can play Saturday then whether the Republicans in Ohio's state house rigged the districts to strengthen their own hand.
DiGeronimo claims that he facilitated payments of $200 to three different players to cover their expenses for participating in a charity event last winter. He essentially claims he knew better but violated NCAA and Ohio State rules for two fundamental reasons, one philosophical the other practical. He said that he thinks it's shameful that these kids can't even get their expenses covered for going out of their way to help a charity. That's not entirely true but that's beside the point. He also said that this would never have come up if not for all the other problems that followed the Buckeyes this winter related to the free tattoo hubbub. It's kind of a "everybody's doing it" sort of rationale that is probably true.
The Split Personality Round Table is a weekly column where I let my split personalities argue about sports topics. Sometimes I’m an optimist, sometimes I’m a pessimist, and sometimes I’m a realist. Most of the time, I’m all at once. Continue at your own risk.
