Ohio State Must Pay O’Brien

Ohio State University must pay their former coach, Jim O’Brien, $2.4 million in owed compensation, ruled an appeals court today. O’Brien, who had been the coach of the Buckeyes from 1998 to 2004, was fired after he loaned a player on his team $6,000. He later admitted to the university that this was done. When the news of the incident broke, OSU fired O’Brien citing a breach of his contract. Loaning players money of any kind is highly illegal in the NCAA. O’Brein then sued the university for wrongful firing. The sum he was awarded today was not the full amount that he had requested, but was still seen as a victory for the prosecution. OSU plans to appeal the ruling at a later time.

Ohio State was the runner-up to the national championship last season in college basketball, but their program had been stripped of many of their top players from last season, including Mike Conley Jr. and the number one pick in the NBA draft, the recently injured Greg Oden. This ruling will likely not change the outcome of the upcoming season of NCAA basketball for the Buckeyes.

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