12:15 PM Former New York Giants receiver David Tyreespoke to hundreds of teens at a Christian conference in Fort Smith, Arkansas on Saturday: "My goal (now) is just to share my heart for God and weave in the story of testimony to impact some young people's lives."
8:00 PMJeRome Wilkins, a former University of New Hampshire football player accused of sexually assaulting a woman outside a house, said in court Friday that he did have sex with the woman but that it was consensual.
The below photo and accompanying caption, “Julio getting pumped up for the game!“, was uploaded to the now-deleted Facebook account of disassociated Alabama booster and T-Town Menswear owner Tom Al-Betar on September 4, 2010:
(Inset: Al-Betar sideline photo from 2008(!) season)
September 4, 2010 also happened to be the day Alabama played San Jose State at Bryant-Denny Stadium - just a couple miles away from the banned Bama booster’s suit store.
As Nick Saban still hasn’t banned players from pregaming at the disassociated booster’s establishment, maybe y’all can catch a glimpse of couple-dozen Bama players fitting in a visit to TTMW before dressing out for Kent State on Saturday.
Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com
Before he deleted both of his Facebook accounts last month, Alabama booster and T-Town Menswear owner Tom Al-Betar published several photos to one of those accounts in an album titled, “befor duke game me and my boys fitting there suit.”
The photos show Al-Betar, ex-Alabama football player Julio Jones and current Crimson Tide star Trent Richardson outside the fitting rooms of Al-Betar’s suit store, located just a couple miles from the Alabama campus.
Jones and Richardson played for Alabama in its game against Duke on Sept. 18, 2010, so both were presumably in T-Town Menswear the day Al-Betar’s Facebook photos were taken to acquire suits they would wear on gameday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, NC.
University of Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore sent a letter to Al-Betar in March banning him from any formal association with the Alabama Athletic Department.
In the letter, Al-Betar was cited by Moore for displaying personalized Alabama football memorabilia in his T-Town Menswear store that featured the likenesses of current Alabama football players - a violation of NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1.
NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1 states:
NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1 states: “an individual shall not be eligible for participation in intercollegiate athleticsif the individualpermits the use of his or her name or picture topromote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.” (Page 74.)
As documented here in recent weeks, Al-Betar has displayed countless personalized Alabama football memorabilia items featuring Richardson, Jones and Mark Ingram inside T-Town Menswear over the years.
Al-Betar’s T-Town Menswear store displays, which featured a “The Mark Ingram Heisman Suit” promotional display, date back to the summer of 2009 and included signed, personalized items from all three Alabama football stars. (In Al-Betar’s previous store, he displayed similar Alabama football memorabilia.)
In addition, Richardson, Jones and Ingram have been seen in dozens of Al-Betar Facebook and Myspace photos inside T-Town Menswear while those store displays - featuring their likenesses - were in full view.
Al-Betar’s now-private Myspace account has also included photos of Jones in different suits on Alabama football gamedays throughout the 2008 season. Like the below photo of Jones in a white suit, posted to Al-Betar’s Myspace account on December 5, 2008:
And this photo of Jones in a dark suit, also posted to Al-Betar’s Myspace account on December 5, 2008:
So just exactly how long has Al-Betar been enjoying the company of Jones and Ingram at the disassociated booster’s clothing establishments?
Good question.
From the above photo posted to Al-Betar’s Myspace account on Sept. 30, 2008, which was taken in his old clothing store, at the very least we’ve now verified that Jones and Ingram were enjoying the disgraced Alabama football booster’s company nearly a year before the now-notorious T-Town Menswear store had ever opened its doors.
Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com
Nick Saban wasn’t at Trent Richardson’s 2010 birthday party.
Though you can’t say the same for disgraced Alabama football booster and Tuscaloosa suit store owner Tom Al-Betar.
Al-Betar can be seen in multiple photos, now-deleted from his former Facebook account, enjoying yet another evening at a Tuscaloosa Japanese steakhouse with Richardson - this time perhaps as party host of Richardson’s 19th birthday party. (Al-Betar has now been seen out to dinner with Richardson on three different occasions in Facebook photos.)
Red flag?
Not according to the NCAA rules compliance folks representing the University of Alabama. They contend that, despite the school officially disassociating Al-Betar from Alabama Athletics last March, no NCAA rules violations have taken place as it pertains to Al-Betar’s relationship with Richardson and dozens of other Alabama football players over the years.
“You know, I guess I could ban our players from the place but until somebody can sorta convince me that somebody is doing something wrong - which I haven’t been convinced of yet - I don’t know if that’s fair to our players.”
You see, NCAA rules - as Saban, Alabama Compliance Director Mike Ward and the crack team of NCAA rules enforcement staffers overseen by ever-vigilant NCAA President Mark Emmert will tell you - exist for a very good reason.
Yeah.
Brooks can be reached on Twitter, Facebook and directly at sportsbybrooks@gmail.com
In an April 27, 2011, interview with Aaron Wilson of NationalFootballPost.com, Julio Jones talked about his football future after leaving the Alabama football program.
Wilson’s last question to Jones: “What’s your goal off the field?”
Jones:
“I want to be financially stable, first of all. I don’t want to be one of those guys that’s broke after they leave the league. I want to take care of my mom. She has done so much for me and my brother growing up. She works at KFC. Before that, she worked at Church’s Chicken for a long time. It’s time for her to take a break.”
After noting the low-paying jobs of his mother, is it unreasonable to wonder how Jones was able to obtain the use - ownership or otherwise - of a tricked-out, custom-painted Yukon Denali with spinning rims seen in a 2010 ESPN documentary about the Alabama football team?
Even if Jones didn’t buy the vehicle, is it unreasonable to observe that he was provided use of the vehicle and/or an overly favorable loan or sale price for the SUV because of his football playing ability at Alabama?
And from the events of the past nine months, it appears Jones’ mother may have kept her accountant a smidge busier had her son discovered the wonderment of body ink - like a certain quarterback once known to reside in Columbus.
Friday I documented current starting Alabama linebacker Nico Johnson’s relationship with Tuscaloosa suit store owner and disassociated University of Alabama football booster Tom Al-Betar.
Facebook-dated and camera-timestamped photos and a now-deleted Facebook video posted by Al-Betar showed Johnson out to dinner with the defrocked Alabama booster twice and inside Al-Betar’s T-Town Menswear store on multiple occasions. Read more…
By now you know the University of Alabama has told the BIRMINGHAM NEWS and ESPN that it found “no (NCAA-rules related) wrongdoing” involving the relationship between current football players and Tuscaloosa suit store owner and formally disassociated University of Alabama booster Tom Al-Betar.
(Why is Nico Johnson out to dinner with disassociated booster Tom Al-Betar?)
Nick Saban has echoed that sentiment to Ian Fitzsimmons of ESPN 103.3. Dallas and Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore has stated publicly that UA Compliance has done an “outstanding” job in responding to the situation.
Alabama also reportedly has not contacted the NCAA or SEC about dozens of Crimson Tide football memorabilia items signed by current and then-current Alabama players that were displayed at T-Town Menswear during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. (And continue to be displayed to this day.)
(Julio Jones, Nico Johnson in T-Town Menswear during 2009 season)
Camera-timestamped and Facebook-dated photos since deleted from the web by Al-Betar clearly showing former Alabama football players Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and current Alabama football player Trent Richardson engaged in activities rendering them ineligible per NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1, while additional Al-Betar Facebook photos and video show current Alabama linebacker Nico Johnson engaged in similar NCAA rule-breaking.
Johnson’s involvment with Tuscaloosa suit store owner has included dinner with Al-Betar on at least two different occasions and Johnson visiting T-Town Menswear on nearly a dozen, Facebook photo-documented occasions during the 2009 and 2010 football seasons. One dinner involving Al-Betar and Johnson was recorded on video by Al-Betar and also posted to one of his former Facebook accounts.
Johnson-signed memorabilia can be see in Al-Betar Facebook photos at the T-Town Menswear checkout counter and in a storefront window. Al-Betar first posted a Facebook photo of the T-Town Menswear window display of Johnson’s personalized #35 University of Alabama football jersey and a helmet signed by Johnson in September, 2010.
From Facebook-dated and camera-timestamped photos, Johnson is pictured in now-deleted Al-Betar photos before and after T-Town Menswear featured the Johnson personalized jersey and signed helmet display.
As Johnson continued to be repeatedly seen inside T-Town Menswear while his personalized jersey and signed helmet was on display in the store window, he is ineligible to play intercollegiate sports per NCAA rule 12.5.2.1 - which states:
“After becoming a student-athlete, an individual shall not be eligible for participation in intercollegiate athleticsif the individual accepts any remuneration for or permits the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.” (Page 74.)
While Ingram and Jones have since left the Alabama program, the confirmed ineligibility of Johnson and Richardson figures to have a considerable impact on Alabama’s upcoming football season.
The past two weeks, I’ve chronicled activity by a Tuscaloosa suit store owner and University of Alabama student-athletes that, per a particular NCAA rule, renders those Crimson Tide football players ineligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics.
(Ingram, Jones Likenesses Featured In Suit Store TV Spot)
That athletic ineligibility is not based on student-athletes receiving benefits from T-Town Menswear owner Tom Al-Betar. Instead, the current and then-current Alabama football players in question relinquished their eligibility by allowing, tacitly or otherwise, Al-Betar to use their likenesses in multiple T-Town Menswear store displays over a period of multiple years.
The applicable NCAA rule, bylaw 12.5.2.1:
“After becoming a student-athlete, an individual shall not be eligible for participation in intercollegiate athleticsif the individual accepts any remuneration for or permits the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.” (Page 74.)
Al-Betar also used the likenesses of then-current Alabama football players in at least one T-Town Menswear television commercial that aired in the Tuscaloosa market during the summer of 2010.
Also during the spot while on-camera, suit store owner Al-Betar touted the fact that current Alabama football players patronized his store.
During the commercial, Al-Betar was asked, “Tom I understand that many of the Alabama Crimson Tide football players get clothed here at T-Town Menswear.”
Al-Betar’s response: “Yeah, they (current Alabama football players) wear their uniform at the game and they wear my uniform after the game.”
Al-Betar’s T-Town Menswear Tuscaloosa television market commercial was hardly a one-off production. Jones Media has produced several Al-Betar commercials, with the latest airing in April - after the suit store owner received an official disassociation letter from the University of Alabama for displaying and selling items signed by current Alabama football players. (The aforementioned activities were confirmed by the University of Alabama in two letters.)
The T-Town Menswear spots date back to at least 2009. On April 18, 2009, then-BIRMINGHAM NEWS Alabama football beat reporter Ian Rapoportnoted that former Alabama football player Tyrone Prothro had appeared in a commercial for an Al-Betar Tuscaloosa clothing outlet. (I’ve since confirmed with Rapoport personally that Al-Betar’s suit store business was the subject of the spot.)
Six days ago photos first surfaced online of Alabama football players signing memorabilia inside T-Town Menswear, a Tuscaloosa clothing store located three miles from the University of Alabama campus.
The photos, uploaded to the Facebook accounts of store owner and proprietor Tom Al-Betar, also showed current, signed Alabama player memorabilia on display inside the store.
Among some of the football players depicted in the T-Town Menswear Facebook photos was Trent Richardson, Julio Jones and Terrence Cody.
Cody, who played an important role in the Crimson Tide’s 2009 National Championship season, is now a defensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens.
Cody can be seen in T-Town Menswear photos wearing news suits inside the store, signing memorabilia and socializing with Al-Betar.
Several of the Facebook photos show Cody holding an autographed Alabama football helmet inside T-Town Menswear two weeks before the Crimson Tide’s 2010 BCS Championship victory over Texas.
In additional Al-Betar Facebook photos, a similarly-signed Cody helmet can be seen in two different display windows at T-Town Menswear, with one picture camera-timestamped Jan. 17, 2010 and the other May 26, 2010.
In a camera-timestamped photo, Cody can also be seen with several of his Alabama teammates inside the Tuscaloosa suit store on Dec. 29, 2009.
From the photos posted by Al-Betar, Cody made multiple visits to T-Town Menswear over the years. During those visits Cody was often shown autographing Alabama football memorabilia.
Al-Betar’s personal Facebook account also featured a group of photos titled, “Boys Night Out Cody.”
In those pictures, Cody can be seen taking a shot with friends while in another photo he’s partaking in a hookah pipe with Al-Betar.
Also included in the photos was a shot of Cody’s family at dinner and the Alabama lineman’s infant daughter being held by Al-Betar inside T-Town Menswear.
Al-Betar’s Cody-themed photos also include Alabama football players Jones and Roy Upchurch inside T-Town Menswear as Upchurch is seen holding two packages of shirts.
In response to multiple reports detailing the activities of Al-Betar and Alabama football players by Clay Travis of OutKickTheCoverage.com, Alabama reported on Friday that it sent a Dec. 22, 2010, cease-and-desist letter to Al-Betar ordering him to stop selling signed current Crimson Tide football player items at a kiosk located just outside Al-Betar’s store in Tuscaloosa’s University Mall.
Tuesday Nick Saban commented for the first time about the relationship of current Alabama football players to T-Town Menswear store owner Tom Al-Betar.
“Our compliance people have been on top of this for a long time. I think this is an example of somebody…it’s not a violation if you sign a shirt for somebody, you just can’t receive compensation for it. We’ve done a cease-and-desist with this establishment a long time ago to make sure everybody understands what players can and can’t do.”
In now-deleted Facebook accounts, Al-Betar previously posted photos of Alabama football players signing memorabilia in his suit store - which is located three miles from the University of Alabama campus.
One of the football players depicted in those photos is current Alabama running back Trent Richardson, who can be seen in an Al-Betar photo signing an Alabama football print while wearing a suit jacket inside T-Town menswear.
At the time of the photo one of the items offered for sale at the kiosk was a Richardson-signed Alabama jersey.
On December 22, 2010, University of Alabama Associate Director for Compliance Mike Ward sent Al-Betar a cease-and-desist letter regarding the sale of memorabilia autographed by current Alabama football players at his kiosk outside T-Town Menswear. Excerpt:
I am writing to you on behalf of several current student-athletes at The University of Alabama. It has been brought to our attention that you are selling or distributing, for commercial purposes, items depicting current University of Alabama student-athletes, specifically, items autographed by current student athletes. The use of a current student-athlete’s name or likeness on commercial items offered for sale, or for advertising or promotional purposes, without his or her knowledge or permission can jeopardize the student-athlete’s eligibility to participate in intercollegiate athletics with the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The letter was addressed to Al-Betar’s kiosk in Tuscaloosa, not the Birmingham kiosk that was photographed on Dec. 14, 2010, selling jerseys of then-current Alabama football players Richardson, Julio Jones and Marcell Dareus.
That signed red jersey for sale at Al-Betar’s kiosk matched a Richardson jersey previously offered for sale by the website ViceAuthenticsMemorabilia.com.
The for sale listing for the Richardson jersey has since been pulled by the Alabama-based sports memorabilia website.
Jones can also be seen in Al-Betar Facebook photos inside T-Town menswear signing red jerseys that match the jerseys offered for sale at the Al-Betar Tuscaloosa kiosk targeted by UA compliance and the Birmingham mall kiosk in December.
The signed jerseys were offered for sale at Al-Betar’s kiosk and the Birmingham mall kiosk while Jones was still an active member of the Alabama football team.
Richardson can also be seen in a photo dated Sept. 3, 2010 on Al-Betar’s now-deleted Facebook page signing a white Alabama jersey with his name on it.
That signed white jersey matches a Richardson jersey previously offered for sale by the website ViceAuthenticsMemorabilia.com.
ViceAuthenticsMemorabilia.com noted in the listing for the white Richardson jersey for sale:
Jersey was signed in Tuscaloosa, AL on September 3, 2010
The for sale listing for the white Richardson jersey has since been pulled by the website.
Both for sale listings of Richardson-signed memorabilia from ViceAuthenticsMemorabilia.com also noted, “I have multiple signed prints, photos, helmets & jerseys of Trent.”
Speaking to ESPN 103.3 in Dallas Tuesday, Saban said of the interaction between Al-Betar and Alabama football players:
“You know, I guess I could ban our players from the place but until somebody can sorta convince me that somebody is doing something wrong, which I haven’t been convinced of yet, I don’t know if that’s fair to our players.”
For the past five days, Clay Travis at OutKickTheCoverage.com has steadily unearthed a collection of online photos and video that indicate some manner of relationship between a Tuscaloosa menswear store owner and Alabama football players.
After Travis broke the story, the University of Alabama released a cease-and-desist letter (full size) it claimed was sent to Al-Betar on Dec. 22, 2010. The school’s letter - signed by Alabama Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Mike Ward, directed Al-Betar to cease selling memorabilia that included likenesses of current Alabama football players. Al-Betar was also ordered to stop using likenesses of current players in advertisements of any kind.
A month later, on Jan. 26, 2011, Al-Betar hosted a high-profile autograph signing for ex-Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy outside T-Town Menswear’s mall location. At the time of the autograph show, which was covered by the TUSCALOOSA NEWS, signed jerseys of multiple, current Alabama football players could be seen in a T-Town Menswear store window display.
Al-Betar later posted a photo of the same current UA football player-related display on his defunct Facebook page on Feb. 4, 2011.
So why would Al-Betar disobey the demands detailed in a letter from the same school that has formally granted him sideline passes for Alabama football games the past two seasons?
He didn’t.
The Alabama compliance letter did not address Al-Betar by name or T-Town Menswear. All that distinguishes the Alabama compliance document from a form letter was a handwritten notation at the top of the one-page document that read, “Kiosk @ Mall. Tom’s.”
Indeed, Al-Betar did operate a kiosk in the mall at the time, which apparently included signed memorabilia from current Alabama football players - though it’s difficult to tell from the below photo posted on Al-Betar’s Facebook page on Sept. 15, 2010:
The date of the letter from UA to Al-Betar, Dec. 22, 2010, also wasn’t just a red-letter day for the Crimson Tide compliance department.
Al-Betar’s store displays also include memorabilia featuring Mark Ingram, who obtained the suit he wore for the 2009 Heisman Trophy ceremony from T-Town menswear. Of that suit, Al-Betar previously posted a Facebook photo of Ingram getting fitted for it at T-Town Menswear before the Dec. 13, 2009, ceremony.
In Al-Betar’s now-deleted Facebook picture of the fitting scene, Ingram appears to attempt to block the photo from being taken with an outstretched arm and open hand.
Or, perhaps, Ingram was merely striking an apropos Heisman pose when the photo was taken. Or outstretching his arm as he was being fitted.
After Ingram won the Heisman Trophy, Al-Betar created a store display that included a suit that looked similar to what Ingram wore for the ceremony. Accompanying the suit was a large action photo of Ingram and oversized display text that read, “The Mark Ingram ‘Heisman’ Suit.”
The photo of the Ingram Heisman display was posted on Al-Betar’s Facebook page on Sept. 15, 2010, though the star running back would play another season for the Alabama football squad.
Al-Betar’s Facebook account also included a shot of Ingram signing memorabilia inside T-Town Menswear. The below photos were taken on Jan. 10, 2010, three days after Ingram helped lead the Crimson Tide to a victory over Texas in the BCS Championship Game.
After the above (Jan. 10, 2010) photos were taken, Ingram played another season for Alabama.
Based on a camera timestamp, Ingram can be seen inside T-Town menswear in Al-Betar’s online photo collection as early as Dec. 31., 2009, the day before the Alabama football team departed for the 2010 BCS title game in Pasadena.
The University of Alabama has yet to issue a statement or communicate anything to the public on the record about the relationship between Alabama booster Al-Betar and the Crimson Tide football program.
Kevin Scarbinsky of the BIRMINGHAM NEWS reported today:
Two weeks ago Alabama’s compliance department released 36 NCAA violations committed the last two years by school athletic programs. Among the football violations was the following:
Strength and Conditioning staff member returned a voicemail message not knowing the caller was a prospective student-athlete.
The 36 NCAA violations released by the school to the public did not include anything pertaining to the relationship of Alabama players and Tom Al-Betar, T-Town Menswear, or “Kiosk @ Mall. Tom’s.”
