BusinessInsider.com, Tony Manfred
The Four Letters field a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the suit claims OSU violated the state’s public records law by refusing to hand over emails between head coach Jim Tressel, Athletic Director Gene Smith, and President Gordon Gee that dealt with Terrelle Pryor’s high school mentor.
Ohio State is denying ESPN’s public records request, citing the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a law designed to ensure student privacy, as the reason.But, as no students are directly involved, ESPN doesn’t buy it.
“It is impossible to imagine that Congress had any interest in restricting the flow of information about shady deals at a tattoo parlor when it passed FERPA in 1974,” ESPN argues in the lawsuit.
On the other hand, it’s impossible to imagine that Congress had any interest in needlessly exacerbating old college sports scandals when they passed freedom of information laws either.
Ohio State spokesman Jim Lynch took a subtle jab at the scope of ESPN’s record requests in an e-mail to the Plain Dealer, saying:
“While the university often receives media requests that are overly broad, given Ohio’s public record laws, we generally try to work with reporters to help them find the information they are seeking, working within the boundaries of the applicable laws.”
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
