There was some good news and some bad news on the Laremy Tunsil front Friday.
The bad news is that the Miami Dolphins said Friday that Tunsil suffered an allergic reaction and therefore could not be a part of his introductory press conference. The good news is Tunsil was at least prevented from saying anything further that would create a controversy.
Tunsil was selected at No. 13 overall by the Dolphins after dropping in the draft due to a leaked video that was posted to his Twitter account showing him smoking out of a bong. The video was a few years old but still enough to temporarily tank Tunsil’s draft stock and lead to a slide that cost the man millions. A few hours later, Tunsil’s Instagram was hacked with someone posting text message conversations Tunsil had with Ole Miss staff about them paying his mom’s bills, which would constitute clear NCAA violations.
In his post-draft press conference on Thursday night, Tunsil was somewhat ambushed and seemed unprepared. He ended up causing a greater controversy by admitting he accepted money from Ole Miss coaches while in school.
Whether this was an admission regarding the text messages or his previous violations that led to a suspension to start the season is not known. But the timing of Tunsil’s allergic reaction led to suspicion the Dolphins were trying to shield their new player from further prodding.
Taking the medical issue at face value, it’s no doubt been a brutal 24 hours for Tunsil.
