Photo by Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images(CHICAGO) — It was a wild night for Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil at Thursday night’s NFL Draft.
Shortly before the first round of selections began, a video was posted to Tunsil’s Twitter account appearing to show the top prospect wearing a gas mask and appearing to smoke from a bong. The tweet was quickly deleted, but was noticed nonetheless.
Tunsil had been considered one of the draft’s top prospects, and at one point a candidate to be chosen with the top overall pick. He ended up sliding all the way to 13th, where he was selected by the Miami Dolphins.
Tunsil later confirmed to ESPN’s Suzy Kolber that he was the person in the video. His agent Jimmy Sexton told ESPN that “somebody hacked into his account.”
After his selection, another possible hack occurred on Tunsil’s Instagram account. Photos allegedly showing text message exchanges between Tunsil and Ole Miss assistant athletic director John Miller about paying rent and other bills for Tunsil’s mother were posted. The account has since been deleted.
Tunsil admitted to reporters at the draft that he did take money while at Ole Miss. When asked whether he had taken that money from a coach, he responded “I’d have to say yeah.”
Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier says that the team had been aware of the video, noting that it was two years old. Still, Grier said they never expected Tunsil to fall to their pick, saying that he had been ranked as the second best player on their pre-draft list.
Tunsil sat out the first seven games of the 2015 season after the NCAA ruled he had received improper benefits.
Earlier this week, Tunsil was sued by his stepfather, who alleges that Tunsil attacked him and defamed his character last summer. Tunsil and his stepfather filed domestic violence charges against one another last year after Tunsil said he attacked his stepfather after his stepfather attacked his mother.
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