In an article posted by the Associated Press, Cornhuskers wrestling coach Tom Osborne answered criticism of the decision to cut the men from the team, and also told the media that both athletes had violated NCAA rules twice in the last five months.
"The last few days we've had people indicating that maybe these guys were railroaded," Osborne said in an interview. "I just want to make the point that this was not one isolated incident but really was a series of issues. When you have two violations within a matter of months, it would appear that something is seriously amiss."
Osborne and school officials would not discuss details of another apparent rule violation by the men in March, but the school’s NCAA compliance board judged the violations as secondary. Donahoe and Jordan were declared ineligible, but Nebraska successfully appealed to the NCAA to have them reinstated. According to Osborne, they were scheduled to serve a one-match suspension during the 2008-09 season.
"You turn around and take an airplane ticket and perform on a porn site for money, and it was pretty automatic at that point that we couldn't go forward," Osborne added.
Jordan and Donahoe have also had run-ins with local on-campus authorities, including Jordan having to pay fines for consuming alcohol as a minor as well as trespassing and assault, and Donahoe for maintaining a disorderly house and open container.
If either man decided to wrestle at another university, he would have to apply to the NCAA for reinstatement first.
"Certainly, as a general guideline, you don't want to have any behavior that would embarrass their team, the university or the athletic department, and that covers an awful lot of ground,” Osborne said in an interview with Lincoln radio station KLIN on Monday morning.
“They are role models, whether they want to be or not. It is a privilege, and not a right, to be an athlete at the University of Nebraska,” he added. “They will be held at a higher standard than other students, because they are in a privileged position.”
