43
Simon’s dad disputes claim by SI
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
The father of Ohio State defensive lineman John Simon said Sports Illustrated’s claim that his son traded memorabilia for tattoos is “completely bogus” and believes the magazine is on a “witch hunt” when it comes to the Buckeyes football program.
John Simon Sr., whose son is a Cardinal Mooney graduate and will be a junior at Ohio State this fall, said his son has just two tattoos — one on each arm — and that both came from Squirrelly’s Skin Art Inc. in Hubbard.
In this week’s magazine, two SI reporters cited an unnamed source claiming that 15 active members of the team, including Simon, swapped autographs or memorabilia for tattoos at a Columbus tattoo parlor called Fine Line Ink.
“He’s never been in this place or anywhere near this place,” said Simon Sr., whose son is not yet allowed to discuss the article because of an ongoing NCAA investigation. “That’s 100 percent bogus.
“The only thing they got right is the spelling of John’s name.”
Simon Sr. said he can’t speak for the other players mentioned — Ohio State has admitted that six of them, including Warren Harding High School graduate Dan Herron, did trade memorabilia for autographs — but said that one of the other nine players mentioned doesn’t even have a tattoo.
“Their source is apparently an unnamed source who hung around the tattoo parlor,” Simon said. “They’re basically putting families and these boys through hell to put a story out that’s bogus.”
Simon said his son often speaks to charities and church groups and is worried the article will taint his reputation.
“He’s like, ‘Dad, these kids are going to think I’m a liar,’” Simon said. “It feels like a witch hunt.
“John’s friends sometimes kid him that he’s sometimes too straight and narrow, but he loves what he’s doing so much, he’s not going to mess around.”
Simon said his son has every piece of memorabilia he’s received from Ohio State.
“It’s just a bad thing,” he said. “He’s proud to play at Ohio State and proud to be from Youngstown.
“It just seems like these guys wrote something bad about a kid with no reference to anything and then got away with it and went on his merry way.”