Tulane QB TJ Finley, Who's With His Fifth Team, Got Arrested and Suspended for Allegedly Driving a Stolen Truck and Now Says He Was Scammed

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I'm sorry for the confusion that might have been caused by using a thumbnail of a Western Kentucky quarterback and this photo above, of a QB from Texas State. But I can assure you they're of the same guy, TJ Finley. In fairness, he's a fast-moving target who's hard to nail down. He also spent time at LSU and Auburn before landing at these schools. And is now at Tulane. So the progression has been from major, dominant, BCS contender programs to, well, smaller, less ambitious schools. Draw your own conclusions as to why that might be. 

Anyway, things for Finley have already gone pear-shaped at Tulane, as he's been arrested:

… and subsequently suspended:

Now comes the part where I warm the cold, black hearts of Barstool's legal team:

… with the clever insertion of expressions like "allegedly," "reportedly," "accused of, and "presumption of innocence." 

With my bony ass sufficiently covered, it's possible that Finley actually does have a legal defense as to why he was driving a truck that "police say" (another disclaimer that is the friend of bloggers everywhere) was reported (another) as stolen. At least that's what his own lawyers are arguing:

Source - Attorneys representing TJ Finley released a statement regarding the Tulane QB’s arrest on charges connected to a stolen car. David Courcelle and Scott Stansbury said Finley was “a victim of a Facebook Marketplace scam” in a statement to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

Finley was booked Wednesday for illegally possessing a stolen item worth more than $25,000, according to WVUE-TV in New Orleans. He told authorities he bought the vehicle in Atlanta, and he has since been released from jail. …

“TJ Finley was a victim of a Facebook Marketplace scam,” the statement read. “He purchased a used pickup truck from an individual who presented himself as John Spillway, representing Mountain Adventures, LLC. Spillway presented TJ with both a bill of sale and registration, giving TJ every reason to believe the purchase was legitimate. Within three days of the purchase, Tulane police informed TJ that the truck had been reported stolen.

“TJ looks forward to continuing to cooperate fully with the authorities in hopes of recovering the funds he lost, bringing the criminal(s) to justice, and clearing his name and reputation. TJ is hopeful that this process will be completed quickly so that he can move forward with his academics and athletic career.”

Well, alrighty then. I can't speak with any authority as to how Finley started out at Baton Rouge, went to Auburn, and now three seasons and three schools later ended up with the program that lost the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. And to be fair, Tulane did finish first in the AAC. What I can speak to is probably a crazy mix up that could've happened to anybody in this crazy, mixed up world. One where practically everyone is working some kind of an angle to rip you off. Allegedly. 

Sure, you can argue that a guy who's been entrusted to lead the huddle of five different teams should know better. But think about how you were when you were 23. I can promise you that these former Young Balls would've been wide open to a scam like this in my Bridgewater State University days. It's only the fact we didn't have Facebook Marketplace and I probably wrote a check for every car I bought spared me from an indignity like this. 

And maybe Finley is just one of those people stuff happens to. It could be the Pareto Principle, where 80% of the bad things occur to 20% of the population. Perhaps he's just too trusting. Maybe he believes in the innate goodness of people selling things on Facebook. I honestly can't say. 

All any of us can do is hope he is, in fact, innocent. That this perp his lawyers have accused is found. That this all gets sorted out. Justice is done. And this all serves as a teachable moment to not drive away in a (reportedly) stolen vehicle you bought off some stranger in Atlanta. Lesson, learned. Caveat emptor.