LAWRENCE, Kansas – What is it with male athletes in the Big 12 these days? Specifically, I’m talking about the Big 12 North. Okay, so to be fair, it’s hardly a trend. But being in the heart of Jayhawk country, it is definitely a theme that stood out immediately.

While the blogosphere is having mixed reactions to Deadspin’s rumor-based exposé on sex scandals involving ESPN management and talent, I was drawn to a different sex-related story on their home page, one about Chase Mejia.

To be honest, what caught my attention even more than “X-Rated” in the story’s headline was the mention of “Kansas State” in its description. That piqued my interest. Sure, I’m typically neutral with regard to sports teams, but I’m still a Jayhawk. I can’t help it.

After reading through Barry Petchesky’s post, I was led to a story on Herm’s Perm, posted yesterday. Already entertained by the header image and slogan, I read more about Mejia, who apparently attended the Herm’s Perm crew’s high school alma mater, Shawnee Mission Northwest.

A picture of wide receiver Chase Mejia featured on a porn site may have sealed his fate with the Kansas State football team.

According to HP, Mejia committed to play at Northern Illinois before “de-committing” (I guess that’s a word) and heading to Missouri State. Here’s where it gets fun. After a brief stint at Missouri State, he decided to relocate to Manhattan, Kan., transferring to play football at Kansas State University. The HP guys noticed something was amiss:

Per NCAA rules, Mejia would have to sit out an entire year before he could be eligible to play. This would not exclude him from the team’s roster, yet he is inexplicably absent.

So, what happened? It turns out that a guy believed to be Mejia was spotted on daredorm.com, a site I had never heard of until today. The site claims to be “the first site where u can make $10,000 dollars for submitting your college dorm room antics.” (I’d love to know who wrote that copy, and where he or she went to college.) In fact, the picture making the rounds is prominently featured on the website’s home page, and there’s even a free video accompanying it.

HP and Deadpsin both report Mejia’s Facebook status reading:

f**k all the haters, you’re only young once, live with no regrets, i got paid 1500 and a free trip to miami so f**k you guys HAHAHAHAHA.

It should be noted that in 2008 members of The University of Kansas football team were also treated to a trip to Miami and highly valued perks. That’s what happens when you play in the Orange Bowl! A Sony Bravia surround sound system, an Orange Bowl ring and the ability to add “2008 Orange Bowl Champion” to your résumé seems like a pretty good deal to me. And I doubt those guys had a hard time getting laid after that win.

Either way, the Mejia story is what it is. A kid who was never a top-tier football prospect sowing his wild oats and picking up some cash rather than making the most of an opportunity to play Div. I football. But it got me thinking about the story last fall when two wrestlers at the University of Nebraska were dismissed from the team after posing nude for Fratmen.tv, a gay porn site.

As ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported last June, Paul Donahoe, a 2007 National Champion, and Kenny Jordan violated NCAA rules by appearing in photos for commercial use without permission. A trip to Los Angeles plus “earnings” from the shoot were valued at $3,500.

Former Nebraska wrestlers Kenny Jordan (left) and Paul Donahoe appeared on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" after being kicked off the team when nude pictures of them surfaced on a gay porn site.

Donahoe and Jordan, who both had prior rule and law violations on their records, still had far more promising NCAA careers – and were apparently better compensated – than Mejia. However, while Donahoe ultimately salvaged his college wrestling career, reclaiming a #1 national ranking before losing in the 125-pound final of the 2009 NCAA Championships, Jordan got the shorter end of the stick.

Nebraska coach Mark Manning, who granted Donahoe a release from his scholarship, refused to do the same for Jordan. The issue was magnified further when, as seen in the ESPN story, Donahoe rescinded accusations he had made in a previous interview that coaches, including Manning, and team members often engaged in high-stakes poker games. ESPN’s David Amber reported that Donahoe may have used the threat of blowing the whistle on Manning as a bargaining chip to get his release.

Both cases show what I still believe is a surprising level of stupidity on the part of these athletes. Granted, I was surprised when KU’s football-basketball in-fighting took such a public turn.

The trouble with these instances of currently-enrolled athletes appearing in porn is that they’re still too dissimilar – and, frankly, too infrequent – to draw any major conclusions. I suppose one plus is that Mejia’s dismissal may have cast some doubt on any theory that coaches would react differently to a player appearing on a gay site rather than a straight site. Then again, Mejia wasn’t a significant member of the team. So, who knows?

There is but one overarching take-home message in this whole mess: if you’re a college athlete and you like being a college athlete, don’t do porn – at least until after college.

From D1 To X-Rated? (Deadspin)

Real Life Hung Story Ready for the HBO Rewrite (Herm’s Perm)

Wrestler Paul Donahoe’s nude photos cost him a college career at Nebraska (ESPN)

Filed under: College, Opinion/Editorial