Oklahoma Man Suing Sports Illustrated, Says Article 'Printed Lies'

An Oklahoma Fellowship of Christian Athletes leader said Sports Illustrated printed lies about him paying off student-athletes and now he's fired back.

John Talley sued the magazine following its five-part series, “The Dirty Game,” on OSU Football.

“I couldn't believe that this was coming out and it wasn't true, and I told that guy it wasn't true,” Talley said.

Talley has spent more than half his life building up his reputation as a leader for student-athletes. A reputation he said was ripped away with one Sports Illustrated article.

9/7/2013 Related Story: Oklahoma State Football Subject Of Sports Illustrated Report

“It kind of made me mad, it just, it was depressing,” Talley said.

He's been the North Central area's Fellowship of Christian Athletes Director for 22 years.

“Billy Bajema said one time that the work really is the small part of it, it's getting to know the kids and how you can help them mature, is the important thing - physically, emotionally and especially spiritually,” said Talley.

Many student-athletes go to college without a penny in their pockets, so Talley hires them - for $12 an hour - to do odd jobs on his farm and around the community.

While it teaches work ethic, Talley said it's more than that.

“Anytime someone is working and sweating and then you sit down for a drink of water, you tend to open up, and that's where the ministry comes in,” he said.

A Sports Illustrated article, he said, questioned the motives of his ministry.

The lawsuit said SI knowingly misrepresented Talley as an overzealous "booster" for the OSU football team.

The article claimed the FCA director grossly overpaid football players for small jobs and, in some cases, paid them for not working at all.

His student-athletes also travel around the state, speaking to schools, churches and teams.

“It goes against our convictions and really, responsibility to those kids because they can get in trouble,” Talley said.

The article accused Talley of paying his students for speaking engagements.

Talley's attorney, Gary Richardson, said Talley's FCA athletes are only reimbursed for money spent on gas and food.

The student-athletes were punished, Talley said, they weren't allowed to work or go on any motivational speaking engagements for a year.

“It kind of made me mad, it just, it was depressing,” he said.

Talley said he spent about five minutes with an SI reporter in what was more of a finger-pointing session in his van one afternoon.

“He said, 'no, you've been paying athletes for not working, hundreds of thousands of dollars.' And I was like, 'no, I haven't, that's not me.' And it didn't last very long and he got out,” said Talley.

He said the magazine schedule a second meeting, but canceled 30 minutes before it was set to start.

“I don't have anything to hide, I have lots of stuff to show them, records and them [the athletes] signing the correct papers, and they said they had enough material, they didn't need an interview,” Talley said.

Three days later, the article was published.

Talley said donations to the North Central area FCA have dropped since the article was released last September.

“I think most people knew it wasn't true, but if you can put a doubt in someone's mind, it may affect them supporting you, so we have, we've been down a little bit,” he said.

After a year-long investigation into article's claims, the NCAA said it only found three minor violations in the OSU football program.

10/21/2014 Related Story: Oklahoma State University: Allegations Of Misconduct In The Football Program 'Unfounded'

The day the NCAA released its findings, Talley had a group of student-athletes back.

“That night football players spoke in Perkins to the football team,” he said. “I was smiling when I walked in the door.”

Talley said his decision to sue isn't about money, he said he simply doesn't want the magazine to tell another false story.

Because he can't sue to get his reputation back, Talley's attorney said money is the only way for the magazine to pay for what it took away from Talley and his organization.

“They had to have sold a lot of magazines, and it's time for them to pay for the damage they've done to this man here,” attorney Gary Richardson said.

As for Talley, he has his own plan for rebuilding the trust that he said he never should have lost.

“The best way to do that, it seems to me, is to continue to serve,” he said.

News On 6 called Sports Illustrated, but never heard back, but in the past the magazine has said it firmly stands behind its reporting.