Michigan bans Dennis Talbott
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Dennis Talbott, the businessman and freelance photographer who has been linked with former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor in a scandal involving autographed memorabilia, has been banned by the Michigan athletic department.
School officials learned Talbott, of Columbus, Ohio, had been on the sideline shooting photos during the Sept. 3 game against Western Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The media credentials of both Talbott and Ohio Sports Weekly, the Ohio outlet for which he was taking photos, were revoked Tuesday.
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"I actually spoke to him and told him he would no longer be credentialed," Dave Ablauf, Michigan senior associate athletic director for media and public relations, told ESPN.com. "He came in under a different name than what we were familiar with. Had the name I knew popped up, I wouldn't have credentialed him."
The website SportsByBrooks first reported Michigan's credentialing of Talbott.
Talbott, 40, has shot photos of the major sports teams in Ohio, including Ohio State and the Cincinnati Bengals, as a freelance photographer. He has sold images to ESPN.com in the past.
ESPN's "Outside The Lines" reported Talbott's credentials from Ohio State since have been revoked.
"Outside The Lines" reported in June that Pryor was paid thousands of dollars by Talbott in exchange for signed gear. Talbott has denied paying Pryor for the autographed memorabilia.
Ablauf said the publication told him they were going to the game to shoot photographs of Ohio-born players for the Wolverines.
Michigan does not credential photographers for the season, instead going on a game-by-game basis, a policy instituted two years ago. The school also does not credential photography services beyond Getty Images and US Presswire, which have licensing relationships with the school, according to Ablauf.
Talbott, while shooting for Ohio Sports Weekly, also shot photographs for Icon Sports Media, which Ablauf said he has not credentialed in the past due because of the licensing agreements.
"I spoke with him this morning," Ablauf said. "I did not have a chance to speak with him prior to this morning but we had already, once this was brought to my attention, I was ready to revoke.
"I felt we were deceived."
Ablauf would not disclose the name Talbott used to receive credentials, saying, "That's their business."
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan sports for WolverineNation. He can be reached at michaelrothsteinespn@gmail.com or on Twitter @mikerothstein.
- Reporter for WolverineNation
- Covers Michigan Wolverines sports
- Joined ESPN in 2011
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