U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

Oden forged birth certificate

By Steele Norris

In a shocking turn of events, Greg Oden has been found to have forged his birth certificate in order to be eligible for high school and college basketball on his way to professional basketball.

Oden's birth date is listed as January 22, 1988 on his birth certificate, but it's been found that his birth date is actually January 22, 1934, making him 75 years of age. It also makes him exactly 21 days older than Celtics great Bill Russell.

Sources say Oden's granddaughter, Veronica Oden, broke the story because she had recently been left out of Oden's will.

Similar birth certificate forgings have been discovered recently, but most have been attributed to baseball players from the Dominican Republic.

The first major instance came from Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada, who was found to be two years older than his birth certificate listed. Recently, Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero admitted that he is a year older than his birth certificate states.

Also being investigated is the rumor that Oden may be the grandfather of former Little League pitcher Danny Almonte, who forged his birth certificate in order to be eligible for the Bronx, New York team in the 2001 Little League World Series.

What has not been yet determined is how these findings will affect the Buckeyes' victory in the Big Ten regular season, victory in the Big Ten Tournament and the Final Four appearance that took place in 2007.

Presumably, with a clearly ineligible player on the team, Ohio State will have to forfeit those victories and will most likely face sanctions from the NCAA.

It has been found that Oden was actually a real estate agent in the Indianapolis, Indiana area for over 40 years when he decided to try to play basketball again.

Oden led Lawrence North High School back in the early 1950s, re-enrolling at Lawrence North in 2003 as a "freshman" in high school.

The Portland Trailblazers are yet to comment on the situation. It is unknown what their stance on the situation will be with Oden. The Blazers may choose to release the center because of his health risks, but that did not seem to prevent the Blazers from selecting him number one overall in the 2007 NBA Draft.

It is unclear whether or not high school and college teammate Mike Conley Jr. or agent Mike Conley Sr. had any knowledge of Oden's actual age.

Oden, his agent, the Portland Trailblazers and The Ohio State University could not immediately be reached for comment.

He may have a beard and some health problems, but our beloved Oden is exactly as old as he says he is. Happy April Fool's Day.

Originally Published: April 1, 2009

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