To say he didn't know anything about those instances, which now we know for sure he did with the tats, is pretty naive. Its like Calipari saying he has no idea whats going on with his players. Smoke = Fire...everytime. Nothing to do with sour grapes. I want OSU to be good, just like you want UM to be. Outside of Ohio, Tressel is viewed differently...and not just in Michigan. The rest of the country doesn't think he is a squeaky clean do-gooder.
Sorry bro, I didn't have any doubts. I felt like there was something very disingenuous about him during that press conference in December. Rather than the "get to play if they return," I wonder if the real deal was.... "You guys don't tell ANYONE I knew about this and you can play in the bowl game and I'll try to help you get drafted next year after you play another season for me because you owe me, otherwise you'd all be Thug's on the street because I could have thrown you off my team if I didn't care about winning!!!" Sorry Bro, and I'm an OHIO STATE fan too, but I also have some principles and can call a SPADE a SPADE!!! I agree, I think these kids are getting LOTS of perks that maybe aren't "ETHICAL." They're just "trying to support" these athletes by letting them borrow $40,000 vehicles and use them at their leisure??? For some reason I have a hard time believing this. Hey, didn't Maurice Clarret borrow cars too??? Remember Tressel tried to take Maurice Clarret back too, until it became an issue that was irreparable and then and only then did he CUT THE CORD.... I thought he was a little shady over that incident 8-9yrs ago... I do, and apparently so does the NCAA. These kids are given ENOUGH, free education, opportunity to "intern" on the highest stage in the country for one of the BEST PAYING jobs in the country. Free rooms to live in, free food, a stipend of spending money, and if they REALLY NEED money, they can go get loans like other students do to get by until school is over, with interest deferred and everything. There are opportunities to get $$$ if they need it that aren't as shady. You don't think that is "enough," ask someone with $70,000 of student loans and see what their opinion on it is..... And, NO, I'm not one of those people with student loans, I EARNED mine by wearing GREEN for 4 yrs. and staying on the call if needed list for 9 more years.... (THANKS United States ARMY, I appreciate what I earned and the opportunities afforded me!!! ) Scott, The point is, the football team makes the university millions which has to go to funding all of the athletic programs, maybe less basketball. Those guys in return get a free education, and free room to live in, that certainly is "ENOUGH." When boosters start opening up checkbooks then it becomes an AUCTION for talent. And that ain't what its supposed to be about. Lots of the profits from football also go into the "general scholarship fund," allowing schools to offer scholarships to deserving students who may not otherwise be afforded opportunities to get educated, or will have many thousands in student loans. Again, they get "ENOUGH!!!" Amen, Jeff, AMEN!!!! As an Ohio State fan, I'm more than a little miffed @ Tressel, and in all honesty, I believe what he did was an offense punishable by termination of his contract as his actions, or lack of actions (because if I'd been the coach, ALL OF THOSE PLAYERS INVOLVED would have been suspended indefinitely until the facts were sorted out). I'm about principles and doing the RIGHT thing, today, tomorrow, and yesterday. If I can't respect the man in the mirror, how the hell do I expect anyone else to respect him??? I'd suspect Tressel ain't overly happy with what he's seeing in his mirror lately......
Not likely that Clarret is gonna be giving him any advice.... Might help him choose a tattoo artist though....:D I'm not going to say he's one of the shadiest, but I'm also not going to say I think he's as clean as a lot of people want to believe. And there was a bad decision or more than a few by not being forthright with information he (Tressel) had. And remember Maurice Clarret said Tressel knew the stuff that was going on that got him (Clarret) in trouble. Back then, it was a PROBLEM when he was driving around in borrowed cars.....
"scared for players" = covering for players. In college my college coach found out two of our starting linebackers (one went onto play in the pro's for two years) falsified their on campus parking passes. He turned them in to the college. They both lost ALL of their semester credits, missed spring practice, and then had to take 16 credit hours in the summer (which sucks) to get back onto the team. And that was just over parking passes. He could have easily overlooked that "minor" infraction.
Doug, you bash tOSU at every opportunity. I have a hard time believing you truly are a fan. I am not just talking about this either. Stuff happens, this is all over a few kids selling their own belongings. It's not really a big deal. Can the kid across the hall from these student athletes sell their belongings? They sure can! Will they be punished and forced to pay back the money they got? Nope! This was made into a big deal only because it was a high profile school. No one would have gave a crap if it were Cincinnati, Syracuse, Washington etc etc. It just gave the media what they want, a little dirt on a big time name for the haters to pile on and bash. You obviously have no idea what Tress has done for tOSU. OSU has the most varsity sports of any college in the world.... What funds that? OSU football. Where does all of that cash come from? Tressels recruiting and leadership. You won't be happy until there is some second rate coach in charge of the football team. Careful what you wish for, if you truly are a buckeyes fan.
So....if he's a good provider, we should overlook him breaking rules? Sounds like Hugo Chavez. (relax....I'm joking.....kinda). Did he break the rules or not? That's all I really want to know. If he did, I don't care what good became of it. If he didn't, rock on. No harm - no foul.
"Stuff happens, this is all over a few kids selling their own belongings. It's not really a big deal. Can the kid across the hall from these student athletes sell their belongings? They sure can! Will they be punished and forced to pay back the money they got? Nope!" Those same kids across the hall are not receiving 20K+ per year athletic scholarships. They are also not subject to NCAA rules and regulations.
buckeye, I agree I think the rule is stupid. If you give something to the kids, and it becomes their personal belongings, I don't see the big deal with them selling. BUT, the rule is there, stupid or not. They have to follow them. Tressel purposely with holding information from the NCAA is a HUGE infraction. I would be shocked if they accept OSU's self-imposed sanctions. If the players missed 5 for selling things, Tressel should be suspended at least twice that long. With all that said, I they do accept the sanctions. I don't want OSU to struggle next year for this reason. I don't want to here excuses all next season. I've had to listen to 3 years of excuses in my own state about UM's program. It gets old.
What these players did really wasn't that big of a deal BUT you gotta draw the line some where. It's either you let them do everything/anything or you let them do nothing. It's gotta be one or the other. Doug made a great point too, these guys with these kick ass scholarships already have It made. Why should they be benefited more then a non sports scholarship student?
It all comes down to where they got the belongings. These were things the NCAA or school gave to them. The student athletes can sell anything that wasn't give to them by either of those. Its not the same. I'm not saying I agree with it, but the rule is there, and they are fully aware of that.
I agree. Do you know how much stuff these guys get at the bowl games? Many of the players from the big time schools receive between 1k-2k worth of merchandise at the bowl games. They also have their room/board/meals/education paid for..what else could you want? I was on a full ride in college and can tell you minus a few bucks to put gas in my car, their wasn't much I needed.
Maybe its just me. Everyone (media included) is making this out like he covered up a triple homicide or something. Ever think that maybe he really didn't know it was an infraction? Im a little more naive about the regulations as a head coach, but is it that far fetched to think it wasn't a NCAA violation? Maybe when he said "i'll get on it ASAP" in the e-mail, he meant I'll talk with them and handle it within. I dont' really know, just speculating. No matter what, at the end of the day...... BIG FREAKING DEAL! They got some freaking tatoos! No recruiting violation, no crime, no scandal, etc.... Nothing to improve the program. I just don't see this as being what it's made out to be.
Not for a second. If he was "scared" for his players, he knew it was an infraction. Ignorance is not an excuse. Rich Rod already tried that. Saying he didn't know who he should talk to about it is also complete BS. I don't know what is worse, a coach at this big of a program that doesn't know the rules, or one that purposes breaks them. Both are embarrassing. Why can't anyone just admit they did something wrong? Between stuff like this with coaches lately, and PEDs, it gets a little old. Its insulting that they think we are that dumb.
NY, the guy that was initiating contact with his players was under a federal investigation. I agree with you about it not being much, but you have to draw the line somewhere. And evidently OSU understands that line and dropped the hammer on Tressel. Now the NCAA is going to drop something else. It really doesn't matter what we think, it matters what the NCAA knows. And Tressel full well knew what he was doing was against disclosure rules set forth by the NCAA. Is he a bad guy? No. Did he do something horrible? No. Does he deserve to be punished? Yes.
To add, I do believe Tress should be punished for not moving forward faster. I am just taken back that it has went this far over some tattoos. Also, these guys at yahoo didnt unearth this and turn tOSU in.... tOSU and the NCAA have been working on this for the past month and a half. The NCAA knew of this violation with Tress because tOSU self reported the violation. This isn't new news to them.
