First of all, I am a fan and an alumnus of The Ohio State University. My fall Saturdays are spent watching, cheering, and screaming over Buckeye football. Luckily, I have a very understanding wife and daughter. Because of this love of the Buckeyes, the news regarding the “violations” committed by the players and coach have been disheartening, to say the least. At this point, though, I have, for the most part forgiven the players. They broke a rule and, no matter how bad we the fans think the rule itself is, they should and will pay the price by missing the first five games of the season. However, I am having a more difficult time forgiving Coach Tressel.
I remember when I first heard the Buckeyes hired a Division 1-AA coach, albeit an extremely successful coach, I wasn’t thrilled. I wanted a big name, an established big time coach. However, my feelings quickly changed. When Tress went to the OSU v Michigan basketball game and announced that we would be proud of the team in the classroom, in the community and in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I was sold! He would bring the pride back to the football team; we WOULD beat Michigan!! He did what he promised and once again made the Buckeyes football royalty. Since Coach Tressel took over, we have dominated Michigan and the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are “beasts.” Outside of a few small infractions - most notably Troy Smith accepting $500 from boosters - our Buckeyes have been a clean program, led by a great and honest coach. Well, at least those are the rosy feelings I used to have. These feelings started to crumble this past winter, when Tattoo-Gate appeared. Players, most notably “superstars” Pryor, Posey, and Herron, traded items for tattoos, resulting in their suspensions. Tressel claimed to know nothing, and we as Buckeye faithfuls believed him. Actually, we believed in him. How wrong we were.
It has since come to light, that Tressel actually knew of the incident since last April and told no one. Or, rather, he told no one that needed to know. He apparently did not tell his bosses, Gene Smith and E. Gordon Gee - offenses that would get most people fired from a job. In addition, not only did he not tell the NCAA of the infractions - which would have made the aforementioned players ineligible - he apparently lied to the NCAA about knowing of the violations, another offense that could get him fired. He made excuses about the “FBI” telling him he needed to be quiet, but that doesn’t fit. There are numerous records of contacts between Coach Tressel and Terrell Pryor’s mentor back in Pennsylvania. To me, it has become a very black and white situation: Coach Tressel lied. It seems like he lied not to protect the players, but for his own record. The Buckeyes beat Miami, Penn State, and Michigan. Our team won the Big Ten again.
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| Was it all worth it? |
We qualified for another BCS Bowl and finally beat an SEC team in winning the Sugar Bowl. How sweet it was! Would any of that had happened if the potentially ineligible players were suspended? Probably not -- but who knows. Obviously, Tressel believed the Buckeyes could not win without these players, so he did not report the infractions. Now, all of those wins, along with others may be gone. The NCAA could wipe 2010 off of the books. Interestingly enough, the Sugar Bowl win may stand since the NCAA found the players eligible for that game - and whose fault would that be? Not Pryors, not Poseys, and not Herron’s fault. They screwed up, were caught and admitted their mistakes. They were punished. It is Tressel’s fault. If Tressel did not lie, this whole Tattoo-Gate incident would be over. 2010 would have probably been a much worse season, yet 2011 would be promising.
Now, the team will go through summer practice with the specter of an August NCAA hearing, and then they will most likely play at least half of the season waiting to learn their fate. The players of the 2011 Buckeyes won’t know if they are playing for the opportunity to win a Big 10 title or a shot at a bowl game, or for anything at all. Again, we wonder whose fault is this? It is the fault of the man who caused thousands, including myself, to buy a sweater vest. It is the fault of the man who reminded us to relearn the words to our Alma Mater, Carmen Ohio. In my opinion, it is almost entirely Jim Tressel’s fault. You can probably tell I am not happy with Coach Tressel. I am unhappy enough to say it is time for him to go. I would rather he resign, and not be fired. Resigning can let him leave with dignity. While the list of current offenses is bad, he also did a great deal of good, both on the field and in the Columbus community. If he leaves now, it can possibly lessen the blow from the NCAA. That could be the last good thing he does to help this team.
