It was January 27, 2001 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Ohio State vs. Michigan State basketball. Halftime. Every fan remaining inside the arena. No beverage break. No quick trip to the restroom. The capacity crowd standing and not one basketball player on the court.I was sitting in the third row of the Nuthouse student section behind the basketball hoop. A man of diminutive stature with salt and pepper hair, a black suit, and a red tie was approaching center court holding a wireless microphone gripped tightly with both hands. Before that day, I had never heard of him. The new head football coach of The Ohio State University then addressed more than 19,000 unsure people in a calm, deliberate and comforting manner:
"I can assure you that you'll be proud of our young people ... in the classroom... in the community... and most especially, in 310 days from now, in Ann Arbor, Michigan... on the football field."
All I can tell you about the reaction from the crowd is that the unranked Buckeyes beat the 3rd-ranked Spartans that day and this speech by Jim Tressel drew the loudest cheer of the evening.
In the over 10 years since, Coach Tressel has won 106 games; 7 Big Ten Championships; 5 BCS bowl games; and one national championship. And, "most especially," he has a 9-1 record against that team up north. That's the resume of a man that normally would have a statue built outside the stadium in his honor.
The other side to that coin is this: at his prior school, Youngtown State, one of his star players was caught in a booster scandal; after his second season at OSU, after he won his national title, his star freshman running back, Maurice Clarett, was also found to have received improper benefits sending him down a spiral that would eventually land him in a prison cell far away from ever seeing the football field at Ohio Stadium agin. Three years later, his newly-minted quarterback and future Heisman winner, Troy Smith, was suspended for receiving a $500 payment from a booster. A man whose programs have that kind of history usually lands on the unemployment line.
Tressel was able to survive December 2005 until December 2010 without another scandal - which is kind of like paying child support and taking your children to little league. You're supposed to take care of your kids. You're supposed to follow the rules. Your players shouldn't be mixed up with boosters.
In that time period, he was able to develop and cultivate a clean-cut image of a religiously devout man committed to the community, his family and his players. His ability to command a press conference with his slow, staccato speech and crinkled eyebrow expressions presented the thoughtful intelligence of a leader firmly in control of the world around him. The media and fans of rival schools remained vocally skeptical, referring to him as Teflon Tressel or the Senator. We thought them jealous of his success. He was, as Yahoo Sports writer Dan Wetzel put it, either a "saint or a snake." But in Buckeye Land, In Tressel We Trust(ed).
Enter Fine Line Ink tattoos and a drug dealer named Edward Rife - a name that will haunt Ohio State for a long time and Jim Tressel forever. If you're reading this, you know the story. You know that 6 OSU players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, broke NCAA rules by selling merchandise and memorabilia for cash and tattoos. You know that Ohio State "said" they found out in December 2010 when the U.S. Attorney's Office contacted the university to inform them that these items were found in a raid of the tattoo parlor. You know that the players apologized, played in the Sugar Bowl, promised to return to school, followed through on that promise and will have to sit the first five games of next year for their transgressions. That isn't the issue here.
This issue is this:
On March 7, 2011, I arrived home from work and checked my Twitter account. There it was. "Y! Sports: Tressel knew of Pryor memorabilia sale in April 2010, possible major NCAA violation." My heart sank. For the next three hours, I became obsessed with finding out as much information as I could about the allegation. I rationalized that the Yahoo investigative report was irresponsible journalism. Why not? The reporters only cited one anonymous source claiming that a concerned party warned Tressel 8 months earlier. That's hardly rock-solid evidence of any wrongdoing. And yet I was still uneasy. OSU insiders and local beat writers were caught off guard and were stunningly silent. The university itself had yet to respond. This wasn't ESPN. These weren't some hack journalists looking to make a name for themselves. The reporters, Dan Wetzel and Charles Robinson, were well-established and credible. They wouldn't make this up and they wouldn't report it if they weren't absolutely sure. After all, why would you spend your entire career building up that kind of credibility only to throw it away like that? (disclaimer: I still do not know why Yahoo would withhold information about the below-reference emails, which I believe they had or they would not have ran with the report - but that's neither here nor there)
I began to assume the story to be true. But there were important questions that would determine the appropriate reaction or punishment. 1) What did he know?; and 2) When did he know it?; and 3) Did he lie to NCAA investigators in December 2010 when OSU claimed not to have known?
The answers to those questions seem abundantly clear now if you've read the self report submitted by Ohio State and the emails Tressel received in April 2010. He knew everything. He knew it before the 2010 season started. And he knew when the U.S. Attorney's office came knocking in December. Those were the answers that I feared the most, because it meant he violated NCAA rules by failing to report a knowing violation by his players; violated NCAA rules by falsely stating in his pre-season compliance statement he had no knowledge of any NCAA violations; allowed illegible players to take the field; and, at the very least, failed to correct a clear mistatement in the December self-report when OSU claimed ignorance of the violations.
The appropriate punishment seems obvious, at least to me: Fire the Coach.
The day after the Yahoo report, Ohio State held its press conference with the university president, athletic director and head coach all on hand. These are the three most recognizable public employees in the State of Ohio - which is kind of a depressing fact. And out came the excuses.
First, Tressel claimed that the source requested confidentiality. I've read the emails. In the first email, the attorney doesn't say anything of the sort. He doesn't even imply that any of the information disclosed is privileged. The confidentiality request didn't come until two weeks later, by which time Tressel could and should have reported the information to somebody.
Second, Tressel claimed that he was concerned about interfering in a federal investigation. Fair enough. I could accept that rationale, except when you look at his responses, they don't reflect that type of concern:
"Thanks.... I will get on it ASAP."
"I hear you!! It is unbelievable!! Thanks for your help... keep me posted on what I need
to do, if anything. I will keep pounding these kids, hoping they grow up."
If he were so concerned, he would have asked the source attorney or a university attorney what, if any, action he could take. Tressel is not a lawyer. He does not know what is or is not interfering in a federal investigation. Any reasonably intelligent person (of which he ostensibly is) would ask an attorney. And who better to ask than the one sending you the emails????
Third, he was concerned for the safety and well-being of his players. Again, this so-called fear is not reflected in his response. In the last email, he references using the new championship rings as "collateral" against the players - whatever that means. At any rate, Tressel forfeited the right to control the perception of his motives.
There is simply no viable excuse for failing to disclose what he knew when Ohio State found out in December what was going on at that tattoo parlor. At this point, there are no confidentiality concerns. The possibility of interfering in an investigation is eliminated. And the players? Just fine, except for that pesky suspension and Tressel's ultimatum given to them to either promise to return to the university or give up their right to play in the Sugar Bowl.
In fact, Tressel didn't come clean until the university itself found the emails and confronted him. He intended to keep that secret... in perpetuity. In light of that, his excuses for failing to report back in April ring hollow and dishonest.
Then there is the matter of the university itself, who self-imposed a two-game suspension and $250,000.00 fine against embattled, but very successful coach. Ohio State cowered away from the appropriate action. President E. Gordon Gee (he of the "little sisters of the poor" fame) said in response to whether Tressel's termination was even considered, "Are you kidding?" That's the kind of job security a 9-1 record against Michigan will get you.
So why wasn't Tressel fired? Sure, you have the championships, the rivalry wins, the strong community identification. But surely its possible to eliminate all of that good will with a sufficiently serious error. Woody Hayes knows that. Yet Tressel, who misled the university for more than 8 months about ineligible players and NCAA violations, keeps his job.
My theory is that the Coach's time is nearing an end. His contract expires in 2014. There have been rumors, both bogus and credible, that he has been seriously considering retirement before the expiration of that contract. Like him or not (now), he has done a lot for the university and the administration probably felt he deserved a better exit. If he were younger, had more to prove and an indefinite future in Columbus, I believe he would have been canned. As it is, I believe he will either retire at the end of next season or the season after that. For better or worse, Ohio State probably believes he should be given the opportunity to go out on his own terms. If that's the reason, I would understand that. I disagree, but it would at least make a modicum of sense in an otherwise tumultuous and trying week.
With a few 24 hours to reflect on all of this information, I feel some perspective is also necessary. While I differ with the university's chosen punishment, Ohio State did do the right thing once it uncovered the violation. As laid out in the self report, they contacted the NCAA on February 8 to inform the enforcement division of Tressel's transgressions. Like the sport of golf, in collegiate athletics, the member institutions are required to tell on themselves. I've always admired that rule and respected those who fearlessly comply. I also say that with the caveat that no one other than Tressel was aware of those emails before January. (Gene Smith's interruption of Tressel's response to the question of whether he forwarded the email causes me a certain level of discomfort on this issue)
There's also a sense of defiance against all of the delighted masses rejoicing in the Tressel's folly. As a (generally) proud OSU alumnus, I am a part of this university. My wife, my father, my brother and many of my closest friends are part of the university. We did nothing wrong. Most of the players on that team did nothing wrong. As far as I know, the adminstration and the compliance department did nothing wrong here. We don't deserve this. Even the players that did sell "their" merchandise committed what I would consider to be a de minimus violation - akin, in my opinion, to smoking pot or drinking underage. (yeah, its against the rules and they deserve to be punished, but I can easily forgive someone breaking a stupid rule).
The only one at fault is Tressel. He's a 58-year-old CEO of a multi-million dollar program. He's not some immature college kid whose daily goals are getting enough money for beer and pizza. He knew better. But even then, I understand the difference between the moral culpability of breaking an NCAA rule as compared to, say, stealing money or physically assaulting another human being. Let's have some perspective here. Save the harsh words (of which I've heard many) for some of the real scum of the earth that deserve it. As a good friend of mine keeps telling me: Its just sports.
This whole situation epitomizes the duality of man. Tressel is still the same person that donates $125k to Youngstown State for a student rec facility; $100k to the Thompson Library renovation; over $60,000.00 to the James Cancer Hosptial; and founded a charity for multiple sclerosis; in addition to numerous other causes. He's still the same person that has reached out to Maurice Clarett while he was in prison when he had every reason to turn his back with resentment and helped him get a second chance in the UFL. He is, in my opinion, a good man.
But he's also a flawed man with questionable ethics. His actions make it difficult to believe that he didn't have prior knowledge of the past violations of Ray Isaac, Maurice Clarett or Troy Smith. His lack of candor raises questions of possible incidents or violations we never heard about because they may have been ignored or covered up. His contrived explanations make it seem as though he lacks remorse or the desire to avoid the same mistakes in the future.
I do realize its always easy to judge from the outside. People love to tear down people they don't know for errors in judgment that they themselves may have made under the same set of circumstances. Those same people will vigorously defend and support the people they know and care about the most for similar or even more serious character lapses. There's nothing wrong with that. If you have that kind of love for someone, such as family, you want to help them and its easy to forgive them for their mistakes. But the further away you are from that connection, the harder it is to overlook and the easier it is to be objective.
And that's part of the dichotomy with Jim Tressel and Ohio State. I guarantee you his family is supporting him right now. His players, both current and former, that have shed blood and sweat for him are supporting him right now. Those are the people that know him and while that may give them more insider perspective, it also clouds their opinions.
The Ohio State University is a family, but its fans, by and large, do not do not know Coach Tressel. You will probably find among those people some staunch supporters who may rationalize his conduct or pass it off as a minor speed bump on a road paved with good intentions. I wish I could for ignorance is truly bliss, but I cannot. We have to demand better from a leader of young men.
Today, when I look back on that Tressel speech, I view it differently. I see a man nervously squeezing that microphone with both hands, taking his time with his words to calm himself down - hoping that the thousands of people in the crowd won't be able to discern just how anxious he really is. He did a great job convincing us that day he was someone he was not. I suppose that's what we wanted. Otherwise, if he were to portend the future, the speech would have gone a little something like this:
"I can assure you that you'll be embarrassed... by our young people... in the newspapers... on the internet... and, most especially, more than 10 years from now... by your coach."
