TRESSEL & OHIO STATE: TATTOOS, CARS & A BLIND EYE
Just as the dust was beginning to settle after the Jim Tressel resignation, another sh*t storm swept into Columbus Ohio & on a day many Buckeyes couldn't see getting worse, it did about ten-fold. Sports Illustrated broke an article they had been working on for several months, written by George Dohrmann & David Epstein & it paints an awful picture of not just the past 14 months of "Tattoo-Gate" but Jim Tressel's entire head coaching tenure at OSU. Like I said, it's not a pretty picture & as the story unfolds, it's apparent the University is going to throw Tressel under the bus. Remember, the cover-up is always worse than the crime, that's why Tressel was asked to resign. With severe sanctions on the horizon from an upcoming NCAA hearing in August, the administration will attempt to make it all about Tressel, minimizing the University's culpability. The guy Ohio State called "Senatorial" will now be portrayed as dishonest or possibly ignorant. After all, it's much easier to hire a new coach than resurrect a program dealt the "Death Penalty" by the NCAA. They have a brand to protect. A 3-year or more post-season ban & the potential loss of 30-40 scholarships will do that, effectively kill their football program. Athletic Director Gene Smith & Compliance Director Doug Archie are hanging on by their fingernails. Archie is also the assistant A.D. how does that work? Talk about a conflict of interests. Since Tressel resigned, Ohio State isn't obligated to pay him a dime of his remaining contract which was scheduled to pay him $3.4 million in 2011.
After their investigation, Dohrmann & Epstein found 2010's "Tattoo-Gate" & the recent car deals just the tip of the iceberg. The tattoo parlor in last year's controversy, Fine Line Ink, had more player transactions than the 6 the University & players admitted to, like a dozen or so more according to two tattoo artists & the now convicted(200-lbs of pot) owner of the business. The former owner of the out-of-business Dudley'Z Tattoos & Body Piercing added another 10 players to the party, all committing the same infractions, selling memorabilia for cash & trading autographs for tattoos.
The issue with two Columbus area car dealers & one particular salesman, Aaron Kniffin, is a major focus of the NCAA's investigation. He sold 29 used cars to OSU players & family members for much less than Blue Book prices & gave most of his customers a 21-day free trial, not an option for non-football players. Tressel has a bad history with cars-for-players. While at Youngstown State, his 4-star quarterback Ray Issac was identified as having a no-work job for PharMor drigs stores, paying him over $10K every off-season. He also drove a PharMor company car. Tressel started his tenure with Ohio State by winning a national championship. That team was led by freshman tailback Maurice Clarrett. He was soon in trouble & ruled ineligible for what else, accepting cash from a booster & a car. Then there was Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, also bagged for taking $500 from a booster & a "loaner" car. Smith was suspended for two games the year before he won the Heisman. So what has happened lately in Columbus, is more of a pattern than an isolated incident. That's why the compliance department should be accountable in this case. They're responsible for things like player's cars, anytime they change cars or even buy their first automobile, the player is required by NCAA regulations to register that purchase with the compliance department. We're talking about a lot of cars, how did the university not know about at least some of these cars?
The Columbus Dispatch has revealed the NCAA is investigating quarterback Terrelle Pryor. He will serve a 5-game suspension to begin the season, that is if he doesn't attempt to jump to the NFL. Here's a news flash for Pryor, there's a helluva lot of bad sentiment about the NFL & their players, adding Pryor to the fold doesn't enhance that image. It would simply show they don't care about character or integrity, qualities both sides are desperately clinging to. Pryor could join his former coach under the bus, thrown there by the school's administration. A point to make here, Tressel's players should have to take responsibility for some of this, but don't hold your breath, kids like Terrelle Pryor are not about the team, they're about "what can I grab for myself?"
Is there any way the Ohio State administration didn't know about all these infractions? Very doubtful, but they'll spin it that way. How much worse could things get at this point, they're already facing the severest of sanctions. Throwing Tressel & Pryor to the wolves, even if they exaggerate their involvement while minimizing the University's liability, that will be their strategy. Integrity be damned, we're talking money, huge money, brand protection & recruiting. Former Buckeye & current ESPN analyst Chris Speilman said Monday night "more will come out very soon, it's going to be bad."
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