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5 players suspended for 5 games in 2011 regular season (Appeal has been denied)

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As a Mod I would just add my opinion here that I personally don't think the standard for "bashing" kids who play for the team and grown men and women making a lot of money in positions of authority are the same. Saying "Gene Smith is an asshat" to me is still bashing, but saying "I was embarrassed by his used car salesman performance at the press conference" or some such thing is not. Saying he is an ass is bad...saying he was talking out of his ass to me isn't. Being critical of the policies and/or representation of Presidents, ADs, etc. is different that hammering on kids who are getting smacked around trying to do their best. So there is a good deal more leeway for people like Holbrook, Geiger, Smith, and Gee than there are for Pryor, Saine, Posey, etc.
 
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The more I think about this, the more I place the blame on the 5 players.

First off, I do believe that players should have the right to sell their hard-won property if they need to. It makes no sense that they can be given property that they must not sell until they leave school. Either they need to have the property withheld (to ensure it doesn't get sold), or allow them full custody of the property.

Secondly, I think the NCAA is hypocritical in how they are handling this. The issue, much like the Cam Newton scandal, reeks of NCAA caring most about the advertising dollar, and not the integrity of the program.

Despite those two points, it aggravates me as a Buckeye fan that the 5 would do such a thing. Say what you will, and for whatever reasons they did it, I do not believe they did it truly out of a financial need for their family.

Why? Because 5 of them did it in concert with each other, and also included non-transferable merchandise. If the true motivation behind this scandal was to help their family out, they wouldn't have received tattoos. Better yet, they would of never paid for tattoos either, because they would of sent the money home to their families. You can't tell me that your heart was truly in the right place, and act like that.

My next concern comes down to if the 5 leave for the NFL draft after the bowl game. If they do, then (to me) it proves that they truly are not sorry for their mis-deeds. By their actions, it has ruined the credibility of the Ohio State football team, and their Sugar Bowl appearance. Say what you will, the worst-off people in this scandal are the fans and especially those that have paid for the tickets.

There really isn't an easy way out of this for OSU. If they make the players sit out the bowl, then it likely means a bad loss against Arkansas, ruining the festivities for tens of thousands of Buckeyes in New Orleans. If they do not, they look bad for not taking the high road. There is no optimal everyone-wins answer for this debacle, and that is what makes me mad at the 5 players' actions. They have really screwed over Tressel, Gene, and the fans of Ohio State. They have shamed the university by their actions, and if they leave for the NFL (I wonder who the 5 players are that declared, and Tress didn't give their names - Could it be these exact 5!?), will show that they bear no regard to rectify the situation by sitting out the games as needed.

What these 5 have done goes beyond a simple desire to help their family. Because of one concerted decision by these players may have an effect for years to come. I must ask: Is $2,500 or whatever was paid for the articles really worth destroying the anticipation of a bowl game for millions of people watching? Is it really worth it to do this and see all the damage its done to Tressel or Gene Smith? No. That is why I think more and more that the fault lies fully with the players. Even if the rules are stupid, they were still there and still knew them.

/Rant over


FWIW, I hope this scandal breaks the camel's back and the NCAA reforms its policies for selling personal belongings.
 
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I just went back and looked at the timeline of events published by the O-Zone and it seems to me that we handled this efficiently and effectively, especially considering that it started with an out of the blue call from a US Atty's office. I don't see how else, again, we should've handled it. They were freshmen in 2007 and it's unnecessary to try to dispositively determine whether they understood not to sell stuff. Of course they did, probably, but the fact that they did it anyway means that we didn't do a good enough job of making it clear that they shouldn't and/or the consequences if they did it.

The administration, coaches, and seniors are going to decide whether they play in the Sugar or not. The NCAA makes that an option. I don't see the problem with exercising that option, if we decide to do it.

In Tressel I trust.
 
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Bucklion;1841839; said:
As a Mod I would just add my opinion here that I personally don't think the standard for "bashing" kids who play for the team and grown men and women making a lot of money in positions of authority are the same. Saying "Gene Smith is an asshat" to me is still bashing, but saying "I was embarrassed by his used car salesman performance at the press conference" or some such thing is not. Saying he is an ass is bad...saying he was talking out of his ass to me isn't. Being critical of the policies and/or representation of Presidents, ADs, etc. is different that hammering on kids who are getting smacked around trying to do their best. So there is a good deal more leeway for people like Holbrook, Geiger, Smith, and Gee than there are for Pryor, Saine, Posey, etc.
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Perfectly stated.
 
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Quote is from the game thread, thought this post belonged here and not in the Sugar Bowl thread:

greyscarlet;1841713; said:
Based on Twitter the players seemed to have bonded over this, the are "ready to go to war" together and are ready to leave the haters behind.

Could there be splits among the concensus? sure. But I'm confident that once the seniors voted the rest of the team will fall in place. It's an us vs the world type of feeling.
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Of course they have, they're a team and that's what teams do. They are all fighting together, they are all brothers.

It's still total bullshit. From every aspect..

Its bullshit the suspension is 5 games while Cam gets a Heisman. Its bullshit that our players broke this rule to begin with, I do not buy the "they didn't know" line. It's bullshit they got caught - what are the odds? Its bullshit the NCAA suspended them, but first, we'll let you play in this bowl game. Its bullshit that they even had the vote from the seniors, of course they will vote for their buddies/teammates to play - seems to be more posturing. It was a bullshit press conference full of empty excuses instead on owning up to it.

It's a very stupid and shitty situation the Buckeyes find themselves in.. and yes, I'm pretty embarrassed by all of it.

As a fan, it's embarrassing that our "leaders" are shopping their gold pants to get ink. It's embarrassing that our AD stands up there feeding bullshit lines about how the economy was so bad in 08 and how everyone across the country felt it (how the fuck much does he and his wife make at tOSU?). It's embarrassing that the University/these 5 players haven't come out and said: 'You know what? We fucked up.' Nearly every goddamn Twitter post from TP is embarrassing (by the way, after reading through some of our players Twitter accounts - I now understand why we aren't allowed to post it here.).

"Oh, but they're kids"

:2004:

Christ. Time for these 22 year old "kids" to grow the fuck up. I know that an 18 year old fucks up, and I'm not asking for angels.. but have some self-respect. Maybe it was the way I was raised.. I don't know, but Jesus Christ.
 
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Press release from osu:

Ohio State football student-athletes will make brief comments directed to Buckeye Nation in the WHAC media suites today about 3:30 p.m. - they will take no follow-up questions due to their involvement in a pending NCAA appeal process

Media wishing to attend should enter through the front lobby of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center

Video of these comments will be available later this afternoon at www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com and www.CoachTressel.com
 
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buckeyeinfla;1841851; said:
I honestly don't understand why anyone is upset with the way Gene Smith handled this.
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buckeyeinfla:
I think some people are upset at the notion (put forth by Smith in the press conference) that the compliance department did a poor job of educating the players on the dos and dont's of selling memorabilia.

It is hard for many to believe (myself included) that they didn't know what they were doing was wrong in the eyes of the NCAA. Smith also went on to allude to the hard economic times and that the merchandise was sold so the players could give the money to their families. Terrelle Pryor being sleeved in tattoos makes this part of the story also tough to swallow for many. It just seems like a lot of excuse making from a university/program that should be above making excuses.

Add in the joke about adding a tattoo parlor or artist to the WHAC and I think people just got fired up.
 
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Bucklion;1841839; said:
As a Mod I would just add my opinion here that I personally don't think the standard for "bashing" kids who play for the team and grown men and women making a lot of money in positions of authority are the same. Saying "Gene Smith is an asshat" to me is still bashing, but saying "I was embarrassed by his used car salesman performance at the press conference" or some such thing is not. Saying he is an ass is bad...saying he was talking out of his ass to me isn't. Being critical of the policies and/or representation of Presidents, ADs, etc. is different that hammering on kids who are getting smacked around trying to do their best. So there is a good deal more leeway for people like Holbrook, Geiger, Smith, and Gee than there are for Pryor, Saine, Posey, etc.
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Well-stated. It's OK to offer a critical opinion on BP regarding the behavior or decisions made by a tOSU AD or President. However, it does need to be done respectfully, without name-calling or hostility, so those being critical of such folks need to choose their words carefully.
 
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BuckeyeNation27;1841847; said:
Probably not. I don't get the question and how it relates, though.
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TV ratings are almost certainly used in the calculations for future rates for commercials. So a hit on the TV ratings this year would likely cost the Sugar Bowl (and possibly other BCS Bowls) money in the future.
 
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Has there been any indication on what the press conference will cover? Is this just a formal apology from the players to the fans and school, or are they deciding to sit out for the Sugar Bowl? I'm assuming it will just be an apology but i could also see the 5 players sitting themselves for the Bowl game, maybe in hopes of getting the 5 game suspension reduced.
 
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