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I stand with Jim Tressel - How Firm Thy Friendship

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buckeyefan_1;1885921; said:
I still wouldn't trade JT for any other coach in america. I see an "opposing view" thread has been started here on BP. Everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions (and I respect that), I just hope this doesn't cause a split in Buckeye nation. I've seen first hand on the scUM boards how ugly that can be. After all, we are all Buckeyes. :osu:
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Also a comment about a split in "Buckeye nation"...it is a concern, but me personally I cheer first and foremost for the kids who make the decision to work and sacrifice to e=waer the uniform on the field or court or whatever it is. These kids are the backbone of the public perception of our university and I am time and again amazed at home many of our kids are really, really good kids, and do so much more with their lives at that age than most people can do. I support coaches, and administrators, and whatever too, but I am a Buckeye by birth, a Buckeye by education, and I support my Buckeye brothers and sisters who make the decision to commit to the greatest athletic program on earth (in my humble opinion, of course) and bust their asses year in and year out doing it. In that there will never be a split in Buckeye nation.
 
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Bucklion;1885934; said:
I don't think it's an "opposing view" per se. Some fell that the punishment is too lenient and that what was said tonight was troubling in some ways, and I happen to be one of those folks. But every person in American history that has gone down as being a great man has had significant flaws in one way or another...JT is no different. He made a mistake, I think everyone agrees on that, there should be punishment, I think everyone agrees on that, and we still love having him as our coach...I think most everyone still agrees on that as well. I happen to think he is still a great man, as was his father, and this will not change that perception.
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Fair enough lion. "opposing view" was probably a poor choice of words.
 
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After reading the emails I'm not really sure where I stand.... I want to say I stand behind Tressel but I need further information....

I want to believe Tressel had nothing but good intentions and is perhaps taking a bullet for someone else but I don't know what to believe anymore.
 
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Wells4Heisman;1886031; said:
I want to believe Tressel had nothing but good intentions and is perhaps taking a bullet for someone else but I don't know what to believe anymore.
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i really hope that tressel isn't taking the bullet for someone, for that "someone" is likely compliance. if our compliance department goes down, the football program goes down.
 
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I posted a full opinion of the emails in the not all in thread, but on the same note.. I am behind Tress, the players, and the University. Let's show the others how strong Buckeye Nation is! Go Bucks!!
 
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I support JT but have great concerns that there is still something being covered up here. JT is undoubtedly a highly protective and probably nurturing father-like figure to his players. That can't be questioned.

If I were a parent of a great player I would probably feel very comfortable with JT...possibly more than ever. He will look out for your son and build him up to be a man.

But as an alumnus of Ohio State that is heavily invested emotionally in OSU's success and reputation, I'm deeply disappointed.

I'm about 75% in.

edit: the more I read and digest the information the less "all in" I am........50% and dropping fast. I predict we've seen JT's last game as HC at OSU. I hope I'm wrong and a surprising development comes forward. But it's looking worse and worse. JT had multiple chances to come clean but didn't.
 
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You've got schools who engaged in a six-figure bidding war over a Juco QB...

Coaches at Iowa whose workouts were so negligent that players were hospitalized...

Oregon paying off "street agents"....

The NCAA needing to hire extra staff just to process all of the paperwork involving Lane Kiffin...

Houston Nutt somehow signing 38 kids in a recruiting class...

Brian Kelly getting a kid killed at practice, then letting a rapist who caused a girl to commit suicide remain on the team...

In a world full of highly flawed coaches, I'll take the guy whose worst sin is failing to forward emails to the right people.

I'll take the guy who took practice indoors on a windy day because he was worried about the video people.

The guy who told the Morris' to take a hike when they were running around town with their hands out.

The guy who visited a former player in prison, who'd done nothing but make his life hell for two years.

The guy who doesn't lie to kids about how many spots are available.

The guy who has self-reported dozens of secondary violations.

It's probably impossible to hold a high profile position and have all of your decisions be 100% correct, wise and popular. For ten years, his track record excellent, if not perfect (example: should have tossed Louis Irizarry off the team after his first violent crime). I don't believe one failure in judgment outweighs dozens, hundreds or even thousands of good decisions.

Hell, our last great coach punched a kid, swore like a sailor and was still one of the greatest men ever to walk a sideline. If we can defend Woody's legacy, we can defend Tress.

It's time to find some perspective and see the bigger picture.
 
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I wrote this following the 2009 USC loss, and as an alumnus even after tatgate and the supossed cover up, nothing has changed. Am I dissapointed? Of course I am. But nothing from yesterday clouded my thoughts of Tressel as a man.

Merih;1542995; said:
Coach Tressel;

I wasn't born a buckeye. I wasn't even born an American. As a matter of fact I was born a refugee; no country wanted to harbor my family.

My route to Columbus was very convoluted, tiring, and desperate. It involved a stop in Dallas, where I learned the value of college football to the everyday man's life. Then I arrived in Columbus, and saw an ever deeper passion for the team. Ohio State was Ohio, and Ohio was Ohio State. I arrived here in the Cooper years, and saw the greats of Eddie George and Hoying and Glenn and Winfield, etc etc.

However, it wasn't until your speech to a huddled arena where I fell in love with this school. You spoke of the same things that had my parents traveling across the world to show me. Loyalty, education, honesty, pride in the community, love. From that moment I knew that I was hearing the words of a great man, and an inspiration in my life. And then you're trip to visit the soldiers abroad bridged the gap for me. Buckeye, American, and at home.

Who would've thought it? That I would have forged such a connection with you. You, born and raised in Ohio. And me, born in one of the most desolate places in Africa. But that's exactly what happened. My father and I watched your speech, and from then on we fell in love with the teachings and the values that give to the young men that attend your program.

From then on I knew my choice for university, I knew where my heart was set. Ohio State. To hear that there are fans that are trying to embattle you angers me. Do they not know how rare it is to have a true father figure as the head of your program? Someone who will be there for the players through whatever their lives take them?

Well I, as well as many of the others here at BuckeyePlanet, know how much you mean to this program. For me, Ohio State without Jim Tressel is just not the same. I am rooting for you, and I know that the University understands your value. Stay here forever, Jim!

Go Bucks!

Merih
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I am incredibly disappointed. I would not have believed this rumor to be true. The shame etched on Jim Tressel's face was there for all to see. Call it what you will, this is a man who betrayed the very religious values of honesty and integrity that he so publicly challenges his players to uphold.

It was not a poor decision. At the very least, Jim Tressel's behavior betrays an incredible naivete. At the worst, it reveals a man who found himself lead into temptation and unable to turn away.

But, who among us should throw the first stone? Which of us is free of sin?

I saw Brutus Bobcat's message and I agree. Tressel could have discarded this message and it probably would never have turned up. The kids did not break the law and neither did he. Ohio State could have chosen to hide this. But they did not. We know the drill from USC. Silence really can be bought cheap.

And what if Jim Tressel was driven by other demons from which he felt he must protect the kids put in his care? What if he was not motivated so much by self interest in a year when everyone expected a NC run? What if he made that very easy leap from current players to the downward spiral of Maurice Clarett?

I think it is much more likely that Jim Tressel did "fall into temptation". But, with all of the rot in college football right now, I just can't get to a point at which I think Jim Tressel should be accorded the position of poster boy for unethical behavior? I think not.

I stand with Gordon Gee. The behavior is unacceptable and similar unethical behavior cannot be repeated. A coach, who wears his religious values on his sleeve, has been shamed, fined, and suspended. Woody had his own NCAA censure, didn't he?

I think it is enough and I cannot think of someone I'd rather be coaching Ohio State.
 
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