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Team Meeting and Presser (Merged)

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sandgk

sandgk

Watson, Crick & A Twist
I posted earlier to the Indiscretions of May thread concerning the rumored early morning meeting in which Coach Tressel laid down the law for the players, reportedly making example of certain players.

Word has it that certain senior players will also appear before the media tomorrow to address the recent news reports and, more specifically, perhaps talk to what is being done to curtail the blood letting.

If this is true, it seems like these are steps in the right direction. Rather than being buried at the tail end of an enormous thread I hold that these events, which represent a turning of the corner, deserve a thread of their own.

My hope is that these recent reports indicate that there is significant improvement in the senior oversight of the team. Furthermore, as we learn more in the presser tomorrow, it may indicate an appropriate re-focussing of team discipline from the top down.

We have all watched from the sidelines as the events prompting todays players meeting and tomorrows press conference unfolded. We may have differed as to the severity of an specific individuals missteps or crimes. None of us though disagree that something positive and effective had to be done.

Let us all hold our breath till tomorrow afternoon. I believe this shall be the light at the end of the tunnel. The one we mistakenly felt we had seen after the Smith Holbrook presentation of "Next to Nothing According to The NCAA."
 
Just a follow-up


Here is the first report (scanty info) on the roundtable / media presentation.

From 10TV Columbus

It is no secret that Ohio State football players have had trouble with law, and on Wednesday Coach Jim Tressel and his team talked about it.

After three player arrests in two weeks, the program is coming under fire again. Is enough being done to deal with disciplinary problems in the Ohio State football program?

Wednesday, the public learned more on how Coach Jim Tressel is dealing with the issue when Tressel held a roundtable discussion that included some of his players.

That discussion addressed the recent incidents where players have had run-ins with the law. The latest includes lineman Tim Schafer who was charged with disorderly conduct after a fight over the weekend in the Arena District of Columbus.

It's one of three incidents that have occurred within a two-week period. The others include a drug charge against running back Erik Haw. Police say he was busted for marijuana possession. A more serious charge goes to kicker Jonathan Skeete. He was charged with drug trafficking.

It's an issue that is making headlines considering Tressel has had to deal with over a dozen incidents where his players have had trouble with the law.
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New athletic director Gene Smith told The Cincinnati Enquirer that, potentially, jobs could be on the line if the current climate continues. Tressel took note of that statement.
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Earlier, in another thread, I suggested that JT should make an "example" of someone; my point was, that I would rather have JT make an "example" of a single player, than to have the administration make an "example" of JT. It looks like that might be a realistic possibility....
 
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LordJeffBuck said:
Earlier, in another thread, I suggested that JT should make an "example" of someone; my point was, that I would rather have JT make an "example" of a single player, than to have the administration make an "example" of JT. It looks like that might be a realistic possibility....
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Perhaps knowing that possibility exists will be an impetus for improved self-policing. We know the team respects JT and what he has done for the program; to watch teammates put his job in jeopardy probably would not be acceptable to many of the players.
 
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So. It sounds like coaches and players are very much aware of the problems, and confronting it. I like the "Football Family" attitude. With the increase of drug testing, and peer pressure, and values and goals that are promoted, maybe it will spur the decisions of these young men in the right direction. I know this is NOT limited to the OSU program, Its just so happens to be the paper I read, and the team I love to watch. I am disappointed, but not pulling the ripcord on my team. I hope the football program turns the corner on these issues, and young men grow and build character. Lets just say that I am thankful for "Grace" when I make a mistake, I hope these players understand that principle as well. Time will tell if it has made an impact. I'm keeping an optimistic outlook.
Go Bucks!
Moose
 
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Oh8ch said:
This is probably posted elsewhere already (I have already looked for as long as my attention span allows) but this is the link to the Enquirer interview with Smith.
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Top of page 27 on the May Mega Merge thread, just in case you want to see what the reaction was to it when I posted it earlier. That is, if your ADHD will allow you. :biggrin:
 
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Much of the recent discussion has focused on the damage to the image of Ohio State athletics by recent events. The board has been fairly united in condemning drug dealing but divided on its assessment of the severity of the offenses. Although much is made of 17 arrests on Tressel's watch, some of us are of a mind that, with a few exceptions, these have been typical college kid issues. Others, seem to believe that Tressel has some control problems.

The big question has been, "Is Ohio State interested in protecting its image?"

Did this presser answer this question? Yes and no.

First, ignore the royal "we". The presser made it clear that Tressel has received a message from the new AD that his job is on the line if he cannot address off-field behavior.

Second, "take it as read" that Ohio State admits that it has some problems. Nobody is in denial.

These two points suggest that Buckeye fans, the University, and the press have been told that Ohio State intends to address discipline in a big way.

It also is very important to see that Ohio State responded to the press attention. It communicated. This is very important.

However, a lot wasn't said.

You would hope that Ohio State would not go over the top and treat every player like a drug addict, but one wonders if it doesn't make sense to institute mandatory drug tests for the entire team immediately so that the problem can be quantified. Five drug tests per year on a random sample of 10% of the team (plus previous positive test subjects) leaves room to hide. One way of doubling the spend on drug testing is to double the tested population to 20%.

Although increasing the tested population to 20% produces a much greater chance of being tested, a better way forward is to immediately test the entire population. This would get the highest risk population (i.e., current drug users) into immediate regular drug testing, without compromising the tests on the balance of the population.

Also, there was no indication of any "boom being lowered". We don't all seem to have agreed that a boom lowering was needed, but it is rather disappointing that there was not some indication of objective penalties for future offenders. One would have to agree that the press could reasonably be expected to read "business as usual" into the comments about removing scholarships, no matter where you sit on this issue of discipline in the program. If you believe in penalties, then you want people to understand that they could very well lose their scholarship due to "conduct unbecoming."

So, it's a plus that the coach and team communicate that they are not in denial and that they are tackling the problem. It's not so great that they didn't take the opportunity to put some more objective penalties on the table.

I think that this will receive tacit support from the press but that Ohio State must realize that this will create expectations. If off-field issues are not addressed, then this presser could one day mark the official beginning of the end for Coach Tressel. If off-field issues are addressed immediately, then this could be a tremendous start to repairing the image of this premier football program.

My personal opinion is that we need to benchmark Ohio State in relation to other programs. Just because we are getting more attention doesn't mean we have more problems (i.e., Tennessee, USC, Iowa, etc). I think that it is most likely that the team and coach have received the message and that Ohio State is ready to move on toward a better future.
 
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Steve19: You bring up some interesting suggestions about drug testing. As a retired Air Force first sergeant who was responsible for helping implement and monitoring our unit's drug testing program, let me tell you that too much testing is counter-productive, both in cost and in morale. Drug testing is primarily used as a deterrent, not to catch the few who use drugs...the amount of people caught on random drug testing is minimal. Trues, you want to catch those who use drugs, but catching them is difficult and as such the main effect of random testing is the "scare factor", keeping folks who may otherwise use drugs not use them. IIRC, the Air Force's drug testing program was set up so that 50% of the members (numbers-wise) of an organization would be tested in a 12-month period. When I say "numbers-wise", that means that if you had 100 people in your unit, then there would be approximately 50 tests administered, yet not 50 different people would go but rather 50 "bodies" would go. Some folks will have to go several times during the 12-month period...they do this so that folks who just got tested can't think, "Well, I just got tested so I'm not going to get hit again for a year" and subsequently do drugs. The downside is that the mechanism used at the time was not all that random...I had a troop get hit three cycles in a row and four out of five, and many others went multiple times in a cycle. Conversely, during my five years as a first sergeant, I got hit twice out of about 40 or so cycles, and those were within two months of each other. If you want to piss off a troop, make him/her report for "golden flow" two or three times a year whilst others never get hit during their three or four year tour of duty.

It's very difficult to make a system that doesn't inadvertently over-select one portion of a population sample while completely missing another while maintaining a degree of randomness and suspense. And even if you could make a truly random system, where about 90% of the tested population are non-repeats and the remaining 10% are repeats, over-testing will turn the program from being one of deterrence to one of perceived punishment and distrust. The simple fact that Ohio State is pressing forward with this drug testing program alone will grab the attention of everyone on the team.
 
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I think the real question here is, why didn't JT ever attack this with as much ferver as he is now? There was never a comment by the AD in the media about jobs being at stake before now...
I, personally, can no longer defend tOSU for the many incidents that have occured over the last several years. I have been defending the Buckeyes for three (remember that's how long this fiasco has been going on) years now living in Oregon. Again and again people make jokes about how dirty the program is and I always shrug it off as a product of people getting their news from espin. But can we really continue to do that? At this point all I can do is hope we win and not have any more incidents.
There is a problem. Is it a product of increased media scrutiny?? Perhaps.
But that doesn't erase all of the incidents that have occured over the last few years.
I belive it's time to really start looking at what's happening from an objective position.
 
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Thanks for sharing your experience, Mili. We agree that it is important that every OSU player not feel like they are treated like drug addicts.

OSU tests people who test positively in every future test and my point was just to establish the benchmark now across the entire team. Gets everyone onsides and stops any press speculation about seriousness. There's research though that backs your assertions. Intermittent rewards are far more influential on behavior than constant rewards. Research shows the same for the effects of penalties on behavior. The press generally have been favorable as well.

Personally, I am hopeful that this presser has marked some kind of turning point that we all will look back on as a good moment some time in the future. Like, for instance, when Tressel holds up the NC trophy at the end of this season!

NWBuck said:
I think the real question here is, why didn't JT ever attack this with as much ferver as he is now? There was never a comment by the AD in the media about jobs being at stake before now...

I, personally, can no longer defend tOSU for the many incidents that have occured over the last several years. I have been defending the Buckeyes for three (remember that's how long this fiasco has been going on) years now living in Oregon. Again and again people make jokes about how dirty the program is and I always shrug it off as a product of people getting their news from espin. But can we really continue to do that? At this point all I can do is hope we win and not have any more incidents.
There is a problem. Is it a product of increased media scrutiny?? Perhaps.
But that doesn't erase all of the incidents that have occured over the last few years.
I belive it's time to really start looking at what's happening from an objective position.
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This really has stretched some people's patience but it is important to keep perspective. Much of what you are responding to has proven to be false. Two NCAA investigations into Ohio State football have shown exactly one violation and that was self-reported.

We have had 17 arrests on Tressels watch. Five or six of those occurred within the first few weeks (e.g., Pagac drunk driving, etc) when he took over a program that WAS out of control.

Visit the USC, Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina and other leading team sites. OSU has had fewer arrests and the arrests have been for much more minor issues. Remember that your friends ARE responding to ESPiN's campaign and Clarett's allegations, not to reality. I am NOT suggesting that we should have one arrest, but just read through the crimes thread and compare.

Let's also keep the current three arrests in perspective. Two are college stupidity, one is very serious. Oh yeah, and we have a traffic violation that is being fought by the player who has pleaded innocent.

What would we get if we did a drug test on Oregon and Oregon State players? Portland being what it is, with its mad fervor to legalize marijuana and drug use, do they believe that their players are marijuna-free?

Ask your friends if they would like their little ducks and beavers to be exposed to the same microscope? I think not.

Oh yeah, and remember, we have a rule here. Depending on what goes under the microscope, you may have to post the picture.:biggrin:
 
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Point taken, 19.

beavers and ducks?? i agree. i don't even consider these teams to be legitimate... I scoff at these people when they talk about college football.

but we have to start looking at this without our scarlet-colored glasses. the problem seems to be endemic within the program.

i'm not saying is doesn't happen elsewhere, (there may be many other endemic examples around which, i understand, is a bit contradictory), but it's happening in tOSU program and we need to take note.

i'm just so tired of hearing about it all...

by the way, our "mad fervor", thanks for the spell check, has resulted in a lawless society where anything goes. come visit.
 
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Steve, it's not a matter of comparing the Bucks to the Beavers or Ducks, it's a matter of national perception. The same defense of the Bucks goes on everywhere across the country. Those who live outside of Ohio know about this first-hand. It's getting really old having to explain evertything to college football fans that we're not REALLY that bad. Comparing us to Tennessee, South Carolina, and the like is already a demonstration that we are treading on thin ice. The fact of the matter is that the rest of the country is under the perception that the Bucks are crooked, Coach Tressel is crooked, and the players are either A) paid, B) felons, or C) both. It doesn't matter what the NCAA found. This is going to take a long time to shake off on a national scale.

I'm with Oh8ch on this one. It is long since time that we dealt with this stuff in-house and stuck a finger in the cracked dam. No more wood on the fire. I don't think our team is anywhere near as crooked as my co-workers think, but it's all about perception, and I'm tired of hearing about it. That being said, I'm glad that the team is publicly addressing the need to take care of business.
 
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