Yahoo, Tattoos, and tOSU (1-year bowl ban, 82 scholly limit for 3 years)

[Gatorubet]

Bull[Mark May]. Law enforcement and federal investigations always trump the NCAA, so [censored] them with a splintering telephone pole...

Love ya man, but you are not the Supreme Court or the NCAA compliance dept. I agree with you to some extent. But unless there was an injunction, or some court order, that is not how it plays out in the real legal world. But it sure is not a.... moral issue.....like it could have been. Which is cool.

What y'all might be missing is the fact that if Tress had turned it over to his own folks, an investigation and inquiry might have found the tat-gate stuff (as opposed to the drug stuff) earlier. That might have resulted in players sitting in games before the Sugar, or even in the Sugar. You can bet the piggies are saying Tress kept it quiet not to have the investigation over the tats for stuff deal (that most of your players over many years knew about if tweets are true) result in 2010 season problems 'cause he wanted a MNC or BCS Bowl win. ( This ignores that Tress did not know about the tat for stuff deal, just the drug thing - but if they were asked about the tat shop they would have spilled the beans. This does not address why it was common for years to do that, per some Buckeye alums)

Look back at the "Why did you play those players?" question and answer. You will face some skeptics. I get why you do not care, but the rest of college football is not so forgiving. I'm just glad Tress and y'all are OK. Plus, you will hear the "Oh - so they banned Tress from the Little Sisters of the Poor games" deal, just like you always say when the SEC bans someone from the first nobody games. Sucks.

Oh. ESPN is doing a hack job on this. Total lack of journalistic integrity.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6194162

 

[bill]

He really did not have a good answer for why h continued to allow the players to play football. How can you go 6+months without talking to someone (including the players)?

 

[TDunk]

The Senator still coaching for tOSU. I'd call up the extra volunteers at the Michigan domestic abuse hotlines.

Trust me, they're on the case.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Bull[Mark May]. Law enforcement and federal investigations always trump the NCAA, so [censored] them with a splintering telephone pole...

I think one of the sticking points here is that the heads up didn't come from a fed atty but rather a private atty who got wind of the investigation, thus there was no implicit or explicit gag order. JT made his own call in that regard.

He should have immediately taken the matter to GS and the university's attorneys and let them take over. He screwed the pooch badly but not to the point of it being a hanging offense. He's taking responsibility like a man and will undoubtedly learn from his mistake.

 

[3074326]

He really did not have a good answer for why h continued to allow the players to play football. How can you go 6+months without talking to someone (including the players)?

This I agree with, and I think this will be the part of the press conference that gets hammered the most. Fairly or unfairly, he shouldn't have sat on it for so long (which even he admits - that's why he's in trouble).

 

[utgrad73]

It's not a violation of any "confidentiality" to discuss a legal situation with your attorney. I'm sorry, but JT comes across as a bit too naive on this point.

I do, however, find it unusual that the emails were sent directly to Tressel, and not to Gene Smith or the compliance department.

I agree.

 

[k2onprimetime]

Now thats all were gonna hear from all the prick cock sucking haters until we smash people for the first 5 games.

 

[LightningRod]

The presser raised another set of questions that unfortunately won't be answered until we see the NCAA's public report. On another note what exactly did the Yahoo investigators uncover when the NCAA investigators were involved in this new matter since January?

 

[bill]

I don't know about that. There is hardly a good way this can be spun. They (ESPN) just quoted a passage from his book (Winner's Manual) and in it, he mentions about "winning at all costs".

Its really worrisome and disappointing. Hopefully there won't be program-wide sanctions.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Didn't see anyone predict this yet, but I'll predict that after the NCAA reviews this they'll waive the suspension entirely as long as Tressel pays the full fine.

 

[utgrad73]

The Buckeye Nation will weather this storm. Haters will be haters with or without this recent bump in the road. Go Bucks.

 

[BuckeyeInTheBoro]

I do, however, find it unusual that the emails were sent directly to Tressel, and not to Gene Smith or the compliance department.

I guess I assumed the attorney was a "friend" and Tressel not knowing what to do was an effort to protect his friend... because seriously, what was legal council going to tell him to do? Report it. Then his friend would be in a world of trouble.

All speculation on my part. Would have loved more facts... suspect they'll be leaking out.

 

[Mike80]

I don't know about that. There is hardly a good way this can be spun. They (ESPN) just quoted a passage from his book (Winner's Manual) and in it, he mentions about "winning at all costs".

Its really worrisome and disappointing. Hopefully there won't be program-wide sanctions.

If eSPIN wants to take quotes out of his book and out of context to make their point, fuck them with a splintering phone pole twice.

 

[Jagdaddy]

A few things:

1. Unless I missed something in the presser, it isn't clear to me that the e-mails came from the FBI or federal prosecutors: Hell, it might have come from the lawyer for the tattoo shop owner (and if so I hope for his sake that he cleared the communication with his client). I don't buy that JT thought he had any sort of legal obligation to keep the emails confidential

2. IMO JT knew better than this: I'll absolutely buy that he was most concerned about his players' well-being, but he's human like the rest of us and I think that, as Rod Stewart sang, he "looked to find a reason to believe" that he was doing the right thing . . . when he knew in his gut that he wasn't. That said, I also absolutely agree with Gee's remarks re: JT's overall body of work and the overall quality of his character over time. Given the circumstances, I really like how the Administration has handled this.

3. Great job by both Gee and Smith in the presser. decent job by JT all things considered.

4. Long-term, this doesn't really hurt the program: Players/recruits and parents of players/recruits know that JT will have their back, the hordes of haters nationally were there before and weren't going anywhere anyway, and the two-game suspension is highly unlikely to result in a loss on the field and will presumably give Fickell a chance to show his HC qualifications.

5. I'll be the first to say, and I'm dead serious about it, that I think that the 2011 Buckeyes are going to be the closest-knit group we've seen as a result of this and that, despite holes on paper, they will run the table and win the NC, after which JT will retire and Fickell will take the reins for a long run.

 

[jlb1705]

He really did not have a good answer for why h continued to allow the players to play football. How can you go 6+months without talking to someone (including the players)?

This I agree with, and I think this will be the part of the press conference that gets hammered the most. Fairly or unfairly, he shouldn't have sat on it for so long (which even he admits - that's why he's in trouble).

What part of believing the situation called for him to maintain confidentiality includes either suspending players or approaching them. That's pretty much the opposite of confidentiality as Tressel understood it in this case. I fail to see how that was not addressed in his statement.