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

[Bucklion]

First - you would think this would have come up at that point. At this point it's all about what you believe or want to believe and that will absolutely vary from person to person and I won't say any of them are wrong in any way.

Now it depends upon what you want to believe: did JT in some way forget about it or not think it was pertinent or was there a more sinister reason? The way the emails read, you could honestly go either way and again it comes down you how you perceive the information.

Personally, and remember that I DO value truth and forthrightness above everything else, if Tressel truly, in his mind, heart and soul did not pursue it as diligently because he thought he would be endangering one of his student athletes I don't see how anyone could really quibble with that. I think he absolutely realizes not telling someone about the emails was the biggest mistake he could have made in the situation short of calling a press conference and immediately talking about it.

Now if that's just a cover story and he didn't pursue it because he's a bit of a control freak and wanted to do it "in-house", yeah, I could see a problem or three there.

Even worse (as some have suggested) if he did it to keep said players eligible for the year, even I, as someone who values everything the man stands for and has stood for publicly and, from all accounts, privately, that is beyond the pale and if he is the man I think he is, then he would be the first to say so.

Thankfully this does not appear to be a Barry Switzer/Oklahoma type situation where there's rampant cheating and he's neck deep in it. But for a man who has spent his entire career building the image of his character and integrity as impeccable, it's quite the mess.

In closing, it's all about how you want to perceive it. Once you have the facts of the matter (they are linked in this thread), it's up to you (and the NCAA).

This one sentence will sum up the next 8 months very nicely.

 

[FrancisSoyer]

I don't think it would of mattered. The reasoning is that tOSU should of come forward in April instead of waiting until December to come forward.

I dunno, I'm kind of shocked by the whole thing. I mean, this is the same Coach Tressel who EXTENDED Troy Smith's suspension way back when and used the dual quarterback system in the Texas (a game with NC implications) as a way to punish Troy even further. Not to mention the whole Clarrett thing. Maybe all these years of people saying, "Tressel can't win the big one" finally got to him.:(

What about it? Clarrett vs Tressel/The University. Clarrett was proven to be full of [Mark May] but people keep bringing it up. Tressel messed up here but I wish "the Clarrett thing" would go die in a fire.

Edit: Damn offseason!!!!1

 

[BearBuck27]

The question about "did you forward those emails to anyone" is an interesting one. Almost like the answer was "yes" and Wetzel knew as much because his source is within the AD or Office of Legal Affairs. That makes me think there's much more to this story than what has come out so far. It's not an obvious question that an uninformed outsider would think to ask at that time.

To be honest, when I saw that exchange, the first thing I thought was that JT was taking a bullet for whoever he forwarded the info to. Compliance, Legal, Smith, or whoever. If JT passed the info up the chain of command and it was ignored, it appears much more like a systemic problem (lack of institutional control). If JT says nobody else knew, he can take the bullet and spare the program.

I'm really afraid that this is not over by a longshot.

< disclaimer: I have no inside info. >

Exactly. And these emails are pretty easy to get your hands on.

 

[SmoovP]

I don't think it would of mattered. The reasoning is that tOSU should of come forward in April instead of waiting until December to come forward.

I don't know.

The difference, I think, in not initially reporting it in April, and then not disclosing it during the TatGate scandal is that the first one can reasonably be described as a judgement call/oversight. The second one pushes right up against the dreaded 'lying to the NCAA' - which the NCAA is not fond of (see Bryant, Dez and Pearl, Bruce) and generally treats much harsher than an unreported violation.

 

[Gatorubet]

This one sentence will sum up the next 8 months very nicely.

Yep. You can control the press release, and you can control the penalty, but you cannot control the perception.

The meatheads that make up the working sports press are even smart enough to get the red meat in the e-mails and run with it. Gonna be an long summer.

Not like you have a freaking mangy, leg humping poodle grad/player as your new coach, but bad...

 

[RhodeIslandBuck]

I haven't really found time to post lately but I'll give my thoughts briefly:

- People can say whatever the want about this situation as a whole and I do understand that this is a violation, but the entire TatGate issue and now this DOES NOT change my view on any of the players or Tressel. The rule that does not allow these kids to sell their own personal items is complete and utter garbage. I don't know what jackass came up with this rule, but I do suppose it is a rule and should be dealt with accordingly. However, this does not embarass me as a fan NEARLY as much as blatantly paying players (Auburn) or fishy recruiting (Oregon) would. A 2 game suspension is perfectly acceptable by my standards and anyone who thinks he deserved anything more will have a VERY hard time convincing me of that. Overall, I'm not overly concerned, the first two games will not be a problem and I still stand behind Tressel as the Ohio State football coach.

PS-I really couldnt care less about the perception of us bu other schools or ESPN...we win and we don't do it by cheating...PERIOD!

 

[TresselstillownsTSUN]

You know what I'm still not that worried.....I think we will do fine on the field next year. Also don't think we will face any more punishment from the ncaa.

I think JT feel on the sword for the players, and I stand by him. Most schools would have never reported this....

 

[billmac91]

Just a few thoughts...

For those that think this attorney was JT's friend and Jim is protecting him....do you ask your buddies to send nude photos to your work address? This guy located JT's email just like you or I would. A real friend would have his private e-mail address...

Which leads me too, what if there is a private account somewhere with a lot more information. JT has to be smarter than using his work e-mail for these matters right? I'm shocked he'd reply at all over a public domain.

Can you imagine if he was communicating over Yahoo?

 

[Gothmog8]

tOSU has been working with the NCAA on this since January; I don't think the decision to have a 2-game suspension was made by tOSU without having consulted Delany and the NCAA.

Thus, I think the 2-game suspension will be the final verdict.

But I already loathe all the discussion I'll hear from the talking heads over the next few months suggesting that the NCAA make it more than 2 games.

It will be curious to see if the talking heads keep mentioning that it should be more than 2 and then the NCAA goes and does it.
Would beg the question of who is doing the reporting and who is making the decisions?

 

[SmoovP]

Yep. You can control the press release, and you can control the penalty, but you cannot control the perception.

The meatheads that make up the working sports press are even smart enough to get the red meat in the e-mails and run with it. Gonna be an long summer.

Not like you have a freaking mangy, leg humping poodle grad/player as your new coach, but bad...

I've tooled around the internets/message boards/blogs for the past few hours.

And while we all know that in the heat of the moment the haters all have to have their say, the non-Buckeye internet world is ranging from outright glee to open hostility to smugly claiming "it's about time/I told you so". I'm not seeing any sympathy or remorse by anyone on the outside of the Buckeye family.

It's a sad thing. OSU has had a sterling reputation, and to see it take another body blow diminishes college football as a whole.

 

[chillinvillian]

The way I read the emails is that "the source" in April was giving JT a heads up in casual conversation email wise. Now if law enforcement was still working on building the case from april to dec before the school was informed.
Would that hurt the criminal case if JT went to the NCAA?

I see it as being in between a rock and a hard place.

Obstructing Justice or a hit from the NCAA? I would rather take my lumps from the NCAA.

 

[Gothmog8]

Any word on whether that attorney was from M!chigan?

 

[Bucklion]

Bruce Feldman on ESPN News just brought up Dez Bryant...WTF does he have to do with anything? Jesus these media wonks sure do reach (around)...

EDIT: He also just said it will be "hard to not" vacate the 2010 season...

 

[Gothmog8]

Bruce Feldman on ESPN News just brought up Dez Bryant...WTF does he have to do with anything? Jesus these media wonks sure do reach (around)...

EDIT: He also just said it will be "hard to not" vacate the 2010 season...

What? Media hype bullshit

They just thrive on fucking things up

 

[JXC]

It will be curious to see if the talking heads keep mentioning that it should be more than 2 and then the NCAA goes and does it.
Would beg the question of who is doing the reporting and who is making the decisions?

Talking heads...namely Bruce Feldman on ESPN was discussing that NCAA should vacate all of the 2010 wins and that Tressel should be suspended for more games.

Won't be long until the are saying that we should lose bowl elegibility and lose scholarships too.


I'm sure everybody will just point at Ohio State as being a dirty program now. And if Tressel knew something, he should have said something. I don't feel bad for him sticking up for his players, but to know something is going on, and lie about it to the NCAA begs questions about how compliant he is with other NCAA rules. All in all, it's a black eye for Ohio State. A MUCH MUCH MUCH bigger one than what the players did.

Tressel hurt our football program here. A lot.