I was on vacation last week when the whole "Jim Tressel lied about not knowing his 5 players committed infractions" story broke. I honestly didn't think too much of it. I just figured the Sweatervest has lied about a lot of things since he came to Columbus. It's not necessarily his fault. It's part of the game. Literally there are so many fucking NCAA rules that if an athlete takes a shit without contacting Tressel on whether he wiped his ass 2 or...wait for it...3 times then the NCAA could see it as a violation.
Listen I don't like Ohio State. But I hate the NCAA even more. If a player wants to sell his own jersey for money then let them. If a player wants to exchange their own jersey for tattoo's then let them. It's their own fucking property as soon as Ohio State gives it to them. I thought the A.J. Green suspension was bull shit and I think the 5 players for Ohio State being suspended is bull shit. It's a dumb ass rule and the only reason it is around is because the NCAA doesn't want anybody profiting off anything college related unless they have their dirty fingers in it. They are the biggest hypocrites in the world. A college athlete can't sell his image or likeness for money while playing yet the schools and the NCAA can profit off those players by putting them on billboards, commercials, and jerseys. And yeah I get it that they get a free education, food, clothes and room and board but some schools are literally making 100's of millions off certain athletes. Everybody knows Cam Newton was worth the 180K to Auburn. The guy brought in millions to Auburn.
But anyways enough of the NCAA rant. Tressel has now upped his suspension to 5 games instead of the 2 he initially was suspended for. Here is what he said today...
"Throughout this entire situation, my players and I have committed ourselves to facing our mistakes and growing from them; we can only successfully do this together," he said in a statement. "I spoke with athletic director [Gene] Smith, and our student-athletes involved, and told them that my mistakes need to share the same game sanctions."
First off he is lying. Bold face. The "players and I have committed ourselves to facing our mistakes and growing from them" is complete and utter bull shit. Tressel knew the players committed an infraction and hid it from the University's compliance department and the NCAA. That isn't facing your mistake throughout the entire situation. That is running and hiding from it. So Tressel is about as trustworthy as Lane Kiffin is right now. He knows he broke the rules but as long as he didn't get caught he would still be coaching. In other words he is not a very good leader or example right now for the Ohio State football program. His track record with wins and losses is fantastic and you can't discount the winning attitude he has brought to Columbus since leaving Youngstown State. The Buckeyes struggled for national prominence and couldn't even beat arch rival Michigan before Tressel arrived. Now they dominate the Big Ten and destroy Michigan every single year and compete in BCS Bowl games because of Tressel. But like Dez Bryant faced when he lied to the NCAA I believe Tressel should be suspended for the whole season if the NCAA is going to follow their protocol. If a student-athlete lies about knowing something the NCAA hammers them. They should do the same with the coaches in my opinion.
In the big picture this whole story is more of a witch hunt for Tressel's head. Tressel knew about the infractions back in April of 2010 when he was notified by Columbus lawyer of the 5 player's infractions for the tattoo's in exchange for jerseys. He didn't notify anybody because all 5 of those players are major parts of his program. Suspending them last season would probably have meant the Buckeyes wouldn't have been in the Sugar Bowl. So he hoped it went away. It didn't. The player's infraction isn't even bad in my opinion. Tressel lying about it the whole time and trying to avoid the subject is worst than what the players did. And for this Tressel should be suspended for the whole season if the NCAA wants to "uphold it's integrity*" of the game.
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