Larry Brown Sports

Jim Tressel resigned from his job as head football coach at Ohio State Monday morning, knowing fully well neither he nor the university would be able to face the media after the contents of Sports Illustrated’s report were revealed. SI had reporters George Dohrmann and David Epstein collaborate on a special that digs deeper into the existing issues we knew about Ohio State (read the entire report here).

The Buckeyes were already punished for having six players trade memorabilia for tattoos — a violation of NCAA rules. On top of that, the hookups players had with a car dealership had come under scrutiny based on Terrelle Pryor’s driving record. The words of former Ohio State basketball player Mark Titus corroborated the reports that Buckeyes football players were getting hookups at a dealership (also a violation of NCAA rules). Now we’re left with a more in-depth look at the blatant rule-breaking going on at Ohio State.

In short, SI refutes in such indisputable detail the notion that the merchandise-for-tattoo trades were limited to a select few members of the football team. That defeats Ohio State’s first defense argument where they tried to pin the actions on an isolated few members of the team. Additionally, they expose Jim Tressel as a fraud. Tressel built a reputation as a man of integrity over his ten years at Ohio State. He was someone who preached religious values and respect. Yet this is the same coach who lied to the NCAA and lied to school investigators.

On top of that, SI mentions the story of Tressel lying to a school investigator when he was at Youngstown State, something Sports by Brooks reported last month. The SI report also says Tressel fixed raffle drawings while he was an assistant coach at Ohio State in the ’80s so that prizes at a football camp went to elite recruits.

Not only does SI’s report show us that trading memorabilia for tattoo (and weed) was prevalent throughout the football program, it also destroys Jim Tressel’s individual character by showing how hypocritical he was. Here are some more of the juicy details they uncover.

Read The Rest of the Story…

The NCAA cemented its status as a shameful organization with its recent handling of Ohio State. The Buckeyes had a handful of players investigated for accepting improper benefits in the form of tattoos they received in exchange for autographs and other memorabilia. Tattoos are expensive and often cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, making it a wonder how so many of the Buckeyes could afford all the ink. Then it was revealed that several players sold Big Ten Championship Rings and other memorabilia, a similar charge that resulted in a four-game suspension this season for Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green.

And what happened to the Ohio State players Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, Devier Posey, Mike Adams, and Solomon Thomas? They were suspended the first five games of next season, and not at all for those who elect to enter the NFL draft. Somehow the players were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl under the grounds of the school not educating the players properly on the rules. Right, as if they didn’t know pawning off their goods was illegal.

Read The Rest of the Story…

The hypocrisy of the NCAA is at it again. Not much longer after they inexplicably allowed Cam Newton to remain eligible at Auburn though his father shopped him to at least one school, the NCAA suspended five Ohio State players for the first five games of the 2011 season.

The players were suspended for receiving some benefits ordinary people wouldn’t have (free tattoos!), and for selling some of their swag — game jerseys and the 2008 Big Ten championship ring. That makes complete sense given the NCAA’s stance on preserving amateurism and preventing players from using their status to gain monetary advantages. But what doesn’t make sense is the punishment.

The NCAA deemed the actions of Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, and Solomon Thomas bad enough to suspend them the first five games of next season (standard suspension is four, but they got an additional game for not immediately revealing their violations). If their actions were bad enough to result in a five-game suspension, then how can the NCAA justify allowing the players to be active for the Sugar Bowl? There is no answer.

The NCAA says the players were not suspended for the bowl game because they believe the players were not properly educated about violations prior to committing their actions. Who actually buys that defense? Oh I’m sorry officer, I didn’t know the speed limit in the neighborhood was only 25mph, not 60. Like players don’t know it’s against NCAA rules to sell their jerseys and rings?

The NCAA’s reasoning on the matter is inexplicable. They’ve now ruled on two high-profile cases by heavily weighting the “knowledge of the players” factor and they’re rewarding perceived innocence. It’s odd decisions like this one that leaves critics wondering how the NCAA can seemingly dole out penalties on an arbitrary “this is what we feel like doing” basis.

The Buckeyes struggled against Minnesota in the first half of their win Saturday before eventually going on to blowout the Golden Gophers. They led just 7-0 at halftime, the score coming on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Terrelle Pryor to DeVier Posey. As Ohio State was moving in for a score just before halftime, Pryor threw a pass into about triple coverage that was intercepted in the end zone. Rather than being up 10-0 or potentially 14-0 at halftime, the game remained at 7-0. The pass prompted an anecdote from one of the ESPN announcers who said the Ohio State coaching staff posted a sign in the team’s facility that said “It’s OK to punt.” Per the announcers, Pryor took offense to the sign and that’s when coach Jim Tressel had to put it context — it’s OK to punt instead of committing a turnover — something Pryor did four times in a loss to Purdue last weekend.

The wheels really started to fall off the bus for the Buckeyes following that embarrassing loss and most people felt Pryor had regressed. Also hurting matters was when Pryor’s high school coach chimed in to say that the QB wasn’t being used properly by Ohio State and that Terrelle should have gone to Michigan. I say that Ohio State’s a fine place for him to be, he’s just going through growing pains on a massive stage. Pryor needs to learn how to look off receivers and avoid locking in on his targets, and that turnovers are killer. So far he’s responded with a strong game in the air and on the ground against Minnesota. Pryor could easily run the zone read all day but if he wants to take his game to the next level, these are the things he has to do and learn, as pride-swallowing as it may be.

In what’s picking up steam as a story, Ohio State sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor expressed his support for Michael Vick during Saturday’s game against Navy by writing his name on his eyeblack. Check out the pictures of Pryor’s Vick eyeblack:

I have no problem with Pryor supporting Michael Vick but I’ve always been against players using their eyeblack to convey any sort of message — I just think it’s stupid. Particularly, if you’re Pryor, I hope you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into (the comments you’ll receiver, people you might piss off) when you’re doing that. As long as he does, then he should be cool. Well, that, and as long as he doesn’t make dumbass comments like this one, regarding the eyeblack:

“Not everybody is the perfect person in the world,” Pryor said of Vick. “Everyone does — kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel that people need to give him a chance.”

Yikes! We all know that’s not what he meant but it certainly came out wrong. I’m with him on the giving another chance part. This episode certainly will be a major factor in Pryor’s career. Will he back down from his statements or continue to be a polarizing figure? Only time will tell. He better grow up soon because he has the Trojans coming to town on Saturday.

Photo via Obsessed with Sports