In-VEST-igation at OSU

I couldn't help but comment on the ongoing NCAA investigation at Ohio State. Some quick thoughts:

If Tressel is guilty of half the things Dohrmann's SI Article accused him of, he will never coach again. Some of the highlights (or lowlights):

"He [Tressel] claimed not to know that his star quarterback [at Youngstown State] had received a car and more than $10,000 from a school trustee and his associates -- even though it was later established in court documents that Tressel had told the player to go see the trustee."

"[Youngstown State QB Ray Isaac] asked the coach for help in getting out of traffic tickets. "He'd slot out two hours to meet and say, 'Ray, I need you to read this book and give me 500 words on why it's important to be a good student-athlete,'" Isaac says. Afterward the ticket would sometimes disappear, which, if Tressel intervened, would be an NCAA infraction."

 "Buckeyes running back Maurice Clarett was found to have received money and other benefits. Even though Tressel said he spent more time with Clarett than with any other player, he also said he did not know that Clarett had been violating the rules."

"A year later an internal Ohio State investigation (later corroborated by the NCAA) found that quarterback Troy Smith had taken $500 from a booster."

"The memorabilia-for-tattoos violations actually stretched back to 2002, Tressel's second season at Ohio State, and involved at least 28 players -- 22 more than the university has acknowledged."

"Pryor might have driven as many as eight cars in his three years in Columbus."

"Former wide receiver Ray Small confirmed last week to The Lantern, the Ohio State student newspaper, that he got a "deal" on a car from a Columbus dealer."

"Chris Gamble, a cornerback and wide receiver who now plays for the NFL's Panthers, was paid by [local business owner, booster, and luxury box holder] Robert Q. Baker in the summer of 2003 for a job that consisted of little more than showing up and signing autographs. The Columbus Dispatch wrote that Gamble accompanied Baker on golf outings and even called Baker at halftime of the '04 Fiesta Bowl."

"One of Tressel's duties [in the 1980s] was to organize and run the Buckeyes' summer camp. Most of the young players who attended it would never play college football, but a few were top prospects whom Ohio State was recruiting. At the end of camp, attendees bought tickets to a raffle with prizes such as cleats and a jersey. According to his fellow assistant, Tressel rigged the raffle so that the elite prospects won -- a potential violation of NCAA rules. Says the former colleague, who asked not to be identified because he still has ties to the Ohio State community:

'In the morning he would read the Bible with another coach. Then, in the afternoon, he would go out and cheat kids who had probably saved up money from mowing lawns to buy those raffle tickets. That's Jim Tressel.'"

The last story, more than any other, makes my blood boil. The allegations are serious, and indicate a level of corruption and depravity that hasn't been seen since the Alabama pay-for-play scandal of the early 2000s.

• The day Terrelle Pryor committed to Ohio State, the clock began to tick to this day. Pryor's arrogance, sense of entitlement, and downright stupidity have likely cost Jim Tressel his job.
• The fault doesn't lie solely with Pryor, however. The culture at Ohio State is one of entitlement and stupefying follow-the-leader-off-the-cliff mentality.
• Jim Tressel is a hypocrite: a man whose exterior was spotless, who preached from the Bible and wrote two books about personal responsibility and life lessons, all while covering for his rule-breaking student athletes.
• Ohio State will be very lucky to get off without any other firings. (Personally, I believe AD Gene Smith, if not President Gordon Gee should also resign... the image of Gee at the March 8th press conference still makes me sick: "I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me...")
• THE Ohio State's legacy is marred with this scandal, and will remain so for the next decade.
• The NCAA's penalty will, and should be, harsh and unmerciful. Anything less than USC's punishment is unacceptable.

The 2000s will be remembered as a decade of scandal, fairly or not. There is no guarantee that more illicit activity is occurring now than ever before, but the prevalence of the media (especially 24/7 sports media like ESPN) and social networking ensures that hiding such activity has become ever harder to do. The Ohio State / Jim Tressel debacle is the crown on top of the stinking pile of hypocrites and cheaters operating in the last ten years. Here's hoping the 2010s are cleaner, fairer, and more sportsmanlike.