Tressel Feb 8 NCAA Interview Transcript
Here is a link to the Transcript that a few people / articles have mentioned. SI's Stewart Mandel tweeted the link a little while ago. Its like 139 pages. I made it through the first 10 or so before I started skipping around.
Just a note about the NCAA finding nothing new on Tatgate. George Dohrmann the author of the SI article on osu tweeted this "NCAA met with SI source on OSU story, said it couldn't grant him confidentiality. So, players walk. Happens. SI story still 100% accurate"
I saw that tweet, but I'm not sure I understand what he's implying. Is he just saying that NCAA didn't interview the SI source because he didn't want his identity to be on the record?
If so, I thought everyone already knew who it was? I vaguely remember some OSU players calling someone out, and that person basically admitting he was the source.
Also, even if the guy doesn't want to do the interview, what's stopping them from doing their own investigation into what was said in the article (interview or not) ?
Actually heard this a while back from an OSU board. Was sitting down with the NCAA, but once they said they were recording and no anonymity, the source basically got up and walked out. This is why I really hope someone sues SI.
It's the same shit that was done to Clarett. Everyone is afraid to testify against THE Ohio State University to the NCAA because of death threats. I wish just one person would speak up. I really don't think anyone would follow through, especially if they moved out of Columbus.
What sucks the most is that this just encourages THE Ohio State University to tamper with all potential witnesses. They never get punished for it, so why should they stop. They can basically cheat all they want and get away with it becuase everyone is afraid to testify.
for the interview to be public? Why did the NCAA not use the interview with the witness from the SI story and grant him confidentiality? Im assuming this is an option since its not a criminal trial but I may be wrong. Anyone know the answer?
Looks like they are afraid of the Buckeye mafia
At least Tony Soprano would never throw piss on someone.
So the NCAA knows about the violations, but refuses to do what needs to be done to use them. Great!
2 hours after the OSU news, Tennessee announces they will self impose 2 years of probation for the Pearl and Kiffin violations. Why wouldn't they?!? Ohio State's getting away with it...
Working on a diary write up of this right now, highlighting some of the more interesting/sadly funny/ridiculous stuff in it.
Thats kind of what I was hoping someone would do. I tried to sort through some of it for some good quotes but I'm too tired after a long week. I was just amazed at some of the banter back and forth
Dunno how to post diaries but am assuming I'm not at the threshold yet. I'll have this done in a couple hours/tomorrow morning and I can shoot it over in an email to you. I'd be eternally grateful.
If you can't create a Diary (on the top left, 'Create Content') then you can email it to me ( jbrstr at gmail) and I'll post and make sure its understood you did all of the work :P
Something interesting on page 26 about Pryor's recruitment.
How other schools were offering Pryor money (guesses?) and schollies to his friends.
But he chose Ohio where there were clearly no benefits provided to him... That makes sense right?
Supposedly uncle Ted told him not to go to places that offered incentives... Even if it meant he didn't go to Notre Dame, where Sarniak wanted him to go.
I guess another example I’d use is so and so calls in and says, “Hey, I’ve seen Johnny driving this certain kinda car.” And so we’ll call and say, “Hey, what’s the updated vehicle registration form,” because it’s – you know, that’s one of the things we chase. And, you know, so Doug and his office are forever on the phone, you know, trying to – you know, so anytime, you know, something from that standpoint comes up, you know, we, you know, we try to help the cause. Jim Tressel (pg. 14)
I can just see Archie sitting across the table giving Tressel the "Easyyyyy Jim, let's not show 'em our hand just yet!" death glare.
Here is another gem:
Jim Tressel: – I would just call directly. I wouldn’t, you know – now if it was something like I get a request to go appear at something and it’s on paper, then next time we’re in a staff meeting, I’ll just hand it to Amy and say, “Amy, you know, clear this,” you know. Hopefully, the answers, no, I can't.Real classy Jim.
Just maybe, someone could help me understand who Tressel called when seeking "the updated vehicle registration form"?
Just maybe, Tressel called "Doug and his office" to get an "updated form".
Just maybe, both Tressel and Doug knew how many "updated" forms were requested....But, who kept records?
Just maybe, Tressel did not care about records, because Gene Smith did not keep records on Tressel; and just maybe this is the way the game was taught to Tressel by Gene Smith.
Just maybe, if they always called it an "updated form", just maybe they could pretend there was no need to consider the possibility of a violation by a poor misguided player.
Just maybe, pretending not to see violations was Doug's way of learning Tressel's way of pretending not to see violations.
Gosh: just maybe from Gene's point of view, people will realize it's all circumstantial and they were all too busy to take anything seriously - which in hind-site Tressel and Doug and Gene can say was all very unfortunate, so it must not have happened and nobody can prove it did. Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyaah-Nyaah!
...does not believe in contracts or written evaluations or paper trails of any kind.
It's a question of trust, though, not of establishing plausible deniability. </s>
coherent, that is.
Go mgoboard go, god help me I can’t get enough of this story.
Go to page 102 and start reading, that's where I'm at now and seems to really be the heart of it.
Man, that was a long interview.
But look at Nevius's questions on p.103:
"Okay. Did you think it was against the law at all to reveal the
information that Chris had provided to you in those e-mails?"
"Was that a thought that crossed your mind?"
"Well, then is that why you did not report the information? Does
that help explain why you did not report the information?"
The first time he asks, Tressel seems a bit surprised--he doesn't seem to have thought about it. But by the end he's agreeing that, yes, this is why he didn't report to anyone.
It's like a defense attorney helping his client establish an alibi. But Nevius isn't representing Tressel, he's the freaking NCAA ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT.
Sorry for shouting, but that part really pissed me off.
this is all going to get washed under the bridge
The NCAA investigator is clearly leading Tressel in his questioning!!! This is blatant and if not so dissapointing, would be hilarious. What a joke the NCAA is.
Referring to previous Q&A about Gene Smith and him discussing “personal issues” (athletes) Jim Tressel said “But, you know, we talk about everything”. page 15
Chance Miller went to Tennessee undergrad and New York Law School.
Tim Nevius grew up in Kettering, OH, went to Wright St. undergrad and U. of Dayton Law.
Any chance it was Nevius they were referring to? I've already said what I thought of his performance in the interview; I didn't know he was an Ohio boy.
That makes the most sense to me. Disgusting.
a bit like they did with the sugar bowl. Surprising that this happened on a Friday? No, not at all. What sort of records might Wentzel or ESPN find if the did a request of OSU and NCAA correspondence?
Maybe an mgolawyer could let us know why TJ Downing’s name is not redacted, while Terrelle Pryor’s name is blacked out?
Jim Tressel is a lawyer's worst nightmare.
p. 96-7:
Now, we got issues. And all along, you know, we’ve known that one of the things that we’ve gotta be preparing ourselves for is we gotta find away to keep these guys here. Now when the NCAA, after all the reinstatement discussions and all that, decided that the guys could play in the bowl game and then they would be sanctioned later, okay, at first, I was really disappointed.Chuck Smrt: Coach, I’m gonna – I think we’re kinda jumping...
...
Jim Tressel: This is his way of saying I talk too much.
Chuck Smrt: Well, I just wanna kinda get us back to where –
Jim Tressel: I get the message
and p. 99:
Tim Nevius: You also made reference to a letter which I believe is dated December 7, 2010 –
Jim Tressel: Mm-hmm.
Tim Nevius: – is from the US Department of Justice.
Jim Tressel: Was I not supposed to?
Chuck Smrt: Well –
Jim Tressel: Oh.
Everyone in the room is trying to help him find a way to get off the hook, and he just can't keep his mouth shut.
TOSUs got to feel pretty on top of the world right now. They can basically get away with anything they want. I bet even media is starting to fear them. Of course, wouldn't that hurt recruiting with prospective recruits knowing that they could never leave and speak negatively about the mafia or suffer a horrible death?
No matter how hard he prayed Jim could not make a federal case out of it, it was an NCAA case, no players would go to jail, in the end his worst fears were realized instead he would have to lose is job.
Jim Tressel “I used to have what I called a watch list till they made me destroy it.”
I found this transcript a fascinating read. As a lawyer, I expected the NCAA interviewers to adopt a more adversarial stance toward Tressel. Their approach was basically to let Tressel hang himself. I guess you can do this when you have emails showing that Tressel lied to the NCAA on multiple occasions.
Anyway, I'd like to know what the ground rules are for this kind of NCAA compliance interview. Clearly, they aren't the same ground rules that apply in a deposition for a civil case. One moment that stuck out was this exchange after Chuck Smrt (OSU's outside counsel) asked Tressel whether he thought he promoted an atmosphere of compliance:
Jim Tressel: I think we definitely do it generally in our program. I don’t think it’s just my doing. But I think we do that, you know, very, very well. Did I do it in this particular situation?
Doug Archie: Can we take a break for a minute?
Chuck Smrt: Okay.
Tim Nevius: Okay. All right. 1:09. We’re taking a short break. Yep, definitely. Oh, back on the record at 1:15 PM with Coach Tressel.
Chuck Smrt: Coach, I had asked you about an atmosphere of compliance, and I think you’ve answered that question. So is there anything else that you wanna add that haven’t talked about?
Jim Tressel: I don’t think so. No, sir.
I don't know why one of the NCAA guys didn't jump back in and ask whether Tressel thinks he promoted an atmosphere of compliance in this instance. It's clear that Smrt and Archie knew the implications of such testimony.
all this bs. If the NCAA doesn't come down hard on tosu, I'll probably forget college sports for the rest of my short life even though I've been a lifelong Michigan fan. Rottenness begets maggots and that's what the NCAA will have become. This could well be the brick that causes the whole house to crumble. Didn't Pryor mention "everyone lies?"