Gee believes NCAA had axe to grind with OSU....c'mon man!
“We were caught in the tsunami of all the things that were going on, and we were the big fish on the line. The NCAA was under great pressure to impose sanctions, and my strong belief is … if we would have self-imposed, we still would’ve had a bowl ban,” Gee said yesterday while he toured the Statehouse with coach Urban Meyer and some players from the Buckeyes’ 12-0 team.
Asked how he came to that conclusion, Gee mentioned his close ties to NCAA president Mark Emmert; Oregon State president Ed Ray, former chair of the NCAA’s executive committee; and Vanderbilt vice chancellor David Williams II, who serves on the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, which handles enforcement of NCAA rules.
Mod edit: Dollar sign removed from title. As a friendly reminder to everyone, "cute nicknames" like that are frowned upon here. Check the MGoBlog Official Pet Peeve List for further explanation. Cheers, JGB.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:16 AM ^
Only cool dudes get to wear bow ties, Mr. Gee. You ain't one of them.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:18 AM ^
I've said this before: I hope they continue to excuse their behavior and bemoan their punishment. Allowing a coach to lie and cover up those lies is an enormous offense. To the extent that Ohio doesn't understand that, they'll continue to make those mistakes, continue to build a certain academic and football culture, and continue to be Ohio.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
Not sure I follow you when you say that OSU "allow[ed]" Tressel to lie and cover up his lies. Seems to me that his being forced to resign cuts against that sentiment. Along with the NCAA investigation which did not show that the cover-up went beyond Tressel, hence no lack of institutional control violation.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:35 AM ^
They thought suspending him was enough punishment. Only when the media got involved in the cover up did they decide they had no choice but to have him resign. With full benefits. And honors a year later.
And beyond the fact that the NCAA couldn't get anyone to talk on record after OSU fired or pushed anyone out of the school, it hardly means there wasn't any lack of institutional control. Just that they couldn't prove any. But isn't Tressel in itself a lack of institutional control? I mean, since he's the boss and your president is just hoping he doesn't get fired by Tressel.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:40 PM ^
It's ironic that by trying to refute my point, you continue to supply me with what I seek.
If it wasn't obvious, the fact that they continue to bemoan the punishment is an admission that they don't believe what they did was really wrong. "It wasn't that bad, c'mon bros". This attitude toward lies and cover up is what I hope to see continue at Ohio.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^
I agree. But the poster I was responding argued that OSU was "allowing" Tressel to lie and cover up lies. Whether or not Tressel was kicked out the door with a footprint on his rear end or was shown out the door by a nice gentleman and told kindly to sign a letter of retirement, it does not come anywhere near what the poster said.
No reasonable OSU person thinks that what Tressel did was right. This isn't like at Penn State where fans to this day believe that Paterno was a saint and infallible. Tressel lied. While the cover up was over some silly tattoos it does not matter--he did not report an obvious violation and, thus, no longer deserved to be the coach of tOSU. He did deserve the 5 year show-cause penalty levied on him by the NCAA.
We don't hate him. Mainly because it's silly to focus only on his mistakes when there are tons of examples of good deeds he did. Also it does not hurt that he won us a BCS championship and beat Michigan consistently. But he deserved to go. Whether it was via retirement/firing/resignation i don't really care. He's gone. OSU moved on. C'est la vie.
But to get back on-topic here. Saying that because Tressel was told to retire--as opposed to him getting fired and publicly shamed--does not equate to him being "allow[ed]" to lie and cover up lies. Not even Glenn Beck would feel comfortable connecting those two thoughts on his chalkboard.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
Yes. Feed me. Please feed me more.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:12 PM ^
There must be a whole lot of unreasonable ones then, because they gave an ovation to the guy who put their program on probation and out of a bowl as they carried him out of the stadium on shoulders while still serving the punishment.
And are you really saying that all that information was not known to the University? That they thought Tressel had done less, so a suspension was all that was warranted, and when it came out that it was a firable offense, they were just as surprised as everyone else? Either they knew everything he did and thought they could brush over it and get by with just a couple of games, or he really was able to hide all his misdeeds from EVERYONE during an investigation (that OSU keeps claiming they were doing before the NCAA was) and they had no control over their most important employees actions...which kinda sounds like lack of institutional control. It's one or the other.
Showing you thought you did something wrong is to fire a guy, not let him retire with full benefits. Everything that comes out of that schools shows they didn't think anything was really wrong, and they just did what they had to, and they would have preferred status quo. Which = cheating.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:42 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^
The guy is a clown, great fit for Ohio
December 6th, 2012 at 3:18 PM ^
Does "continue to be Ohio" mean "get away with cheating, pull in Top 5 recruiting classes, and beat your biggest rival 10 times out of 12?" OSU's punishment for cheating was incredibly light. If anything, we should get off of our high horses and start doing it too.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:21 AM ^
I'm sure this came up b/c a lot of OSU fans are pissed that OSU accepted the invitation to last years (Gator?) Bowl instead of self-imposing. The thinking, of course, is that they'd be in a bowl this year if they'd self-imposed last year.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
They still wouldn't have had to go to the Gator Bowl. Reason enough to take the ban.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^
They keep making the wrong moves. Their arrogance about minimizing the tattoo scandal to preserve eligibility for TP et al. for the bowl game after the 2010 season unravelled and eventually led to Tressel being fired. If he had just suspended them, they could have brought this entire affair to an early conclusion. Their arrogance about protecting Tressel and refusing to self-impose a bowl ban last year after more facts came out (and when they stunk) led to a bowl ban this season. So they traded a loss in a meaningless bowl last year for a ban from what would have been a top flight game this year. Sometimes, people get what they deserve. Now, they are moaning about it like bad sportsmen. Wasn't their AD some big shot in the NCAA? And Gordon Gee says he is buddies with all these people? How then can you conclude the NCAA was out to get you?
December 6th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
O$U, M$U, and the NC$$ are all in cahoots with Nick Satan and Urban Liar. They pretend to come down hard on State Penn and the University of Spoiled Children, but we know that they're all just stinky cheaters!
Seriously though: http://mgoblog.com/content/official-mgoblog-pet-peeve-list
As soon as I see "O$U," it is impossible for me to imagine you as anything other than a whiny 13-year-old, and I can't take anything you say seriously.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:44 AM ^
as long as we all do it together.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
Why would anyone want to go to that disease of a school?
December 6th, 2012 at 11:40 AM ^
Because they win football games? I hate them, but it's not hard to figure out why kids want to go there. Open your mind.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:58 AM ^
for next year?? The Game could be extra big next year
December 6th, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
Downvote for O$U in the title. It's not clever, original, or funny. Just call them OSU or Ohio.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^
is now just as lame IMO. Of course, complaining about those complaints is still cool.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:16 PM ^
93 grad here too.
Complaining about stupid nicknames helps bring their use to our attention so we can moderate them and keep this site clean instead of allowing it to be reduced to MLive standards. You stay classy, San Diego!
December 6th, 2012 at 11:34 AM ^
He's just trying to take the heat off Gene Smith.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
Gee really needs to focus on the school and stop making stupid comments about sports- imo it makes him look like a cry-baby and a fool. In the scheme of his job sports play only a small role. Schools have ADs to run sports programs because presidents know about academics and not sports- he should stick to what he knows best- academics.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 11:43 AM ^
We don't need ridiculously high numbers of threads that related to Ohio.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:44 AM ^
Gordon Gee is what the French call "les incompetents."
December 6th, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
Quality Home Alone reference. +1 to you, sir.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:50 AM ^
Here's Adam Rittenberg's blog entry regarding this article:
He notes something that troubled me as well when reading Gee's quote - if indeed the Committee On Infractions believed that, after all that exhaustive discussion last year, only a one-year ban was warranted, why pile on basically? It isn't as if Ohio State was terribly proactive in all this, and as Rittenberg notes, the delay in the ruling because of the additional violations has much to do with the timing. If the school had self-imposed, then would that not have met one recommendation?
It seems like it is easy for Gee to say what he did in the Dispatch article now, especially in light of the high probability that, in other circumstances, his school's team would be fascing ND in the championship game. There's something in what Gee said that just screams rationalizing for some reason.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^
OSU was late in responding the the second set of charges, so that pushed back the NCAA's response.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
When you break numerous NCAA rules, cover up the violations, and then lie to NCAA investigators, it's understandable that the NCAA might have an axe to grind with you.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:16 PM ^
Ironic as it may seem, the NCAA doesn't like being made to look the fool.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:36 PM ^
This is where I beg to differ. If the NCAA didn't like being made to look the fool, they could have taken much more severe action at any point in the process.
OSU has repeatedly thumbed its nose at the NCAA throughout this process. They hid what they knew, delayed reporting, carried out a sham internal investigation, tried to protect Tressell, and then lightly self imposed.
After it was all said and done, they repeatedly implied that they didn't even deserve what they got.
Now OSU's "achievements through adversity" are being celebrated (along with the tribute they just paid to Tressell).
All of this is equivalent to speeding past a cop, refusing to pull over for 5 miles, arguing with with the cop about the infraction, tearing up the ticket and throwing it out the window, and then spinning the tires as you speed away with the radio blaring.
The sheer audacity is amazing to me and highlights at least the appearance of impropriety specific to the relationshp Gee has with particular members of the NCAA. I know I'm biased, but I just don't get it.
Michigan's penalties for a minor infraction of the letter of the law seem almost as bad as OSU's penalties for GROSS violations of the spirit of the law.
sigh
[\rant]
December 6th, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
The NCAA did have an axe to grind with OSU. The kind of axe that needs grinding when you break their biggest rule. Which is the same axe to grind that a boss has with an employee who doesn't do their job or a judge with a criminal who's broken the law. All of these damn situations have something in common: Not only is there reasonable cause for the reasonable punishments that get handed down, but the punishments are there in a primary function to serve as a grandiose warning to dissuade everyone else to not break the rules of the governing body of whatever establishment they're a part of. It's called life, Gee, get the hell over it.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
For a University President, let alone one as highly regarded as OSU, to take the stance of "they wanted to make an example of us" is absolutely absurd. What kind of example are you setting? That's something you would expect to hear from students on campus and residents of Columbus--not the President himself.
No matter how unjust he believes the punishment was, taking responsibility (or not even discussing it) at this point is a no-brainer. Could you imagine if Duderstadt took that position during the fallout of the Fab 5? It would be embarrassing and laughable to say the least.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^
Why do you have an axe to grind? Asked the farmer to the chicken.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
Ohio got a slap on the wrist, and should be absolutely thankful for it.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:15 PM ^
the state of Illinois had an axe to grind with one J. W. Gacy. Too bad the NCAA didn't have the courage to do what Illinois did.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:18 PM ^
NCAA didn't have an axe to grind with OSU. The sanctions imposed are/were a sham and should have been more. The sanctions OSU got were just a fraction of what happened to USC. The NCAA went lightly on OSU, because of Gee's relationships. He's only saying this, because OSU went 12-0 this year and 6-7 last year. If they had a better year last year and only went 8-4 or something this year, we wouldn't be hearing any of this stuff.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
So, the NCAA had an axe to grind with Ohio, and Gee knows this because he's buddies with the top dogs at the NCAA? Huh? Dude, you're proving the opposite point intended. The NCAA went light on you because of your buddies. How many other schools play a season (plus a BCS bowl) with ineligible players, lie about it repeatedly, take benefits, lie about it and get a minimal punishment? Maybe they should've brought Emmert out with Tressel to celebrate a couple weeks back.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
This is exactly what I thought when I read him dropping those names. Gee says some really stupid sh-t. I would hate working for him if I were the AD - he's always in their business.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
Yea Gordon, it wasn't your fault for speeding it was the police officer who had an axe to grind and pulled you over... what a fucking idiot.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:20 PM ^
As a parent, that statemtent tells me: "If you are a parent who makes excuses for mistakes and poor choices, and attempts to get out of punishment--or excuse it away, send your kid to OSU." That lack of integrity is the exact opposite of what kids need--if they're 10 years old, or 20 years old.
I have a good friend/coworker that is a really good guy, a family guy and not the typical OSU knucklehead. But he is an alum and gigantic OSU fan. He says Tressell is the kind of guy he would want his kid to play for because he was "protecting" his players. We go round and round about this. I just can not understand how Tressell's actions could be defended, and if it was Bo, or Hoke (not that they would!!) I would never excuse it under that premise. Kids--especially those who are gifted, talented, fawned over--need to be taught integrity, and that the rules DO apply to them. "Protecting" them in that manner hurts them in life and the long run, and it hurts society because we excuse those talented enough to not have to follow the rules. Bad example.
Now--Gee making these assanine statements just solidifys (again) how light they got off. They do NOT get it.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:20 PM ^
Publicly complaining about NCAA sanctions seems like an attempt detract from the obvious fact: that the sanctions were too weak because of Gee's (and Smith's) ties to NCAA officials.
I am not so sure that Ohio is oblivious to public perception--and that this led to Tressel's retirement benefits and recent "honors." IMO, there was a deal with Tressel. Be quiet about instiutional involvement/further NCAA violations and we will give you retirement and honor you next year.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:54 PM ^
so it must be true to the loyal followers of the beloved Buckeyes.
OSU has spent more time and effort white-washing over this scandal than any other program in history and they're going to get away with it.
Sad, sad state college athletics is in.
December 6th, 2012 at 2:20 PM ^