NYT Article on Tressel
My favorite newspaper has an article on Tressel this morning...
Lays out the facts of his recent/past transgressions, with the point of view that Tressel should be made to stay at OSU to deal with the mess he created and, ultimately, the hit to his legacy.
Hope this link works:
http://nyti.ms/lPf9zT
No but the NYT is likely the paper of choice for people who run in the same circles as their Trustees and Gee. Hopefully the WSJ calls him out and then we'll know for sure that they're hearing about it in private.
The cretins don't matter too much. When the Board of Trustees and Gee start running into people who are asking "why are you employing a person like that?" that's when the hammer drops, IMO.
If they start feeling personally attached in a way they don't like, they'll cave to outside pressure.
Given Gee's pathetic "I hope Coach doesn't fire me" attitude, people may be asking the Trustees why they're keeping him employed, too.
That was about the weirdest comment I could possibly imagine. Imagine a high level government official getting involved in something and having Obama saying "I hope he/she doesn't fire me." or a CEO saying the same thing about a CFO who fudged some numbers. I can't think of one example like that.
It might have just been a stupid comment, but I don't believe for a second that people in academic communities haven't heard that quote and look down on OSU for having a president who would say that. I wouldn't be happy at all with Gee if I was a Trustee there.
the "little sisters of the poor" comment. While I actually agree with that sentiment, I don't think that's something you want your AD to say publicly. What is gained?
It was Gee that said it, not Smith, their AD. But I definitely agree. Sports media is as high profile as these guys will normally get (Gee isn't Larry Summers) and they take the oppertunity to make their school look like a joke. When IU fired Kelvin Sampson, there were no ridiculous statements like that; when the Ed Martin scandal came to light, MSC damn sure wasn't in a mood for jokes.
In every other case, there was at least a modicum of respect for the institution, and Gee made a mockery of it. I'm very glad I'm not a student there about to interview for jobs with a degree from a school so clearly centered on athletics.
I mis-typed. That's actually worse than had Smith said it IMHE. You'd think there would be some measure of executive independence from the athletic department.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:50 PM ^
Whether they do or not is not the point. If he was forced to stay and coach making minimum wage and had to endure 8-loss seasons for five years, that would be a punishment. Since none of that would ever happen, and, since he he has a history of transgressions, what would be just would be a prompt firing and the NCAA banning him from coaching for five years.
Either way, he should not be allowed to coach the team at all this season. The ridiculous idea of "suspending" Tressel for five games, is pointless if he is allowed to coach during the week. He should be banned from all football related activities from the opening of camp thru those five games. Let's see how the bucks play then.
Intil I see that the NCAA really punishes OSU and takes away wins, recruits and bans bowls and Tress and Gene Smith are fired, I have no faith that the NCAA wants to punish anyone. I'm still pissed about the USC "sanctions", yeah, right. They signed 31 players. By the time the NCAA takes away the 10 schollies per season, they'll be playing in bowl games again. Some punishment.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:55 PM ^
I'll take Kevin Noon in the mgoblog death pool, please.
I live in DC and, as usual, happened to be listening to the local sports talk radio station late this morning, a radio station owned or controlled by the owner of the Redskins, a man who is quite possibly the most disliked team owner in the history of sports (not to exaggerate). I have heard a lot of stories yesterday and today about how professional football players have shown up at their training facilities and been allowed into the building but not been allowed to use the equipment in the building or talk with coaches. The announcer was screaming about how people were untruthfully reporting that the players were not being allowed into the buildings and how untrue and unfair that was, while largely ignoring the part of every story that indicated that players were not being allowed to use facilities in the manner they would be used but for the strike and lockout. In other words, he was trying to convince everyone that it was unfair to suggest that the players were being kept out of the facilities when they were being allowed inside but not being allowed to do anything except look around inside the building. The announcer was, of course, no more than a mouthpiece for the Redskins, trying earnestly and vociferously to make his listening audience think the owner was being a good guy and was being unfairly castigated by uncaring and dishonest reporters who were on the side of the players. Were Tressel to stay, Ohio radio stations would probably be equally vociferous in defending him, with the folks currently complaining about him going on with their lives. In short order, it would be as if nothing had ever happened, even for recruiting. After a year or two or maybe even three, recruits would look at how many games his teams had won and how many of his players had gone on to play in the NFL and would ignore tatgate and his other peccadilloes. For him to have any real punishment, he has to go, cut off without a golden parachute and with him having a lot of time on his hands to reflect upon his past misconduct and realizing what kind of guy he is every day when he looks in the mirror to shave.
...WTEM because? Why not just tune into independent WJFK?
I listen to both but usually to WTEM in the morning for either Mike & Mike or Tony Kornheiser. A draft special was on instead of Tony this morning, and it involved the ranting apologist.
But his head isn't. There are a couple of issues with this article: there's a difference between guys like Calipari and Carroll, who jump ship before having to deal with the mess they created, and guys like Mike Leach, who get punished for screwing up. That difference being that the former are gainfully employed while the latter—not so much. Although it is the worst school that man ever created, to coach at the D-1 level (even at OSU) is still a position of honor and responsibility, two components of the job that Tressell has completely disregarded for the entirety of his career. Furthermore, the way the sports media works today, no matter what the offense, whenever some pulls through a tough spot and comes through the other side, they’re seen as martyrs. One needs to look no further than Cam Newton last year. By the time the National Championship game rolled around, I heard the words “adversity” and “perseverance” applied to him so many times it made my head spin—as though NCAA rules were a burden, and that the American public should be to blame for any sort of animosity applied in his direction.
When the man’s not fit for the job, fire the man.
I never get tired of tressel bashing.