Cicero - "I would have never sent the email"

Submitted by unWavering on

ESPN's B1G blog posted an interview with Chris Cicero, the lawyer who emailed Tressel about the players possibly violating NCAA rules.  When asked what he thought Tressel would do if he could go back now, he said "The heck with coach Tressel, if I could do it over, I would have never sent the email."

How backwards are things down there at OSU?  Apparently no one down there has a sense of morality.  Here's to hoping the hammer comes down hard on them.  Sorry if this doesn't add much to the conversation, but I haven't seen this talked about in another thread.

Mitch Cumstein

March 11th, 2011 at 5:37 PM ^

I mean shit, now he has a bunch of idiot buckeye fans sending him hatemail and the MSM trying to discredit his law record all because he tried to help out his old team. 

Urban Warfare

March 11th, 2011 at 6:49 PM ^

Cicero doesn't need any help to discredit his law record, such as it is.  Past suspensions for falsely testifying that he was sleeping with a judge overseeing one of his cases, etc. IIRC. 

Hopefully he gets disbarred for this one.  Not because of Tressel, but because Cicero sent the emails without even informing his client.  Asshole. 

Yost Ghost

March 11th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^

he should have just worried about his client instead of trying to help his beloved university because had he kept his mouth shut everyone could have gotten away with their various transgressions. What a party pooper!

Jeez you buckeyes are drunk with your success aren't you? Sounds like a program and fan base ripe for a fall.

justingoblue

March 11th, 2011 at 10:31 PM ^

That's not how I took Tressel's (haha) comment at all. He's been pretty level headed and as far as I can tell agrees with a lot of what gets said around here about Tressel. If Cicero shared information unethically he should get into major trouble. That's a bigger issue than the NCAA or sports in general. And he speaks the truth about the guys shady legal record.

Yost Ghost

March 12th, 2011 at 12:15 AM ^

what you're saying and although I don't disagree that Cicero's actions were unethical, TrustTressel, intentionally or not, confirmed exactly what the OP was saying about buck fans. They are more worried about focusing on what's wrong with Cicero and discrediting him based on his past instead of focusing on what's wrong with their football program.

justingoblue

March 12th, 2011 at 2:48 AM ^

I just think in this case he's venting a bit. He's had a lot of posts where he'll get down on Tressel, but I would imagine it gets old for OSU fans, especially at this place. Which...duh look at the colors. I happen to think Tressel deserves whatever he gets (unless it's those BS penalties OSU gave out), but I do think the lawyer could be in a lot of trouble too.

I certainly see where you're coming from with that post of his, but from what I've seen it's not the norm from him. He might want lighter punishment than you or I, but I don't think any of the OSU posters here are unabashed homers like the OP was talking about.

AnthonyThomas

March 11th, 2011 at 5:38 PM ^

I lawled when i saw that on TV. The perfect buckeye response. I don't doubt that he would do that if he could go back but the way he reacted was void of any sense of responsibility.

Go Blue Eyes

March 11th, 2011 at 5:38 PM ^

That's the problem with those emails: once you hit the "send" button they're pretty much out there unless both sides deletes them.  As a public institution, tOSU might be bound by rules stating that they cannot delete their emails.

I'm sure this Cicero guy is pretty ticked that his name is national news and he might play a major role in bringing down Jim Tressel.  He will now know how Bartman feels in Chicago!

michgoblue

March 11th, 2011 at 5:40 PM ^

There are two ways to take his comment:

1.  Man, I got OSU in trouble, so I wish I never did that.

2.  Holy crap, I tried to do a good thing, and this scumbag Tressel buried it.  Now it is coming out and I am being called a Judas by the whole insane fanbase (which he said in another interview) and even receiving death threats (from a different interview).

I honestly think it was the latter.  Since the email became public, this guy - who, by all accounts may be the only person affilliated with this entire program with a sense of what is right - has been maligned, threatened and essentially demonized by the fanbase that rooted for him for 4 years when he played for OSU.  I think he just wants his life out of the press.

justingoblue

March 11th, 2011 at 5:43 PM ^

I'm with you thinking it was the latter.

I'm still not convinced that he won't be up in front of the Ohio Bar though, answering for what his relationship with Rife was and if he passed on privileged information.

justingoblue

March 11th, 2011 at 6:51 PM ^

I didn't stay at the Holiday Inn Express either, but judging from the spirited discussion I had with some MGoLawyers on another thread, the fact that he mentions plea bargain specifics is a definite, no question breach of privilege. The info in emails 2-4 other than that is murky, with probably a 70/30 split between MGoLawyers. The majority thinks he probably can't be pinned down for revealing case specifics, and the minority thinking that he will be in trouble, or that at least it was unethical.

(That thread here, if anyone didn't see it.)

lhglrkwg

March 11th, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^

so im really baffled why the MSM or any buckeye fan is giving him a hard time. if tressel lifted a finger, he couldve suspended em all against all the "Akron & equivalent" games last year, got them back for the B1G schedule and the ncaa might've accepted the punishment. game over

BUT

because tressel was a moron and ignored an email that said "hey man, major violations under your nose. wanna do something about that?" now they are screwed and somehow cicero is a scapegoat

Tater

March 11th, 2011 at 8:27 PM ^

Maurice Clarett got death threats when it looked like he could upset the apple cart.  The way it ended for him made him look really stupid, but I fully believe that he had the gun because he was convinced that the Olentangy Mafia was out to get him.  

I also believe that is why no Columbus reporter has ever pulled a Rosenpuke on Tressel or any TSIO coach.  

Yooper

March 11th, 2011 at 6:56 PM ^

The right thing to do would have been to notify the university of his concerns, not give the coach a head's up in the hope that the coach could bury the matter in a way that minimized the impact on OSU football.  I give him credit for following up, but I suspect that it was because he wanted to ingratiate himself to Tressel, not that he was trying to bring some bad apples to justice.

justingoblue

March 11th, 2011 at 7:00 PM ^

Or he could have been really pissed off as a former football player. I would think most old-school OSU football players are closer to Herbstreit's opinion on the matter than they are to the rednecks indifference.

bryemye

March 11th, 2011 at 7:02 PM ^

I feel about as bad for the guy as I can feel for an alumnus of that place. He tried to do the right thing. Turns out the version of the place he was sold isn't reality and he ended up being an inconvenience.

Then things were handled about as poorly as it's possible to handle them and compounded pretty badly.

NateVolk

March 11th, 2011 at 7:23 PM ^

If you want to feel a lot better about our fan base, read comments following factual articles about the OSU situation. Scary how divorced from reality they are. I think it is because they want their cool, scholarly, Senator back and they know deep down that myth is dead.  If you want to feel scared: The comments after the opinion columns make me think it might be a good idea to cage their fans up inside the stadium during the OSU game.

Probably a small sampling and not representative of the whole, but when you are talking the world of internet chatter, they ARE representing the whole.  

I think a full deconstruction of the Tressel era as far as how he put the machine together resulting in findings of systematic cheating, might bring some of them to violence.

Lancer

March 12th, 2011 at 2:52 AM ^

I cant comprehend the severity of what tressel did, but its not the worst thing in the world. he defs could have handled it diffrently but i don think it deserves all this uproar