Cicero - "I would have never sent the email"
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.
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.
True. I hadn't even thought about that aspect of it because anyone with a brain knows that this debacle is in no way his fault and he actually did the right thing. I forgot about all the idiots out there that would pin it on Cicero.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
the "he's a drug dealer" seems like both privileged and confidential. all the other stuff one would think is confidential. Maybe rife authorized the disclosure to Tressel. Then it's presumably OK.
(I am not an OH lawyer, nor do I play one on TV and I did not ever stay in a Holiday Inn Express)
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.)
Rife's current attorney says Cicero didn't even inform Rife he was sending the emails, let alone get consent. Dude is screwed with the bar.
i am with michgoblue, and maybe he is just saying that he wishes he would have gone to a higher authority than the scumbag in the sweater vest.
He should have called his uncle, Paul "Paulie" Cicero:
Cicero and OSU now that is an odd combo
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
If you're baffled as to why Cicero would recieve death threats, you've never seen the Redneck Rocker and his Bucknuttery. There are some sensible fans that are fully aware Tressel dug his own grave.....and then there are trailer-park Bucknuts.
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.
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.
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.
If I had given that much to a program and found out that a bunch of young'uns were putting the program and its reputation in danger + selling of important symbolic trophies for tatoos and pocket change, I'd be furious.
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.
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.
Apparently some Buckeyes are sensible.
March 11th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^
There's discussion of it here. It was a pretty cool thread at times.
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