By May Jim Tressel Will Be A Pakistani Shepherd Comment Count

Brian

pakistan-2004.1098179760.shepherd

hope you like sweatervests made from your own wool, sheeps

I mean, right?

When Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel learned last spring that some of his current players were in trouble, he shared the information with someone he thought could help his star quarterback even though he said he didn't tell his bosses.

Tressel forwarded the information to Ted Sarniak, a mentor to Terrelle Pryor, after the coach received emails warning that Pryor and at least one other player had sold memorabilia to a local tattoo-parlor owner who was under federal investigation for drug trafficking, multiple sources have confirmed to The Dispatch.

Sarniak is the "shady, cop-bribing handler whose glass business suddenly blew up" when Pryor materialized in Columbus according to Slow States. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I stare at "glass business suddenly blew up" a link does not appear under it. He's also the guy who spurred the most wackily conspiratorial post* in the history of MGoBlog since it was his Corvette Pryor infamously borrowed—seriously, how many cars can Terrelle Pryor drive that he does not own?

I'm not sure this particular item tightens the noose in the eyes of the NCAA, but if Sarniak got a forward that doesn't help any case they're going to try to make about the emails not being credible or Tressel not taking them seriously or forgetting about them. It's also hard to imagine an email worth forwarding to your sketchy Pryor advisor that doesn't get sent to, like, compliance. At best Tressel was trying to end-around the system to keep his guys eligible. At worst the stuff at the press conference about how Tressel was the only one who knew was as true as everything else.

*[One that now stands a 50-50 chance of being correct despite being essentially message board drivel.]

Comments

Dix

March 25th, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^

An OSU grad at my firm tells me he thinks this is all overblown.  His explanation is that Tressel received the e-mails, but did not realize or understand that the conduct his players were engaged in amounted to an NCAA violation, thus making his subsequent denial concerning knowledge of violations true from his perspective.

 

 

wow.

APBlue

March 25th, 2011 at 1:52 PM ^

It's an attractive job, to be sure.  Why would someone leave a decent program for the shit storm that will surely be OSU football? 

You're following a coach that had a great record against Michigan.  Anything short of that and you're dog shit.  Add in the fact that they will be under some form of punishment (as mild as it may be), and why would anyone with a decent career path take that job on for your ultimate college job?  I know: the recruiting base, the university support, the fan and alumni support. 

We've seen this all too many times [ND, Michigan (x2), Miami (YTM), OSU, Nebraska]  , where the apparent "Great Job" isn't so appealing after all.  How many candidates turned down those jobs listed?  Depending on how severe OSU's punished, I could definitely see Urban Meyer pulling his name out of that hat.  Not to mention the fan and alumni support that I listed above as a positive, can be viewed as much as a negative, just ask Herbstreit. 

I can't help but keep going back to Dantonio.  Maybe it's just because I would love the scene in East Lansing of their beloved coach dumping them for OSU.  To paraphrase Brady Hoke, I think Dantonio would walk to Columbus for that job. 

Blazefire

March 25th, 2011 at 12:09 PM ^

Go to the NCAA and say, "Sorry guys. I'm a head coach at a major D-1 program, I have been for years, but I don't know the rules at all."

OSU would love that, because then the onus of responsibility falls on them for NOT PROMOTING AN ATMOSPHERE OF COMLIANCE by not properly educating their coaching staff, and instead of firing Tressel, the fire Tressel AND get sent back to the stone age.

Right now, OSU can claim plausible deniability.

GoBlueInNYC

March 25th, 2011 at 12:19 PM ^

How could he possibly NOT know it was a violation. Pryor admitted he knew it was a violation. Plus, Green's suspension at Georgia for basically the same thing was a huge story at the start of the season.

I guess what I'm saying is, I agree that your coworker is an idiot.

tk47

March 25th, 2011 at 12:40 PM ^

Here's another angle:  If Tressel didn't know this was a violation, then how many other things have gone on in his tenure there that he "didn't know" were violations?

Knowing what's a violation and what's not is as much a part of being a coach as anything else.

TELL YOUR CLOWNSHOW COWORKER TO GTFO

Suavdaddy

March 25th, 2011 at 12:50 PM ^

. . . Tressel himself admitted in a February interview that he knew they were violations.  So why don't you confront your genius friend with that little tidbit - the horse's mouth itself admitted that he knew it would be a violation.  That's probably going to be tough for even him to refute. 

Wolverine 73

March 25th, 2011 at 2:46 PM ^

was Tressel going on get on "ASAP", as he told the leaker?  he realized TP needed money, so he was going to forward the emails to his buddy from Jenerette so he could front him some cash and he wouldn't need to peddle his gold pants in the future?  these OSU folks can be truly delusional.

ish

March 25th, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^

once you see "federal investigation" it's over.  it isn't going away. 

pryor had is suspension upheld.  the question is whether it can be lengthened

COB

March 25th, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^

Pryor's suspension has nothing to do with this news.  Why would the NCAA lengthen Pryor's suspension?  Because Tressel lied about it?  Please detail your logic for me on that.   

RadioSimon1983

March 25th, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^

Your co-worker is a blind loyal OSU fan who is trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel that has collapsed.  He's just as stupid as Tressel.  One of my buddies is trying to do the same thing, but he knows the shit that has and will continue to hit the fan.

ThWard

March 25th, 2011 at 12:09 PM ^

If an accountant receives that email about Pryor, maybe he shrugs.  If a Columbus preschool teacher receives that email about Pryor, maybe he shrugs.

 

If Pryors's f*cking coach - who has undoubtedly received weeks and weeks worth of compliance training - receives that email, he doesn't f*cking shrug.  Your work friend is clearly trapped in a glass case of emotion about this JT thing, and he isn't thinking clearly.

GoBlueInNYC

March 25th, 2011 at 12:21 PM ^

Even if Tressel didn't know it was a violation (highly, highly unlikely), it should have raised enough of a red flag that he would have run it by his compliance office just to be safe.

umchicago

March 25th, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^

he's done.  osu will pay him some big $$ to fall on his sword, while indicating their U takes all violations seriously and reports them vigorously (reference to the several hundred reported violations during his tenure).  this is proof we do our best to promote an atmosphere of compliance.  they claim they are saddened by tressel's non-compliance and thus he must go.  everyone else at osu is surely compliant and above board.

then they pray the ncaa will take tressel's head in lieu of severe sanctions against osu.

81.93

March 25th, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^

If you recall, Tressel said that he did not send the e-mails to anyone at tOSU because he thought they were "confidential" because they came from a lawyer.  (To that point, as ESPN reported "Cicero said when he asked Tressel to keep the e-mails confidential, he meant that he would not go to the media or the public, not that Tressel couldn't inform the school or launch his own investigation.")

So, Jimbo, why can the "confidential" e-mails go to this yahoo but not to, you know, tOSU's compliance department?  

Dude, you are completely full of sh*t and totally effed.

jjto2001

March 25th, 2011 at 12:14 PM ^

Tressel was notified that Pryor needed money so badly that he was doing shady stuff.  So, he contacted Pryor's sugar daddy to try get him some money.  Case closed.

BucksfanXC

March 25th, 2011 at 12:15 PM ^

The NCAA and OSU already knew about this. It won't have an effect on Tressel's job status. Coaches get fired for actions, not NCAA rulings. The AD already knows what Tressel's actions were and said they are going to fire him.

Punishment will come, we'll vacate some wins, a Big Ten title even. But Tressel will still be on the sideline in Ann Arbor on Nov. 26th.

Blazefire

March 25th, 2011 at 12:21 PM ^

There are two possibilities here:

1. Tressel lied to his bosses (Gee) by telling them that he hadn't told anyone else because he thought it was "confidential", when in fact he had told other people. Baldfaced lies to the bosses when fedral investigators are involved do NOT save your job. If this is true, then OSU is just finding out about it and will announce greater repercussions for Tressel (firing?) shortly.

2. Tressel told his bosses that he'd told other people, either at the time or when the original emails first came out, in which case, Tressel, the AD and whoever else helped him keep it quiet will get the axe.

BucksfanXC

March 25th, 2011 at 12:29 PM ^

This is all news to us today, the who he told -- not so much that he told someone, since we got a glimpse at the press conference that he did tell someone. But Smith and Gee knew he told and who he told at the time of the press conference, I'm sure they've already told that to the NCAA. My point is, this isn't like Bruce Pearl, who broke a rule, lied as it was investigated, got caught lying, had an investingation into his lying, meanwhile he breaks a few more rules. Tressel found a violation, lied about it/didn't report it to the proper authorities, and (as far as we know) has been clean ever since. Pearl got fired because if UT didn't fire him, they would have looked like they were letting him get away with murder and cared more about the coach than the NCAA. That's not the case at tOSU.

wlubd

March 25th, 2011 at 12:33 PM ^

"Pearl got fired because if UT didn't fire him, they would have looked like they were letting him get away with murder and cared more about the coach than the NCAA. That's not the case at tOSU."

 

This is the best thing I've seen all day. OMG I can't stop laughing right now...

Blue In NC

March 25th, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^

Agreed except that it will affect public perception of that farce of a news conference where the AD said Tressel was scared of messing up an investigation and complied with a confidentiality request.  That obviously was not the case and, as you say, the NCAA and the AD knew that, so I guess the lying doesn't end with Tressel.  It also shows that Tressel continued to lie during the press conference rather than face the music.  That may not make a difference to the NCAA and the AD but the public is likely to care and, in turn, that may affect the pressure on OSU to cut ties.

justingoblue

March 25th, 2011 at 12:23 PM ^

 

Ever hear of a show-cause penalty? You know, the penalty every single active coach has gotten for an NCAA 10.1 violation?

The NCAA absolutely can rule that Tressel be fired for this. I think you're vastly underestimating the seriousness of lying to the NCAA and benefitting from it as much as Tressel did.

BucksfanXC

March 25th, 2011 at 12:41 PM ^

We'll see. I'm not really gonna argue here about what the NCAA might do to us, I'll just wait and see. The NCAA handles things differently case-by-case, year-by-year, for whatever reason. I don't know what they'll do, neither do you. I obviously know what you hope they'll do (and why) and you know what I hope they do. So we'll just see.

justingoblue

March 25th, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^

Hey, honestly, I don't want to see OSU get hit as an institution that badly. I think it'd be bad for the rivalry, and thus bad for Michigan.

I want Tressel gone. Not because he's a good coach (replace him with Meyer, fine) but because I've had to listen to the pompous statements he's made about this whole scandal while pretending to be above it, when in fact he isn't. Because of his stupid "Senator" nickname and all of the cachet he's built up as "different" while this entire time he's been willing to cheat to win.

justingoblue

March 25th, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^

You can also add onto the reasons I want Tressel gone is the shot perception of OSU. I know we (M fans) like to tear OSU apart for the secondary violations and the loaner cars, but if Hoke or RR (or even Carr for that matter) did what Tressel did, he would have been gone immediately, and nobody on this board would be defending him well.

wolverine1987

March 25th, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^

I'm sure some on the board would defend our coach in the same circumstances, you have way more faith in us than I do. But your point is correct--there is no way that an M coach would have his job after this. Not to mention there would be no farce of a press conference with the President joking like at OSU.