Noleverine

May 30th, 2011 at 8:58 PM ^

Do all of these need new threads? The site has to be teetering on the brink of exploding right now. This has got to be a record number or threads in a day.

James Burrill Angell

May 30th, 2011 at 9:31 PM ^

Expecting more BUT there should be another round of suspensions of current players if the NCAA (or OSU) substantiate all those other active players who traded memorabilia for tats. Surprised there wasn't slightly more about the cars and something about allegations about sex for players.

clarkiefromcanada

May 30th, 2011 at 10:09 PM ^

I'll take Glenville graduate Rob Rose admitting to trading tattoos for memorabilia; particularly since he was not listed in the initial tat5 documentation.

I think the issue here is that there is just so much of this crap (and the fact that MGoBlog readers are the most informed about it) that it takes more than this to impress. These are serious issues, however.

In reply to by coastal blue

MichiganMan2424

May 30th, 2011 at 9:15 PM ^

I thought it would be much bigger. Hoepfully the ground breaking stuff comes with Pryor.

In reply to by MichiganMan2424

coastal blue

May 30th, 2011 at 9:23 PM ^

and saw  there was only 3 pages, I had a feeling we'd been had. 

My only thought was "Great, so more kids got tattoos."

There doesn't seem to be anything in there that will ratchet up the NCAA pressure, other than possibly some more suspensions for next season. Although there is no precedent for rigging raffles I presume. 

Dohrmann is kind of a tool for acting like the content of his story was gonna be so groundbreaking that it got Tressel to resign. 

 

meghan

May 30th, 2011 at 9:29 PM ^

That he resigned just before it came out is not an accident.  

It may be that OSU got wind of an investigation into Pryor and realized the jig was up, but this snowballed and that article helps it.

Couldn't happen to a nicer group of people.

In reply to by MichiganMan2424

Section 1

May 30th, 2011 at 9:28 PM ^

I was about to write how "amazed" I am at how weak the story is.  But I'm not amazed.  SI; master manipulators.

We've been hearing breathless rumors for days, about pay-for-play, drug trafficking, sex-for-recruits, and all under Jim Tresse's direct supervision.  A massive, new story.  Eh?

And all it is, is the regurgitation of Youngstown State, Troy Smith's 500 bucks, and Clarett.  And, of course, Tatgate.  Tatgate spruced up by one new witness, as far as I can tell, and the news that the boyz wuz blowin' some weed in the basement at Fine Line.

And -- ya gotta love this part -- an anonymous assistant coach who says Tressel rigged summer-camp raffles so that star kids won.  No word on whether Tress took lollipops away from other kids.

I was tempted to say how amazingly weak this is.  Except it's not so amazing.  Pity, that Rosenberg didn't get his byline on this too.

Don't get me wrong.  This is all sleazy.  It's all so SEC.  May God strike the Big House with lightning if Michigan ever does this shit.  But this is not the CFB Crime of the Century.  Not even close.

In reply to by Section 1

3rdGenerationBlue

May 30th, 2011 at 10:34 PM ^

I read the same "breathless rumors" that Section 1 refers to above.....and I read them on MGoBlog. Are you suggesting that someone from SI posted those rumors? If not it seems a bit of a stretch to call what they did "master manipulation". More like self interested promotion which most media members (including Blog owners) employ as part of basic marketing strategy.

In reply to by coastal blue

a2_electricboogaloo

May 30th, 2011 at 11:04 PM ^

I mean, it didn't have the pizzaz of a prostitution ring or anything.  But, it showed that there are major institutional problems at TSIO.  For one, the tattoo scandal extends fast the 6 players indicted in December, so there is a a very good chance that more players get suspended.  Furthermore, I'm guessing the drug allegations are huge.  It's one thing for players to break NCAA rules for tattoos, but to trade memorabilia for illegal drugs could be a huge deal.  However, possibly the biggest point it shows is that it seems like Ray Small was right, everyone was doing it.  This will likely hand TSIO some major penalties from the NCAA.  I'm excited to see how this all plays out now.

Bo_Knows

May 30th, 2011 at 9:07 PM ^

 

That support crumbled suddenly over Memorial Day weekend. Tressel was forced out three days after Sports Illustrated alerted Ohio State officials that the wrongdoing by Tressel's players was far more widespread than had been reported. SI learned that the memorabilia-for-tattoos violations actually stretched back to 2002, Tressel's second season at Ohio State, and involved at least 28 players -- 22 more than the university has acknowledged. Those numbers include, beyond the six suspended players, an additional nine current players as well as nine former players whose alleged wrongdoing might fall within the NCAA's four-year statute of limitations on violations.

One former Buckeye, defensive end Robert Rose, whose career ended in 2009, told SI that he had swapped memorabilia for tattoos and that "at least 20 others" on the team had done so as well. SI's investigation also uncovered allegations that Ohio State players had traded memorabilia for marijuana and that Tressel had potentially broken NCAA rules when he was a Buckeyes assistant coach in the mid-1980s.




Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/magazine/05/30/jim.tressel/index.html#ixzz1Nt6f2muq

 

2002, eh?  Tee hee....Vacated wins anyone?

jblaze

May 30th, 2011 at 9:30 PM ^

"Ellis, who spent time in and around the tattoo parlor for nearly 20 months, says that in addition to those six, he witnessed nine other active players swap memorabilia or give autographs for tattoos or money. Those players were defensive back C.J. Barnett, linebacker Dorian Bell, running back Jaamal Berry, running back Bo DeLande, defensive back Zach Domicone, linebacker Storm Klein, linebacker Etienne Sabino, defensive tackle John Simon and defensive end Nathan Williams. Ohio State declined to make any of its current players available to respond to SI."

coastal blue

May 30th, 2011 at 10:09 PM ^

But that was already somewhat tied into the tattoos. 

In the overblown world of the NCAA it might seem like a big deal, but in reality, if OSU goes down due to kids selling their personal posessions (which they should absolutely be allowed to do) and buying a couple dime bags, I'd feel more sympathetic than anything else.

I assumed we were going to learn some things that made me feel like the last 10 years of Tressel's reign were so flawed that it translated to their actual football success. But they only rehashed Clarett, Smith, etc. 

Right now, until we learn more about the cars or learn BILG wasn't just leading us on, there isn't very much that makes this look like anything more than Tressel being a hypocrite for his self-righteous books.

Edit: I should note that I believe they should be forced to forfeit their title due to Clarett's participation being instrumental in their victory. But I already knew all of that story. 

justingoblue

May 30th, 2011 at 10:15 PM ^

The bad part might be the Tressel signatures on jackets and other things and the equipment.

How the hell does OSU not know that supposedly thousands of dollars of equipment was going missing, with one player taking a ton of it? Sounds like something they "should have known". I'd love to see one profit making company that has one division just "lose" percentages of inventory with no good explanation?

ixcuincle

May 30th, 2011 at 9:14 PM ^

I'm a little disappointed because nothing groundbreaking was covered. Players got tattoos. Players traded stuff for pot. Tressel rigged lotteries. Pryor got neat cars. 

We knew all this already. 

However, we did not know the in-depth details, which were explained clearly in the article. 

I was hoping for a big bombshell like sex or something that hadn't been reported before. There was none of that. Basically Tressel lied about not knowing about players getting tattoos, even though they had received tattoos for several years. And the whole car thing. 

 

clarkiefromcanada

May 30th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^

I think this is the issue; we at MGoBlog who obsess about every violation at tUofOSU and have a greater awareness of their many transgressions. We did know all this stuff or at least suspected it; however, most people in the mainstream never knew about it and certainly not in that sort of detail. The fact there is a new witness on the tatgate and the named players (obviously would not have been done if the sources were not legit) are powerful. 

We've become immune to the incredulity of this...because it's not fathomable that a school not in the SEC or called SMU could be so corrupt.

BlueAggie

May 30th, 2011 at 9:19 PM ^

I imagine the NCAA will now ask some hard questions about how Pryor could get his hands on so much gear.  That, to me, screams lack of institutional control as much of anything.

justingoblue

May 30th, 2011 at 9:20 PM ^

So they lose nine more players for four games and most of Tressel's career at OSU is vacated. The Pryor bombshell wasn't there and Tressel is just as much of an immoral scumbag as everyone (outside Columbus) realized after his first three 10.1 violations.

I hope he's crying into a wine cooler right now for what he did to the greatest rivalry in sports. Fuck him, seriously.

Undefeated dre…

May 30th, 2011 at 9:22 PM ^

Lots more detail, although testimony comes from impeachable witnesses. Still, clear evidence that the problem was widespread and long-standing.

Nothing much about the cars, but that'll be for another story. OSU will try to frame this all as a Tressel/Pryor issue; the SI article at least shows the practice pre-dates TP. Which is key for debunking the probable OSU "narrative".

HermosaBlue

May 31st, 2011 at 8:09 AM ^

Investigative journalists usually don't empty the magazine all at once.

OSU may be inclined to further obfuscate and reply by trying to minimize the significance of what Dohrman has written so far, at which point he'll fire off another installment.

lather rinse repeat, as needed. he's gotta think this is the gift that keeps on giving. So many layers to peel back.

as an aside, i guess Boren was right about OSU being a family values institution. of course that family is the Corleone family.

Geaux_Blue

May 30th, 2011 at 9:22 PM ^

For your email/Twitter distribution pleasure, a quick summary of the points that were highlighted in the Sports Illustrated piece posted on their website at 9 PM EST:

  • Tressel's willingness to bend rules went both to the innocuous (reportedly fixing parking tickets for players in exchange for papers from the players regarding being better citizens) to the odd (rigging summer camp raffles for prized recruits) to the important (blind eye to obvious warning signs involving boosters, local businesses)
  • NCAA officials are investigating Pryor for the type of benefits many have rumored other players, such as Clarett and Smith enjoyed. 
  • Nearly 30 players are 'proveably' tied to resale of autographed goods for marijuana, tattoos or cash
  • Hired equipment managers who, like the honey badger, don't give a shit.
  • Tressel believed his own life coaching was more important than real life penalties

dennisblundon

May 30th, 2011 at 9:23 PM ^

If Pryor sings that is what will blow the lid off this thing and at this point he might as well. He is now more hated than Lebron in Ohio, I would have to imagine.

The interesting part is him autographing things for players and the players being able to take helmets and jerseys with out being questioned. Those are not cheap items so when they are taken somebody knows. Nothing we didn't already know, they are basically really fucked.

JT4104

May 30th, 2011 at 9:25 PM ^

It wasn't groundbreaker but it at least dug deeper into the past and the questions a lot of people had when guys like Smith got a whole game suspension and the guy who gives these kids the money was never even barred from the program at all.

To me that is a big deal....but all in all this did at least show this wasn't a first time occurence and as far as LOIC it could show that for years Teflon Jim turned a blind eye. Not to mention rigging contests just to convince a recruit to come to TSIO is an absolute joke.

JamieH

May 30th, 2011 at 9:26 PM ^

I was expecting more.  Not that it isn't good to know that the problems stretched back to 2003, but did this really get Tressel fired? 

Muttley

May 31st, 2011 at 2:55 AM ^

than the incidents themselves.

Tressel told bald-face lies to the NCAA.  That should get him fired.

And now we have witnesses claiming that this wasn't a one-time thing, but was endemic.  Had Tressel reported his knowledge of the tat-gate 6 to the NCAA, he would still be the coach today.  Of course, he would have seen a number of stars for his potential 2010 national championship team become inelgible.

 

Seth

May 30th, 2011 at 9:27 PM ^

I deleted the other two threads started at the same time. Here's some comments left from one of them that I thought would be unfair to lose:

 

 

ReadYourGuard

"That support crumbled suddenly over Memorial Day weekend. Tressel was forced out three days after Sports Illustrated alerted OhioStateofficials that the wrongdoing by Tressel's players was far more widespread than had been reported. SI learned that the memorabilia-for-tattoos violations actually stretched back to 2002, Tressel's second season at OhioState, and involved at least 28 players -- 22 more than the university has acknowledged. Those numbers include, beyond the six suspended players, an additional nine current players as well as nine former players whose alleged wrongdoing might fall within the NCAA's four-year statute of limitations on violations.

One former Buckeye, defensive end Robert Rose, whose career ended in 2009, told SI that he had swapped memorabilia for tattoos and that "at least 20 others" on the team had done so as well. SI's investigation also uncovered allegations that OhioStateplayers had traded memorabilia for marijuana and that Tressel had potentially broken NCAA rules when he was a Buckeyes assistant coach in the mid-1980s."

----------------------------

jcgold

We didn't learn anything new, other than the magnitue issue:  a significant number of players were involved.  Nevertheless, a very informative piece

----------------------------

bluetell

Just starting it. Got to this: oh snap

Yet while Tressel's admirable qualities have been trumpeted, something else essential to his success has gone largely undiscussed: his ignorance.

this is going to be great

----------------------------

James Burrill Angell (reply to above)

Ignorance my ass. That was pure covering his ass. Just too much bullcrap for too many years dating back to YoungstownStatefor him or anyone else to be claiming he was merely ignorant.