Former Buckeye Harrison Till's Take, OSU Fans Play Victim
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145&f=3154&t=7547644
Here is an interesting response to Ray Small's recent statement by former OSU walk-on (and Merrill Lynch employee? What?) Harrison Till. I can understand Till's thoughts, namely that not everyone was doing this, and that it unnecessarily besmirches the names of innocent and hardworking OSU student athletes, but, like, defamatory? I don't think Ray Small was implying that literally everyone was doing it, merely that it was widespread.
I guess what really grinded my gears was reading these sorts of responses:
Wonderful. We'll see how the ESPNs of the world pick up on that twitter as opposed to their search for the smallest minutia that appears to be spewing dirt. It will be an excellent test of media balance and fairness.
I think OSU fans are having a hard time differentiating between fact and opinion and which is worthy of being reported. Ray Small said that he personally sold OSU memorabilia and that many others did the same. That's a factual statement. Harrison Till saying "Hey, no fair! That's overbroad!" is not a fact to be reported.
Edit: Hilarious update. The impartial OSU-hating media now includes... The Lantern!
There are a few douches in this scenario. The first being Zach Meisel, the Lantern Editor, who first trusted the words of Ray Small and betrayed his own school.
"We'll see how the ESPNs of the world pick up on that twitter as opposed to their search for the smallest minutia that appears to be spewing dirt."
I'm not reading that article.
Can I just say one thing, and this is probably pretty far off topic. But, all this OSU complaining on how, "This goes on everywhere", and "Players should get paid" got me to thinking. We have the largest endowment in the Big Ten of around 6 billion I believe (maybe Northwestern's is higher, can't remember). Wouldn't we, therefore, benefit the most as far as competitiveness if athletes did start getting paid. [Content deleted by mod]
Remember, no politics. Recommend proper nouns that commonly appear in political articles not appear in your MGoLexicon. [zl]
And then we got to words like "Republican," "Obama," and "socialist." And then I was all like
LOL fair enough.
But in response to your substantive point, actual payment would benefit large, profitable programs most. Michigan is definitely in that club, along with schools like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, etc. The problem is that without some sort of cap, it would essentially turn into a huge arms race. Besides, the endowment isn't for spendin'. It's for providing a base from which to fund the University.
The university's endowment would not be a factor, because the athletic department is fiscally autonomous. In fact, the AD subsidizes the university (by paying out-of-state tuition for all athletes, regardless of where they are from) rather than the other way around.
Good for him for sticking up for what he thinks is right. Ultimately, no one is going to care that OSU's longsnapper wasn't getting improper benefits, but if he had a great experience, then he should stick up for OSU.
FWIW, he should have stayed at Duke and gotten a free MBA from the Fuqua School of Business. Fischer is weak sauce next to Fuqua.
small is already walking back his statements
Small is now back-tracking--see Ex-Ohio State Receiver Ray Small Changes Story.
Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small said on Friday that he was mischaracterized this week in an interview he had with the university's newspaper.
Small, who said he and "everybody" on the team sold memorabilia and received discounts on cars while playing football, told 10 Investigates' Paul Aker that he was misrepresented in an article that was published this week in The Lantern.
"It's hard being an athlete," Small said. "That was basically what I was saying. (The Lantern author) just flipped my words around and make the whole Buckeye Nation hate me."
To be fair, the Lantern has stood by the story and said they recorded it. I think Ray Small is just an idiot who didn't understand the impact his statement would have on people in the Ohio State community.
He's from the Toney Clemons School of Integrity.
"Sure, they accurately reported my words. But I had no idea those words were that damning, so I blame the guys who bothered to report them. I didn't know the truth was that bad."
EDIT: Visual interpretation of Small's 'correction':
By all accounts I've read, Ray Small is an idiot. At the same time, though, it's not like an editor can do much with "I sold memorabilia and so did some of my teammates."
But I can kind of understand the complaints OSU has with all of this - they look at the SEC, USC, Texas, etc. and see schools letting similar transgressions occur and flip out because they are the ones being dragged through the mud. And frankly, I don't blame them for being angry at the hypocrisy. Auburn fans freaked out about Cam Newton's dad and the "witchhunt" that followed, but nothing (so far) has come from that other than Auburn winning an NC. And for all of the sanctions that befell USC, people still consider those teams as some of the most dominant in recent memory, and the school still cashed the bowl checks and made millions in merchandising. So yeah, it does seem a little misguided how much energy is being spent "exposing" OSU when they are one of many violators.
"After meeting Jim Tressel on my official visit to Ohio State, he was by far the most honest, ethical, and open minded coach I encountered on my journey and my decision was made."
The big question is, does he still feel this way after the FACTS come out about how sweatervest straight up lied to NCAA?
that the fact that he had a 3.24 GPA and no real world work experience while applying to MBA programs helped in his decision making process as well.
Just a hunch that he wasn't getting into business school at U of M, Northwestersn, Stanford or Duke (the other schools he considered) with those credentials.
This story is going to divide the OSU fanbase just like the RR era did ours, maybe even worse.
Some people will say the players are the victoms--what do you expect is going to happen when 18 year-olds are treated like rock stars?
Others are going to blame the coach--how could you know this was going on, lie, almost take a mere 2-game suspension and carry on like nothing happened?
Others will say that the University is out of control (hopefully the NCAA) and punish the school severely.
As much as I liked Ray Small saying what he did, I really don't understand why he did it. I can't imagine hating your coach or program so much that you would want to screw them like he has. With that said, he DID live as an OSU student-athlete--something most of his critics have not done. Everyone's opinion is going to come out, but ultimately only the players and those inside the program really know what's going on. We fans have a romanticized notion about what we think we know.
I was friends with a prominent (not football) UofM athlete growing up so I talk to him occasionally. Also, we as fans/students/whatever meet people who know athletes and can tell us about their lives. We can see how they live or see them interacting on campus. Media can perform investigations. Big problem is that our little insights into their world can be based on interpretation or second-hand word.
My only issue with Small's story is that from what I have heard and been told is that it doesn't seem too tough to live on the amount of scholarship athletes get. Granted I don't know if some sports pay more for scholarships or less and I know some sports scholarships aren't full rides. It wouldn't seem paying rent and buying food would be too burdensome on a football player on scholarship (at least outside of the SEC). I think when one wants to buy a car, tattoos, or drinks at the bar, then making some additional illegal dough helps.
As much as I liked Ray Small saying what he did, I really don't understand why he did it. I can't imagine hating your coach or program so much that you would want to screw them like he has.I would guess that Small had no ulterior motive. He probably just answered the question without thinking and was caught off-guard when it turned out to be harmful to OSU's cause.
As Chris Rock (not our Chris Rock) would say - Its the Media! Its the Media!
When the Freep first broke the news on our stretching violations, a good friend and OSU fan called me to say "Now you'll now what its like to have ESPN dragging you through the mud all the time!"
This article reminded me of what Kirk Herbstreit has been saying about this whole situation. These Fuckeye fans are idots and completely blinded to this situation. Nice article about how great your parents were, and how you went to Duke, how great you think Tressel is.... who gives a shit, this has nothing to do with the fact the Tressel is a cheat (its been proven, so stop denying it) and this whole program deserves to be punished.
Herbstreit is absolutely right when he says OSU fans need to get their heads out of the clouds and Tressel needs to stop recruiting the Pryor's, Clarrett's, and Holmes of the world.
When Small said that "everyone" sold their rings, did you rrrrrrrreally think he meant everyone on the team. He probably should have said "alot" of guys sold their rings. I'm sure this OSU/walk-on/slapdick did not run with the same Crew as Small did.
I really hope they keep Tressel as their Head Coach and then the NCAA makes them pay for doing so.
John was from Ohio, but I don't believe he played for the Buckeyes.
<br>
<br>When and why did Herbie mention S. Holmes?
Steve and I [Josh Luchs] flew to Ohio State to talk to receiver Santonio Holmes. We met him outside the football building, and he said, "Listen, I want to save you the time. We don't need to meet. I've been taking money from [an agent] the last couple years, and he's been taking care of my family too."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/magazine/10/12/agent/index.html
I forgot about that. It's like the $14,000 Charles Woodson got paid by an agent. Was it the same agent?
tl;dr
It was well written and has significance.
Except his shot at rich rod which is complete and utter bullshit.
For a man that is considered an offensive genius (RR), you'd think at some point a genius would realize you can't run a no huddle all game and except the defense to be fresh in the 2nd half. Even with Barwis conditioning them before games, you still get gassed when the offense is pulling 3 and outs, sometimes several possessions in a row. He never understood the rivalries, the need for hogs in the trenches in the Big Ten, or the need for a solid D (without a 3-3-5) in the Big Ten- put it all together and we never should have hired him. But it led to what we have now so I'm hopeful and happy that the bleeding was stopped.
Well said.
I can't believe that I wasted five minutes of my life reading that pompous, self-serving, cheerleading piece crap from some no-name Buckeye player (a one-year, backup long snapper?? Really?). Oooohh, he works for Merrill Lynch, so I should definitely listen to him. Please.
That being said, my favorite quote from that forum is as follows:
Yeah, I don't really get the hatred toward OSU alumni who say that, yeah, you really shouldn't be letting kids sell memorabilia for tattoos or getting massive discounts on cars.
Herbstreit's Dad was a captain of the OSU football team as well.
Diehard fans blaming the media? I'm shocked.
Hmmm - so a fifth string water boy, or whatever Till was, didn't get free cars and money offered to him? That must mean that nobody on the OSU team did then. And further, a kid from a wealthy family did not need to sell his memorabilia for spending money. Will these surprises never end? Clearly, this has been nothing but a witch hunt instigated by biased fiends, probably from Ann Arbor - curse those handsome devils ! ! !
I can let my mind wander and generate all sorts of scenarios/fantasies and even I can't imagine that they were buying cars and providing women to walk-on second-string long snappers.
watching these folks eat themselves alive
...fanbase go a whole season with nothing but the like's of althelets like Till on their roster. After losing games to the likes of Indiana we'll see how fast they say who the "real" Buckeyes are. The fact that this is the one guy to come out and say "I wasn't doing it," speaks volumes. Laughable man!!! Their ship is sunk.
"It is insulting and ignorant to suggest that men like AJ Hawk (NFL), Bobby Carpenter (NFL), Justin Zwick (Medical Sales), Anthony Gonzalez (NFL), Stan White II (Investment Banker), Rob Sims (NFL), Jay Richardson (NFL), Malcolm Jenkins (NFL), and many others “sold memorabilia for cash” and received improper benefits while being a member of the Ohio State football team. To say that “everyone was doing it” just because Ray Small says so, is ludicrous. All of the former Buckeye players are extremely proud to say that they played for Jim Tressel because of the obvious influence he had on our lives both on and off the field."
This guy knows that being an NFL player is hardly a qualification for being a good, honest, person right? And being an Investment Banker is even less qualifying. He should have taken a debate class so he could have presented a stronger argument.
Smith is already on the soapbox about how unfair it is and how players need to be paid. I guess he must have had an epiphany. I guess Smith never was good at mea culpas, anyway. I wonder how much "help" he got in school?