Tressel Joins the Tat Five...

[Tiger Wench]

On the bench - he is suspended for the first two games - Akron and Toledo  - for not telling tOSU compliance and the NCAA about Tatgate when he was informed of it LAST APRIL.

No wonder he did not bench the kids for the game.  He knew he was as guilty as they were...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel received an e-mail last April telling him that two of his players were caught up in a federal drug-trafficking case and the sale of memorabilia, breaking NCAA rules.

Tressel responded: "I will get on it ASAP."
 
But he never mentioned it to Ohio State's compliance department or his athletic director for more than nine months.

On Tuesday, Tressel was suspended for the first two games of the 2011 season and fined $250,000 for violating NCAA rules by failing to notify the school about the players' involvement. He also will receive a public reprimand and must make a public apology.

The NCAA is still investigating and could reject Ohio State's self-imposed penalties and add more sanctions.

"Obviously I'm disappointed that this happened at all," Tressel said. "I take my responsibility for what we do at Ohio State tremendously seriously and for the game of football. I plan to grow from this. I'm sincerely saddened by the fact that I let some people down and didn't do things as well as I possibly could have."

Last December, the NCAA suspended quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four teammates for the first five games on the 2011 season for selling jerseys, championship rings and trophies to a local tattoo parlor owner. The suspensions came just 16 days after the U.S. attorney told the school of a federal investigation that included players.

The school did not learn until January, however, that Tressel had been tipped off to the federal investigation back in April.

Yahoo! Sports first reported Tressel's prior knowledge of the possible improper benefits on Monday.

"I think that your No. 1 critic is yourself," he said, tears welling in his eyes at a Tuesday night news conference. "You spend time thinking about how you can do things better. I don't think less of myself at this moment. I felt at the time as if I was doing the right thing for the safety of the young people and the overall situation."

Asked when he first realized that he had violated NCAA rules, Tressel blinked, faltered and hesitated -- momentarily speechless.

With Ohio State again being investigated by the NCAA, college football is digging out of yet another scandal. The 2010 season was weighed down from start to finish with NCAA issues, from North Carolina being investigated for players having improper contact with agents to the play-for-pay scheme involving Cam Newton's father that was uncovered in November.

Last week, Oregon announced the NCAA and Pac-10 was looking into the school's arrangement with a recruiting service.

The NCAA has faced criticism for going easy on rule-breakers, especially for letting Ohio State's guilty players participate in the Allstate Sugar Bowl and for not punishing Newton, the Auburn quarterback, for his father's misdeeds.

Tressel said he never thought of resigning, and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said he never seriously considered firing Tressel for violating his contract, which specifies that he must immediately report any -- the word is underlined in the contract -- information which pertains to violations of NCAA, Big Ten or Ohio State bylaws and rules.

"Wherever we end up, Jim Tressel is our football coach," Smith said. "He is our coach, and we trust him implicitly."

On April 2, 2010, Tressel received an e-mail from a person he identified only as "a lawyer," who wrote that Ohio State players had been implicated in activities with Eddie Rife, a local tattoo-parlor owner, whom the federal government was investigating on charges of drug-trafficking. The e-mail, released to reporters but with the names redacted, said players were selling signed Buckeyes memorabilia and giving it to Rife in exchange for money and tattoos.

Tressel said he allowed the two players cited in the e-mail to play the entire 2010 season because he did not want to "interfere with a federal investigation" and worried that sitting eligible players would raise a "whole new set of questions."

The Buckeyes coach said he was trying to protect his players by not breaking the confidentiality of the federal investigation.   

"Admittedly, I probably did not give quite as much thought to the potential NCAA part of things," he said.  YOU ARE THE FREAKING COACH.  THE NCAA PART OF THINGS IS YOUR WHOLE ENTIRE FREAKING JOB!

Along with Pryor, starting receiver DeVier Posey, leading rusher Dan Herron, offensive lineman Mike Adams and backup defensive lineman Solomon Thomas were suspended for selling memorabilia, but allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl, which the Buckeyes won 31-26 against Arkansas.

Shortly after Ohio State returned from New Orleans, the university began reviewing its information on an unrelated legal issue, Smith said Tuesday, and Tressel acknowledged he had not told everything he knew about his players and their relationship with the tattoo parlor and its owner.

"I plan to grow from this," Tressel said. "I'm sincerely saddened by the fact that I let some people down and didn't do things as well as I possibly could have."

Ohio State president Gordon Gee said he and Tressel had discussed the violation at Gee's house for 3 hours one night.

Gee also said he had not considered dismissing the Buckeyes coach.

"No, are you kidding?" he said with a laugh. "Let me be very clear. I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me."  The same fucktard that bashed Auburn and the SEC... hypocritical shitbag.

This was not the first time Tressel or his players have run into problems with the NCAA.

Ray Isaac, a star quarterback at Youngstown State, accepted improper inducements including cars. Tressel was found to have done an incomplete investigation of those allegations, with Youngstown State later serving penalties. In addition, Maurice Clarett, who led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship, and Troy Smith, winner of the 2006 Heisman Trophy, were suspended by the NCAA for receiving money and other benefits from boosters.

In May of 2009, The Columbus Dispatch reported that since 2000, Ohio State had reported to the NCAA more than 375 violations -- the most of any of the 69 Football Bowl Subdivision schools that provided documents to the newspaper through public-records requests. Most of the infractions were minor and resulted in little or no punishment.

The Buckeyes open next season with games against Akron and Toledo, likely playing those without their coach and their star quarterback.

The team resumed workouts this week -- with all of the suspended players participating, and with Tressel in the middle of practice with a whistle around his neck.

[Kaos]

Absurd. 

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Cowherd was absolutely ripping Tressel and the NCAA over the "punishment" for this one.

[Saniflush]

Cowherd was absolutely ripping Tressel and the NCAA over the "punishment" for this one.

Correct me if I am wrong but this is not an NCAA punishment for Tressel.  This is a a self imposed school punishment pending the NCAA investigation.

[Tiger Wench]

Correct me if I am wrong but this is not an NCAA punishment for Tressel.  This is a a self imposed school punishment pending the NCAA investigation.

Correct. University imposed sanction in hopes that the NCAA won't bring the hammer of Thor.

Cowturd is a moron.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Correct me if I am wrong but this is not an NCAA punishment for Tressel.  This is a a self imposed school punishment pending the NCAA investigation.

OK, must have misheard.  I thought it was awful fast for the NCAA to act.  As Cowherd was putting it even the local press in Cleveland and Akron were ripping them.

[JR4AU]

Correct. University imposed sanction in hopes that the NCAA won't bring the hammer of Thor.

Cowturd is a moron.

Yep and this opens a whole new level of scrutiny by the NCAA.

[The Prowler]

Sporting News paints a pretty dark picture for tOSU

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/feed/2010-12/osu-suspensions/story/ohio-state-letter-to-ncaa-could-doom-tressel

[AU_Tiger_2000]

At least the NCAA is going after the right people now.  The player accept free tats, they get suspended; Bruce Pearl and Jim Calhoun don't follow the rules, they get suspended; Cam Newton is not held responsible for the actions of a few shady characters and his dad.  At one time they would have just lopped off scholarships after the people involved are gone which punished the wrong people.

[JR4AU]

At least the NCAA is going after the right people now.  The player accept free tats, they get suspended; Bruce Pearl and Jim Calhoun don't follow the rules, they get suspended; Cam Newton is not held responsible for the actions of a few shady characters and his dad.  At one time they would have just lopped off scholarships after the people involved are gone which punished the wrong people.

Players accepting bennys = eligibility issues.

Coaches facilitating it or covering up = enforcement issues = potential loss of scholarships, maybe more

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Players accepting bennys = eligibility issues.

Coaches facilitating it or covering up = enforcement issues = potential loss of scholarships, maybe more

True.  I'm expecting the NCAA to drop a hammer on Tressel and slap OSU on the wrist though.  OSU as an institution has been relatively "clean" for a long time now, Tressel has a history from Youngstown State.

[Kaos]

  OSU as an institution has been relatively "clean" for a long time now,

Maurice Clarett just giggled. 

[JR4AU]

True.  I'm expecting the NCAA to drop a hammer on Tressel and slap OSU on the wrist though.  OSU as an institution has been relatively "clean" for a long time now, Tressel has a history from Youngstown State.

The NCAA will look at this harder.  Twitterverse is rumbling that tOSU believes they may add more self imposed sanctions out of fear they went too easy pissing off the NCAA.  When the header covers shit up, you have big problems.  OSU is no cleaner than anybody else, just not been caught. Til now.  As I said, this type shit goes on everywhere IMHO.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Maurice Clarett just giggled.

The NCAA will look at this harder.  Twitterverse is rumbling that tOSU believes they may add more self imposed sanctions out of fear they went too easy pissing off the NCAA.  When the header covers poop up, you have big problems.  OSU is no cleaner than anybody else, just not been caught. Til now.  As I said, this type poop goes on everywhere IMHO.

Hence the " " around clean.