Tressel and OSU

This situation involving Jim Tressel and the Ohio State football program is an extremely interesting case because it involves one of the most dominant and successful football programs in the country along with a highly respect coach who has tarnished his image by lying in an investigation.  It is clear to say that Tressel should have reported to his superiors and Ohio State officials of the credible information and NCAA violations that he was aware of.  Instead he decided to go on record in saying that he was not aware that his players were selling memorabilia and equipment to a tattoo parlor owner who was being indicted for drug trafficking.  He lied about what he knew in the matter, which led to his recent resignation.

Jim Tressel and Maurice Clarett

Tressel is respected by many people but I don’t buy into the belief that he did what he did to protect his “kids” and that his actions were that of a father not a coach.  If he wanted to protect his players he would have reported what he knew in order to resolve the issue and keep it from blowing up like it did.  Instead he lied in the case and his success and image will be forever tarnished.  I also think he was lying and hiding known facts while at Youngstown State and the other cases involving players like Maurice Clarett and extra benefits while at Ohio State (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867).  It is hard to reconcile Tressel’s image of leadership with his admission of lying.  I don’t see him coaching at the college level anytime in the near future.  However, he will learn from his mistakes and move on because he is intelligent, respected by many, full of wisdom and knowledge.  The best thing for him to do, in my opinion, is try and coach in the NFL and work towards rebuilding his image of leadership.

I have heard a number of different opinions regarding who is to blame in this specific situation.  First, it was reported that the people of Columbus are mad at Terrelle Pryor and blame him for Tressel’s resignation.  Beanie Wells, on ESPN Firstake, talked about the problem not being with the student-athletes but with the NCAA.  Mark Schlereth, on Sports Center, talked about the blame being on the institution because there is more than just one person violating the rules.  John Cooper, former OSU football coach, pointed the finger at the Compliance Office being the one to blame in this case because they are not doing their job.  While it is true that these factors played a significant role in the whole issue, the one ultimately to blame is Tressel and nobody else.  He knew about everything that was going on and failed to report the violations, which is his duty as the head football coach.

It is difficult to state whether the Ohio State university administration and athletic department are exhibiting good leadership qualities in this situation because they are not talking to reporters about the matter at this time so we don’t know the specifics.  There is not a lot of information being communicated by Ohio State officials (http://www.thelantern.com/campus/osu-officials-keeping-quiet-on-jim-tressel-1.2328637).  The one thing that we do know is that they met with Tressel and “convinced” him to resign as head football coach.  I think their leadership qualities are far from perfect but in this specific situation they are left with no other choice but to force Tressel to resign, regardless of how much they respect him and his success at Ohio State.  It appears to me that the OSU administration and the athletic department think highly of Tressel as they supported him throughout all the negative press he was receiving.

Gene Smith OSU Athletic Director

However, regarding the situation as a whole Gene Smith, OSU Athletic Director, and Gordon Gee, OSU President, lacked proper leadership qualities by not taking the situation more seriously.  I believe that they both knew about most if not all the credible information of violations that Tressel was hiding about his players and the tattoo parlor.  This is supported by their actions in the March 8 press conference.  It seems that they were trying to protect Tressel’s image by covering up for him.  There should have been a deeper investigation into the situation when the athletic department found out that multiple players were selling equipment to a tattoo parlor being indicted for drug trafficking.(http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=758192&DB_OEM_ID=17300)

It will be interesting to see what happens to OSU and its reputation in this whole situation

Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel

moving forward and how long will it take for it to repair its image.  I think that this issue is far from over even though Tressel resigned.  It appears that the media has already moved on from Tressel to focusing on Terrelle Pryor and the NCAA investigation that surrounds him.  They are also talking about Pryor entering the supplemental draft.  I think that it would be better for Pryor to enter the draft instead of trying to play at OSU this upcoming season.  However he might not have a decision in the matter after the NCAA discovers that he had been receiving extra benefits while at OSU.