I've found that the best way to lie is just not tell all of the truth.
I've found that the best way to lie is just not tell all of the truth.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
O'Brien was fired because the program had gone stale and wasn't performing to the standards that were demanded. They tried to fire him with cause for withholding information. IMO it was a way to recoup his salary, Jim O'Brien was a dead man walking as coach of OSU.Originally Posted by Unassisted
O'Brien was fired ostensibly for withholding information about what he had done. I imagine he has an opinion about what Ohio State should do with Tressel.
It all comes back to what the university wants to do when it gets a window of opportunity.
FWIW I had at the time and still think that O'Brien did a honorable thing. But I am glad OSU decided to part ways with him.
I stand by my belief that the consequences should be significant here and that Tressel was dead wrong here and he knew it. But what I don't agree with is some of time implications some are drawing. I'm not sure that this type of thing is aywhere near stuff like paying players, helping them cheat in school, etc... Those are direct involvement in the violation as opposed to trying to keep it from coming to light. Both wrong, but a different kind of wrong, IMO. I don't think this reaks of "dirty program", but a serious error in judgement by someone who knew better.
And when it comes to what's right and wrong, I think oversigning is worse than any of this. Yes, I know it's not technically breaking a rule, but I have a bigger problem with coaches who take full advantage of this at the expense of these kids than what Tressel has done here. If people want to imply that it's a dirty program over this, they're going to believe that regardless of what I say. But I don't think this warrants that type of label.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
Call me cynical but I think this whole thing has been handled in such a way as to not hurt the football team's record on the field. That's their #1 priority as opposed to following rules or cooperating with the NCAA.
Tressel delayed telling anyone about this because he didn't want to risk losing key players for the 2010 season. They suspended their players for much lesser games in 2011 rather than risk losing a Bowl game. Now they're suspending their head coach in games that the team could win on auto pilot.
I think wins in 2010 ought to be vacated especially in the Bowl game and I want to see suspensions apply to Big Ten games in 2011, not Akron and Toledo.
If the Big Ten gets involved that could very well happen.
Sea Ray, as a UT fan, do you see much similarity going on with what is happening in Knoxville?
Well, I disagree with that. I was covering the whole ordeal at the time, and all the information I saw even from Ohio State indicated that he was fired for cause because he violated NCAA rules. It's probably semantics to quibble over, but he was fired for what he did, not that he hid it. Further, even O'Brien's termination letter indicated that he was fired for his payment made to the former recruit, according to O'Brien's attorney.O'Brien was fired ostensibly for withholding information about what he had done. I imagine he has an opinion about what Ohio State should do with Tressel.
It all comes back to what the university wants to do when it gets a window of opportunity.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
I wonder if between April 2 and April 16 (the time between the first and second email) if JT talked to whoever's name has been redacted from that email. It looks like he would only ever had knowledge that 2 of the 5 suspended players had contact with this guy and might be in trouble. Obviously he didn't tell his boss, but did he tell the players to stay away? If his defense is player safety and that step wasn't taken than I don't buy it and all and he was just trying to cover it up to keep a football season from falling apart. If he did do that than fine I'll buy it and assume he was waiting for the federal investigation to get to the point.
I'm also confused by the wording of his last email in June about the names and the 2009 rings. From that email it looks like there had been other contact with the lawyer besides just email, but what exactly was JT looking for?
Some but it's worse with Bruce Pearl in that he lied to NCAA investigators. I don't think there's any record of Tressel testifying to the NCAA in this case.
However the act that Tressel did was worse. He likely handled it the way he did in order to keep players on the field. In Pearl's case it wasn't so much the act but the coverup. Because of that I expect much lesser penalties for OSU
Why is no one in the media questioning the wisdom and propriety of a prosecutor giving a football coach a heads-up about an ongoing investigation involving players?
IMO, one of the biggest takeaways from this is that the prosecutor's office should work through the athletic department, rather than a coach, the next time it has information to share about players in the program.
It was later shown that OSU acted improperly in doing so:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_O'B...ng_controversyO'Brien claimed Ohio State improperly fired him and sued the university for $3.5 million in lost wages and benefits. O'Brien argued his loan did not violate NCAA bylaws because he knew Radojevic already had lost his amateur status by playing for money overseas. At trial, Geiger, NCAA lead investigator Steve Duffin both testified that O'Brien made the loan for humanitarian reasons, not as an inducement to get Radojevic to sign with Ohio State. NCAA infractions committee chairman David Swank testified that O'Brien's actions did not violate NCAA rules. A judge found Ohio State had breached the contract and awarded O'Brien $2.4 million. The award was upheld on appeal to the Ohio Court of Appeals and Ohio Supreme Court.
I agree - what the attorney did here is morally shaky, IMO.
"I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum... and I'm all out of bubble gum."
- - Rowdy Roddy Piper
"It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong. I am not a big man"
- - Fletch
Agreed. That was a point I had made in my previous post that the university had acted too swiftly without allowing due diligence by the NCAA>
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
I'm thinking vacated wins from any games the players were involved in. Tressel was using players who likely would not have been eligible. At Tennessee, the players in question were recruits who ended up not attending.
I'm thinking OSU has some wins erased while Tennessee gets a postseason ban and/or reduction of scholarships.
Some might disagree with this, but I think another lesson to be learned in all of this is that players like Terrelle Pryor aren't always worth it. The guy thought he was the biggest show in town from his senior year in high school to his time in Columbus. He's a superb athlete, but I think he's more trouble than he's worth, and it wasn't that hard to see his time playing out the way it did.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
Cunningham is reporting that the OSU players were instramental in bring down this drug trafficking ring, Pryor being one of them. Don't get me wrong Pryor has been an issue ever since he set foot on OSU's campus with his me first attitude and the fact that he liked to open his mouth before he thought it over.
However according to Cunningham, Tressel was working with the FBI in this matter and that is why he didn't relay the info to Smith and Gee. He also said Tressel was acting like a NARC. Now this is Cunningham spinning the story the way he wants to spin it. However I am beginning to doubt that the general public will ever hear the real reasoning behind this matter, especially since it involves the FBI.
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