| 27 March 2011
I thought I was done with the issue of Tattoogate. Then again I thought we were done hearing any new revelations. The momentum from those who thought what coach Tressel did was worthy of termination stalled. Then we heard more.
Coach Tressel said in his press conference that because of confidentiality he had not shared the information passed on to him by attorney and former Buckeye linebacker Chris Cicero that players were involved with someone under investigation for drug trafficking. We have learned that is not true. Terrelle Pryors mentor, a wealthy businessman in his hometown named Ted Sarniak, had been informed. It seems a minor technicality. I believe under different circumstances it would be. Then again under ordinary circumstances that piece of information would already be out there. That is where this thing continues to go sideways.
From the time this thing started we have seen an attempt to squash it. Jim Tressel is an old school coach. He is set in his ways. One of those ways is to do everything short of putting up an electrified fence up to keep everyone, especially the press, away from the program. That means any new information is treated as a revelation. It becomes SportsCenter headlines. Jim Tressel himself increases the magnification level of the microscope that is focused on the program. This minor piece of information has chipped another piece from the foundation of the support of the coach.
Jim Tressel set himself up for this. After John Cooper left we found a program in more disarray off the field than on it. Some of the revelations about grades left Buckeye nation embarrassed. Jim Tressel came in here as an agent of change. He would restore the student part to the student-athlete credo. He would make this once again about getting a diploma first and winning alot of football games along the way, and we will do it the right way. If players made it to the NFL good for them. He came in here on a foundation of character and integrity first.
Fans believed it that. How many times have you stood up and proclaimed that we do it the right way here. The SEC wins more national championships but they cheat. Jim Tressel would rather lose than win the way they win in the SEC. I find it ironic that the biggest Tressel supporters I know are the ones who are shouting the loudest for his head.
Those people have never gone away. They have just been drowned out by those who have chosen to rally around coach Tressel. This latest piece of news has increased the ranks of those saying we should put an end to the Jim Tressel era. My question to them has been, this little tidbit of information is enough to turn you against the coach? The answer I am getting back is, it isn't the piece of information. It is the fact that it is more information. We thought we had it all. What is next? I just don't trust him to tell the truth anymore.
A perfect storm is rising to make it more likely that Jim Tressel is indeed no longer the Ohio State head coach. I no longer have any faith that this is over. I think we will learn more and lets keep in mind that the NCAA has not yet ruled. We know coach Tressel is going to be out for five games. What if the NCAA says more? WBNS is reporting that the NCAA could look at the problems under basketball coach Jim O'Brien, put them together with this, and come up with a ruling of lack on institutional control with penalties that could be severe. All indications are Luke Fickell is going to be interim coach. I am not surprised at that. He is the assistant head coach. His dynamic style could be very impressive, especially to those that think we need the playbook updated. He is the bluest of blue blood Buckeyes with his holy trinity pedigree, Ohio born, played at Ohio State and coached at Ohio State. The last thing coach Tressel needs is for a very attractive alternative to arise while he is taking on water. With what is going on right now, Luke Fickell going 5-0 and looking good in the process could be the tipping point in this.
I think there is something coach Tressel can do. He could come clean. Put together a real press conference, not anything like that thrown together farce that we saw when this thing first broke. Lets have it all. Maybe we will learn too much and the coach will not be able to withstand it. I am confident he cannot withstand any further leaks of information or greater penalties. Trying to get out in front of it is his only chance to turn the tide that is going against him with every new piece of information that surfaces no matter how minor. It is not about the information. It is a matter of trust and faith. That is the best way for this saga end, and it very much needs to end one way or the other. We have an instate recruiting crop that is so good the Buckeyes can have at least a top ten national class with not a single player from out of state. The uncertainty surrounding the program needs to be handled and it needs to be handled right now before we lost this opportunity to stock the shelves with low hanging elite quality fruit.
Jim Tressel created a situation where he could lose his job not because people lost faith in the football coach. It is because they lost faith in him. He is the only one who can fix it.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
