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Tressel knew players were selling memorabilia


BigDawgBengal

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[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1303836985' post='985939']
right, but that was UT and UT's boosters. And if I'm not mistaken, Pearl wasn't beloved by them to begin with.


I don't see the OSU administration or boosters turning on Tressel anytime soon.
[/quote]
Pear lied to the NCAA not the boosters. He mislead them on information, which is just like Tressel.

The only major difference is Pearl continued to screw up after lying and so far Tressel has stayed clean.
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[quote name='BigDawgBengal' timestamp='1303837434' post='985942']
[b]Pear lied to the NCAA not the boosters.[/b] He mislead them on information, which is just like Tressel.

The only major difference is Pearl continued to screw up after lying and so far Tressel has stayed clean.
[/quote]


I know that, but it was likely the boosters that got him fired.


If tressel gets fired, it will likely be due to the boosters as well, and I don't see the boosters turning on him.
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[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1303837831' post='985946']
I know that, but it was likely the boosters that got him fired.


If tressel gets fired, it will likely be due to the boosters as well, and I don't see the boosters turning on him.
[/quote]
Depending on the ruling and how bad it is, I could very easly see the boosters turning on him especially if they know for sure Urban Meyer would take over.

It would be a win win for OSU. They fire Tressel for lying and it makes them look good for not putting up with it and hire Meyer who is just as a good coach.
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[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1303836297' post='985934']
why? for telling a lie?


He broke a rule, no doubt, and should be punished for it.
[b]

But let's not pretend it was some egregious moral and ethical violation. [/b]


What Tressel did isn't nearly as bad as say all of the schools and coaches who PURPOSELY oversign players and offer more scholarships than they have, and then screw over players already on the team who they don't think highly of anymore. And that's legal.


You're right, the system is corrupt, but what Tressel actually did is pretty low down on the corrupt meter.
[/quote]

You don't think this was a big deal? Not egregious? He willingly/knowingly used players who should have been ineligible if he would have acted as he should have......ethically. He lied. He continued to lie and would still be lying if the attorney had not come forward.

And to say that Tressel's actions aren't as bad as schools who oversign players....well, that doesn't fly with me. Both are in the wrong. One's actions aren't made more acceptable due to the others' actions. I can't believe you'd even bring that up.
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[quote name='IKOTA' timestamp='1303850686' post='986002']
You don't think this was a big deal? Not egregious? He willingly/knowingly used players who should have been ineligible if he would have acted as he should have......ethically. He lied. He continued to lie and would still be lying if the attorney had not come forward.

And to say that Tressel's actions aren't as bad as schools who oversign players....well, that doesn't fly with me. Both are in the wrong. [b] One's actions aren't made more acceptable due to the others' actions.[/b] I can't believe you'd even bring that up.
[/quote]


who's making what Tressel did more acceptable? I've clearly said he broke rules and should be punished for it. As for the oversigning, from a moral and ethical standpoint it IS far worse IMO.
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Not sure I agree totally with this assessment, but it should stir up discussion at the very least...
[quote]
Jim Tressel Is The Perfect Coach

Barry Petchesky — I used to think Jim Tressel was scum. Covering up his players' transgressions, hiding them from his school and NCAA. But I've been reading over the allegations, just doing some sittin', and some thinkin', and I'm man enough to admit I was wrong. Jim Tressel is the ideal coach for a big-time program in today's college football.

The Columbus Dispatch is still hitting this one hard, revealing a new cache of phone calls and emails. After Tressel was tipped off that Terrelle Pryor and others were selling memorabilia for tattoos, he sprung into action. Just hours after hearing about the problem, he followed up with the tipster. He called Pryor's mentor. He exchanged 33 text messages and phone calls with Pryor himself. He called the home of an FBI agent, who just happened to be a personal friend and the father of a former player. And in this flurry of communications, Jim Tressel managed to avoid doing one key thing:

But OSU records don't show a single call or email from Tressel to the Ohio State compliance office in which he could have reported his players' apparent violations of NCAA regulations.

This, of course, is the source of Tressel's five-game suspension and $250,000 fine (so far). But he isn't fired, even with all the just cause in the world. Because Ohio State knows what it has on its hands in Tressel: a man who's going to keep his mouth shut and take the fall for his employer.

The man doesn't hold some patent on boring, predictable Tresselball. Which is to say, no one hires a coach just to coach. Being a college football coach carries a job description somewhere between day care supervisor and parole officer: you keep your players in line as best you can, and you provide a face for the program through good times and bad. You protect the program from itself.

Jim Tressel could have run to the Compliance Office the minute he heard about Pryor. The school would have investigated, would have been forced to go to the NCAA, tail between legs. But do you know who self-reports violations? Small-time programs.

Tressel's plan was near perfect: do his own investigation to make sure no one knew about the transgressions, and then never say a word to anyone. It almost worked, too. He kept a lid on the allegations for eight whole months, and won a Sugar Bowl in the process. His cover-up might still be working if not for disgraced lawyer Christopher Cicero running to the media.

Risk management is another job for coaches, and Jim Tressel did the calculations. He judged that the greater good would be served by chancing that he could keep this quiet. And why did he do this? Not for his own skin — he would have gotten off scot-free if he had immediately reported the violations — but for the good of the program. Jim Tressel, company man.

Everything he did, he did for OSU. He tried to keep them out of trouble, at risk to himself. Don't think they're going to forget that. So while he's an embarrassment now, don't expect them to fire him, and don't expect any other program to hesitate before snapping him up. His school throwing him under the bus by releasing copies of his emails? That's just the way it has to be. Because he can take it. Jim Tressel, silent guardian, watchful protector, is the hero Columbus deserves and the one it needs right now.[/quote]

http://deadspin.com/#!5795313/jim-tressel-is-the-perfect-coach
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[quote name='IKOTA' timestamp='1303850686' post='986002']
You don't think this was a big deal? Not egregious? He willingly/knowingly used players who should have been ineligible if he would have acted as he should have......ethically. He lied. He continued to lie and would still be lying if the attorney had not come forward.

And to say that Tressel's actions aren't as bad as schools who oversign players....well, that doesn't fly with me. Both are in the wrong. One's actions aren't made more acceptable due to the others' actions. I can't believe you'd even bring that up.
[/quote]

And then he lied and said that he didn't know who to contact and was in contact with 1) His Star QB, 2) His Star QBs Mentor 3) the guy who contacted him about the allegations telling him he had a plan. He lied then lied about lying.
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[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1303836297' post='985934']
why? for telling a lie?


He broke a rule, no doubt, and should be punished for it.


But let's not pretend it was some egregious moral and ethical violation.


What Tressel did isn't nearly as bad as say all of the schools and coaches who PURPOSELY oversign players and offer more scholarships than they have, and then screw over players already on the team who they don't think highly of anymore. And that's legal.


You're right, the system is corrupt, but what Tressel actually did is pretty low down on the corrupt meter.
[/quote]

Well he knowingly played ineligible players for an entire season. Plus the NCAA hate, hate, hates when you lie to them (see Pearl, Bruce; Bryant, Dez). Which he did. The actual violations themselves are pretty tame, but the cover-up is always worse than the crime for NCAA.

And that deadspin story isn't totally accurate. The claim that he would have gotten away with it without Cicero "running to the media" is wrong. The reason this came up was because the FBI was investigating the tattoo parlor and found all this signed OSU memorabilia and rings, etc. and the U.S. attorney's office contacted OSU. OSU then did their own "investigation" where they suspended the players and Tressel played dumb. Then while appealing the players' suspensions, they found the e-mails proving Tressel's cover-up, and eventually suspended him 5 games.

Again, the biggest thing is the NCAA got played, and they fucking hate that.

He signed a form in the beginning of the year saying that were no players that were ineligible (which the NCAA has proof he knew was wrong). He lied to the media and his school about it.

It'll be very interesting to see how OSU plays this. An NCAA ruling wouldn't happen until after this season, knowing how fast the NCAA works, though they tend to want you to offer up a guilty's person's head after the notice of allegations (again see Bruce Pearl, or two UConn assistant coaches).
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[quote name='CTBengalsFan' timestamp='1303799343' post='985847']
Tressel is a dead-man walking.

He's about to turn a 12-1 season into a vacated season for knowingly playing ineligible players and then he has to explain to the NCAA's satisfaction why he lied about what he knew and when he knew it. He can't do that.

The odds on Tressel being OSU's coach to start the season are a little bit better than my odds of being their coach.

The NCAA took a ton of heat for their decision to let the Ohio State kids play in the Sugar Bowl and serve their penalties next year - and Tressel lied to them during that investigation.

They are gonna fucking level him.

He's gonna be Bruce Pearl'd.
[/quote]

Yup, yup...



[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1303835645' post='985921']
Tressel's not going anywhere.
[/quote]

NCAA is going to tell OSU (behind the scenes of course like they did UT with Pearl) that if you show up at your hearing with Tressel still employed you're going to get hammered.

If you don't, then we'll be lenient. That is the ONLY reason Pearl was fired. What Pearl lied about would have been nothing more than a secondary violation. It is the lying that gets them.

Tressel lied about significantly more serious violations, much more than a secondary... he lied when he signed the acknowledgement at the beginning of last season stating he wasn't aware of any Compliance violations with his players, then lied again in early December in an interview stating he wasn't aware of this having occurred.

OSU will have the option to either keep Tressel and him be banned / show cause for 2 years and the team will probably get post-season ban for a year or 2. Or, they dump Tressel and probably lose a couple scholarships this season and that is it. Either way they're going to vacate all of last season's wins and the bowl game. And, you dump Tressel and ole Urban will be primed and ready... he's from the area, and only reason he left Florida was the intensity of the SEC burnt him out. He could own the Big Ten - dude is a hell of a coach.

Tressel's deal sounds SOOOO much like Pearl's it is almost scary. And, I've had to hear about the Pearl crap on the radio almost every day since September... Tressel is done.


And, from that deadspin article... some good points in there, particularly Tressel's ability to have all this activity between Pryor, his mentor, the source, and an FBI friend yet didn't contact compliance...

But this quote:
[quote]Jim Tressel could have run to the Compliance Office the minute he heard about Pryor. The school would have investigated, would have been forced to go to the NCAA, tail between legs. [b]But do you know who self-reports violations? Small-time programs.[/b][/quote]

Is so much BS it is incredible. No... any program that has any sense self-reports. Because no matter how small the issue, typically, once things get rolling they manage to have a way of getting larger and larger and sooner or later the NCAA finds out. Better to tell the NCAA about it before they come to you asking.

If SEC schools are small-time programs then I guess I'd agree with his assessment. But they're not and SEC schools self-report ALL THE TIME.
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[quote]Ohio State football players are alleged to have improperly traded dozens of items to the owner of a tattoo parlor, receiving tattoos, $14,000 and in one case a sport-utility vehicle, according to a newspaper report.

The report by The Columbus Dispatch says it obtained a letter Thursday that was sent from the U.S. Department of Justice to Ohio State officials in December. The document lists 36 items that players are said to have sold to Eddie Rife or traded for tattoos since 2008.

The newspaper reports that investigators say one player received a 2003 Chevy Tahoe, purchased by Rife for $3,500, in exchange for a watch and passes to the 2010 Rose Bowl.

Only a portion of the transactions were deemed violations by the NCAA, and five players have been suspended for the first five games of the upcoming season. A related NCAA investigation into coach Jim Tressel continues.
[/quote]
[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6443472"]ESPN[/url]
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  • 2 weeks later...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/05/07/osu.car.deals.ap/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a5&eref=sihp

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- As part of his punishment for not revealing his knowledge of his players' NCAA violations, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel will attend a five-day compliance seminar in June in Tampa, Fla.

Ohio State spokesman Jim Lynch confirmed Saturday that Tressel would take part in the NCAA-sponsored event June 6-10 at a resort hotel on the waterfront.

One of the topics of the compliance seminar -- one of two put on by the NCAA this summer -- is "Division I Major Infractions."

Meanwhile, Ohio State's director of compliance is reviewing at least 50 car sales to Buckeyes athletes and relatives to see if they met NCAA rules, The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday.

Tressel was notified in April 2010 via emails from a Buckeyes fan and former player that Ohio State players were trading signed jerseys and other memorabilia to a Columbus tattoo parlor owner for cash and reduced-price tattoos. Even though his contract and NCAA rules required him to notify athletic director Gene Smith, Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee or the university's compliance department, Tressel did not do that.

It was not until more than nine months passed -- and five players including quarterback Terrelle Pryor had been suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season - that Ohio State officials discovered the emails and confronted Tressel. He finally admitted he knew of the players getting improper benefits.

Tressel was originally suspended for two games - later extended to the first five games this fall to match the punishment of the five players -- and was fined $250,000, required to make a public apology and receive a public reprimand and to attend an NCAA compliance seminar.

The NCAA is still investigating the actions of the 10-year coach of the Buckeyes. Ohio State and Tressel are scheduled to appear before the NCAA's committee on infractions Aug. 12.

The Dispatch reported that a car salesman who received game passes from Ohio State athletes handled many of the deals at two different dealerships. Ohio State has since taken the salesman, Aaron Kniffin, off the pass list.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/05/07/osu.car.deals.ap/index.html#ixzz1LhNyedSZ
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  • 3 weeks later...
[size="4"][b]Ohio St.'s Ray Small says he sold rings[/b][/size]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small told the school's student newspaper that he sold Big Ten championship rings and other memorabilia for cash and got special car deals as an athlete during his playing days.

The Lantern reported that Small, who played for the Buckeyes from 2006 to 2009, said "everyone was doing it" on the team

Five Buckeyes players are suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for selling memorabilia to the owner of a local tattoo parlor. That is considered an improper benefit under NCAA rules. Coach Jim Tressel also is suspended for five games and is under investigation by the NCAA for knowing about his players' involvement and not telling his superiors for more than nine months.

"We had four Big Ten rings. There was enough to go around," Small said.

He added that despite Ohio State's large and proactive NCAA compliance department, most of the student-athletes "don't even think about (NCAA) rules."

Ohio State did not dismiss Small's charges but also didn't sound as if it would try to find out any more about them.

"At this point, the university does not have enough information regarding the reported matters concerning a former student-athlete who has been gone from the football program for two years," athletic department spokesman Dan Wallenberg said in an emailed statement.

Small, who was suspended for the 2010 Rose Bowl in what would have been his final game, said he used the money he got to cover his typical costs of living.

"We have apartments, car notes," he said. "So you got things like that and you look around and you're like, 'Well I got (four) of them, I can sell one or two and get some money to pay this rent.' "

He said the biggest advantages came from car dealerships.

"It was definitely the deals on the cars. I don't see why it's a big deal," said Small.

Ohio State is investigating more than 50 transactions between Ohio State athletes and their families and two Columbus auto dealerships.

"They have a lot (of dirt) on everybody," Small said, "cause everybody was doing it."

Small had 61 catches for 659 yards and three touchdowns during his Ohio State career, which was marked by frequent suspensions and discipline. He spent time on the practice squads of the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins and now has returned to Ohio State to get his degree in sociology.

Small said players went to see Edward Rife at Fine Line Ink tattoo parlor because Rife was an Ohio State fan and gave big discounts. It was the U.S. Attorney's investigation of Rife on federal drug-trafficking charges that led to Ohio State officials finding out about the improper benefits.

Small said the players would have been foolish to turn down the discounted tattoos.

"If you go in and try to get a tattoo, and somebody is like, 'Do you want 50 percent off this tattoo?' You're going to say, 'Heck yeah,' " Small said.

Tressel continually suspended or benched Small during his playing days at Ohio State. One of the team's fastest players, he was seen as the heir apparent to Ted Ginn Jr. after the wide receiver and kick returner went to the NFL. But Small's career was marked by his stay in Tressel's doghouse.

"They explain the rules to you, but as a kid you're not really listening to all of them rules," Small said. "You go out and you just, people show you so much love, you don't even think about the rules. You're just like, 'Ah man, it's cool.' You take it, and next thing you know the NCAA is down your back."

Another former Ohio State player interviewed by The Lantern, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, said Ohio State told players about NCAA rules, and if the rules were broken, it was the players' fault.

Ohio State spokesman Dan Wallenberg responded: "We educate as best we can and expect student-athletes and staff to follow our messaging and policies."

Former Buckeyes basketball player Mark Titus wrote Tuesday on his blog that the perks within the football program are far from a secret.

"Any OSU student in the past five years could tell you that a lot of the football players drive nice cars," Titus wrote. "You'd have to be blind to not notice it."

Small said there was no shortage of people trying to help Ohio State athletes.

"Everywhere you go, while you're in the process of playing at Ohio State," Small said, "you're going to get a deal every which way."

[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6592185"]ESPN[/url]
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No......no......no! This is all little time stuff.......they should get like a warning and that's it. All of this pattern of behavior is being waaaaaaay overblown. It happens everywhere!!!!1 And at least OSU doesn't sign extra people to letters of intent!!
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[size="3"][b]Ray Small: Reporter twisted my words[/b][/size]

Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small is calling an audible.

Small, who told the school's student newspaper that he sold Big Ten championship rings and other memorabilia for cash and got special car deals during his playing days, backpedaled Friday, saying his words were twisted.

"I've come back to retract my words, because there's two sides to every story, and I want to tell the world my side of the story," Small said in an interview Friday with ESPN's Tom Farrey.

Small admitted that he sold "just a couple of my rings," which is a violation of NCAA rules, but said he never said the words "we were all doing it."

"I never heard another player say he sold his ring," Small said.

Ohio State's student newspaper, The Lantern, issued a statement in reponse to Small's allegations.

"We, 100 percent, stand by our story," Lantern editor-in-chief Zach Meisel said. "Everything (Small) said was recorded."

Small said The Lantern reporter asked him about deals players received on cars, and that his answer referred to the deal he felt he got.

"Everybody just knew it was quicker to get a car from Jack Max (Jack Maxton Chevrolet), so you know, when you go to Jack Max, you could pick who you want to get a car from," Small said. "Who said that they was giving deals, if so, I didn't get a deal. I wish I did."

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is investigating at least 50 transactions to try to determine whether athletes and their relatives received discounts not available to the public, which would be a violation of NCAA rules. Ohio State, which has suspended its investigation until the BMV investigation is complete, has said it has no reason to believe any violations occurred.

Small said he knew selling his rings was an NCAA violation but said he did it to make his rent and pay his car note.

"It was either break the rule or get evicted," he said. "That was the best thing I could do. I mean, you don't want me go doing anything illegal, which I don't do, you know what I mean? So it was the smartest plan I could come up with."

He said he doesn't remember how much he received and that he "gave them to my people, gave them to my cousin or something, told him bring me back the money." He said it was between $800 and $1,000 per ring.

Several Ohio State players have taken to Twitter to speak out against Small.

"Show me a coward and I will show you Ray Small," center Mike Brewster tweeted. "He isn't part of the sacred brotherhood anymore. Never on time, never accountable, never sacrificed for the team. Can you trust his word?"

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and five of his players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, have been suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season because the players sold memorabilia to a tattoo-parlor owner for tattoos and cash. Tressel learned of the memorabilia sales in April 2010 but did not alert Ohio State officials. The school and the NCAA are still investigating.

The tattoo-parlor owner, Ed Rife, was indicted in Columbus on Friday on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Small, who played from 2006 through 2009, said he does not know Rife and that he does not plan to talk to investigators unless he has to.

[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6600920"]ESPN[/url]
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[quote name='CTBengalsFan' timestamp='1303799343' post='985847']
Tressel is a dead-man walking.

The odds on Tressel being OSU's coach to start the season are a little bit better than my odds of being their coach.

He's gonna be Bruce Pearl'd.
[/quote]

:whistle:

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