Ohio State suspended Jim Tressel for 2 games next season, along with fining their head football coach $250K, after it was revealed Tressel had information regarding Terrelle Pryor and other Buckeyes selling memorabilia and sat on the details for a very long time. Pryor and 4 teammates will serve 5 game suspensions next season, while the educator who essentially covered up their violations will only sit for two, and if you think that’s a little inconsistent, CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel points out the reason Tressel is still employed (despite a promise of a resignation from The Bleacher Report) is pretty simple ; “he makes a lot of money for Ohio State…believe anything else, and you’re every bit as stupid as those schools think all of us are.” If you missed this evening’s amazing press conference, you can choose between Spencer Hall’s interpretation or the almost as ridiculous straight version of Tressel’s explanation, as transcribed by SB Nation’s Jason Kirk ;
Last spring practice, I received some emails regarding an ongoing federal criminal drug-trafficking case. And in those emails, and I think you may have them, I’m not sure, it was pretty graphically outlining some of the parties involved and was obviously of tremendous concern to me … It elicited obviously a different emotion than you typically get from someone who needs a hospital call or a visit. It kind of jogged in my mind some of the toughest losses i’ve ever had in coaching. I get a lot of good emails saying that people enjoy the job that our guys do or their professors not happy with their behavior in class.
This one was obviously much different than that. I’ve had a player murdered. I’ve had a player incarcerated. I’ve had a player get taken into the drug culture and lose his opportunity for a productive life. So it was tremendously concerning. Quite honestly, I was scared. Especially the fact that two of our current players were mentioned in the emails, and as we sit in homes, we talk about how we’re gonna take care of these young people, and we’re gonna treat them like they’re our own.
Admittedly I probably did not give quite as much thought to the potential NCAA part of things as I read it. My focus was on the well-being of the young people. In those emails it was very emphatic that there be confidentiality.