Things are getting even hairier, if that’s possible, in Columbus, Ohio. Jim Tressel has earned quite a lot of leeway and benefit of the doubt there, due mainly to his national title just three seasons ago. The allegations of one disgruntled player, even if corroborated by a few others, probably wouldn’t be enough to bring him down.
But now this. ESPN’s Tom Farrey has a well-written, longish piece on a very similar story from Tressel’s days at Youngstown State. There, he introduced his star to QB to a rich booster who subsequently began paying the player. And these aren’t just wild claims, they are testimony from a federal trial.
See the pattern?
On top of that, former star Buckeye running back Robert Smith, who battled with coaches over his outrageous plans to get a real degree, admits that players got paid when he was there too.
If the sordid football tales weren’t enough, former basketball coach Jim O’Brien, fired a few months ago for paying players, sued Ohio State yesterday. Nice timing. Evidently his argument is that, yeah I admit to paying a recruit $6,000, jeapordizing the program, but that’s no reason to fire me.
Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel says the school should give itself the death penalty. Somehow, I don’t see that happening, but I also don’t see how AD Andy Geiger can keep his job. You just can’t have scandals this bad in both of your major programs.