Liar, Liar, Vest On Fire...

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last week, I’m sure you have heard that things are going to be a little bit different for Ohio State football in the upcoming seasons.

Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel announced his resignation last Monday amid an investigation that revealed numerous NCAA infractions during his time as head coach. So the stoic, ever-composed, sweater vest-wearing coach that Bucks fans have come to love and count on is gone after 10 seasons, a 106-22 record, 7 Big Ten titles (including a record 6 in a row), 8 BCS Bowl appearances (in which he went 5-3), and 1 National Championship.

His crime? Failure to report non-compliance of NCAA rules, falsifying information to the NCAA, and failure to control his team. This is a very big deal that could end up costing Ohio State not only player suspensions and loss of scholarships, but also vacated wins and an extended post-season ban.

Of course, the investigation was initiated because of reports of improper benefits received by the now infamous “Tat 5” over the last few years. Star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, starters Dan Herron and DeVier Posey, and two other players were found to have sold rings, jerseys, and other memorabilia in exchange for tattoos, money, or other services. All of these things which Tressel apparently knew about, did not alert the appropriate authorities about, and then later lied about. This, of course, prompted Michigan fans to erect a billboard in Ann Arbor stating simply, “Liar, Liar, Vest On Fire” (which I thought was really clever). Pryor is now also being investigated for getting improper deals on cars from a Columbus dealership. The five players under investigation were suspended for the first five games of the upcoming season, but were cleared to play in last year’s Sugar Bowl, a curious decision by the NCAA. But more on that later...

As an Ohio State fan, I must admit that all of this news hit me pretty hard. I had come to trust Tressel as our coach and as an upright molder of young men. Tressel has publicly claimed to be Christian and has even written a few books about coaching and winning strategies, some including Biblical references. He had formed for himself a squeaky-clean image and came across as an honest man with integrity and Christian values. So I believed what he said. Over the last 10 years, while coaches at other universities (Pete Carroll at USC is an example) were slapped with penalties, I always felt lucky to have one of the “good guys” coaching my team. But now that the truth has been exposed, I feel so naïve to have trusted him. And also so betrayed by a man who claims to be Christian but his actions show otherwise.

Granted, Tressel is only human and he made some mistakes. Everyone does. But as more and more dirt on him was dug up, the truth started to be revealed that this was not a one-time mistake, but rather a habitual pattern of lies and cover-ups. Anyone remember Maurice Clarett, who played for the Buckeyes back in 2002 for Tressel? He was investigated for all sorts of infractions including drinking and driving and carrying loaded weapons, and spent time in jail. Santonio Holmes, who now plays in the NFL? He has been caught with drugs numerous times. Troy Smith, who won the Heisman for OSU back in 2006? He was also suspended earlier in his college career for accepting money from a booster. So perhaps I should have seen the signs. But I didn’t until it was too late.

While college football players behaving badly is nothing new (see USC, FSU, SMU, etc), and there is no way that coaches can babysit these players 24 hours a day, where Tressel failed is that he knowingly lied about his knowledge of what was going on. When the NCAA was first investigating this whole mess over a year ago, they asked Tressel if he knew anything about it. Tressel replied that he did not know anything and he even signed a paper stating as such. I can’t blame Tressel for the stupid stuff that college kids do, but I do blame him for lying about it and for withholding information from the investigators. If he had been truthful and cooperative, his career may have been spared. However, he sealed his own fate by lying and covering up everything, and his removal from the OSU head coaching position was the only appropriate action.

So the larger question appears to be this: How can you prevent stuff like this from happening again in the future? How do you stop these college athletes from taking money from boosters and from selling their trophies and jerseys? I don’t know. But I think the majority of the problem is money, plain and simple.

The truth is that college football (and basketball too for that matter) is a money-making machine. Universities, TV networks, the NCAA, and the BCS are making untold millions of dollars off of these athletes (Remember those 5 Buckeyes who were cleared for the Sugar Bowl last year? I’m absolutely convinced that decision was made purely for TV ratings and ticket sales. There was no way the NCAA and BCS head honchos were going to miss cashing in on that game). And while it’s true that the athletes are compensated with tuition and board, many of the players feel that they are not seeing enough of the profits return to them. Also, with the demanding practice and travel schedules, athletes are not allowed to have jobs. So they really don’t have a means to make money for themselves. So what is a player going to do? Well, if a booster comes up to you and offers you $500 or offers you a free tattoo or a free car for some memorabilia, you take them up on it. Only an athlete with a strong moral stance would not consider it. And remember that most of these athletes were like gods in high school, so they are used to being (and are expecting to be) treated this way in college as well. But of course, the NCAA rules are that athletes cannot use their celebrity or affiliation with the university to make a profit.

While it’s true that the athletes should be held responsible for complying with the rules, perhaps the rules themselves should be re-evaluated. When the story first broke about the athletes selling their rings and trophies, my first thought was, “so what?” If these items were the property of those athletes, they should be free to sell it. Since when was a person prohibited from selling his own property? The silliest part of it all is that if the athletes had waited another year and sold their stuff after they left school, there would have been no issue whatsoever. So when does something actually become your property to keep or sell as you choose? I think this rule is silly. Now I agree that it’s not right for an athlete to receive improper benefits (such as free goods or services), but they should be able to sell or trade their own property.

Perhaps the solution would be to just pay the players. I would think about creating a minor league system for football (and basketball too). That way, athletes who want to get paid to play can join the minor leagues and athletes who want to accept an athletic scholarship as a means to go to college can play for the university teams. Let’s face it, a large percentage of college football players have no concern for their schoolwork and do not belong in college anyways. Most of them schedule easy classes, have tutors who do their homework for them, and don’t even go to class. To call them “student-athletes” is a joke. As a taxpayer, this makes me angry because I’m funding “party-time” for these boneheads while many other deserving students miss out on scholarships.

But you might say that if you create a minor league, then no one will watch the college games. Not true. I was talking to a friend earlier this week and I basically said that I am a fan of Ohio State football not because of the names on the backs of the jerseys, but because of the name on the front. To me, it doesn’t matter who plays for the team, I would root for them anyways. The great thing about college sports is that it’s based so much on tradition and emotion. Your roster rolls over every 4 years anyways and you consistently have new guys to root for. I think that if a minor league system were to be created, then the drop in talent across all college teams would be fairly distributed. And the teams would still be very competitive and there would still be great games. At some point you realize that the game itself endures because of its very nature, not because of the athletes’ individual skills. The minor league model has worked well for baseball. Sure, the attendance at college baseball games is not overwhelming, but there is a good following at the College World Series. And besides, when was the last time you heard of a college baseball player receiving improper benefits?

Of course, a minor league system would never happen because there is too much money being made under the current system. The TV stations could probably pick up minor league games, but the universities, NCAA, and BCS are making way too much money to allow that to happen. So I guess we’re just stuck with a system that inevitably results in cheating.

So yes, it may take a few years for Ohio State to become competitive again. But as a fan, I would rather have a clean program than a program that wins by cheating. I just feel sadness for the fans and alumni of the university. We support the university and the football program and they repay us with deceit and betrayal. Today, I am embarrassed to call myself a fan of Ohio State football, but I also look forward to the day when the program can get back on the right track. I know they will.