George Dohrmann’s long-awaited Sports Illustrated article on Jim Tressel and his downfall at Ohio State was published Monday night. After some brief delays (likely to tailor the piece after Tressel’s sudden resignation at OSU), you can read it in full here.
SI Article: Tressel’s ‘Ignorance’ Became His Downfall At Ohio State
The gist of the article is that while Tressel was a man of integrity on the field, he was a man willing to play the ignorant fool off of it when it came to his players and their perks. And it’s something that existed long before Tressel ever stepped foot in Columbus.
As coach at Youngstown (Ohio) State in the mid-1990s, he claimed not to know that his star quarterback had received a car and more than $10,000 from a school trustee and his associates — even though it was later established in court documents that Tressel had told the player to go see the trustee. In 2003, during Tressel’s third season in Columbus, Buckeyes running back Maurice Clarett was found to have received money and other benefits. Even though Tressel said he spent more time with Clarett than with any other player, he also said he did not know that Clarett had been violating the rules.
And that’s before we even get to the recent memorabilia-for-tattoos violations and other issues Terrelle Pryor may have gotten himself into.
Go read the piece now and we’ll meet back here to discuss. GO!
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