Football, This Concerns All of Us. . . .

Usually I do not post a full story, or media approach to a situation that I feel is very important.

UGAChemDawg has a thread that I have responsed to, just feel that . . . . please do not hold this against me, name recognition means a lot.

UGAChemDawg does not come up very often, and when UGAChemDawg does, it is to start a new thread. Not sure if UGAChemDawg wants to be a part of this board or . . . . use the shotgun approach. UGAChemDawg has pissed me off in the past because he does not participate. Seems that some things never change. Get off of your flanks and participate.

By Pete Fiutak

Exclusive transcript from Ohio State’s response to the current NCAA investigation: “The issue here isn’t whether we broke a few rules or took a few liberties – we did (wink) – but the NCAA can’t hold a whole football program responsible for the behavior of a few sick, perverted individuals. If it does, then shouldn’t we blame the whole system? And if the whole system is guilty, then isn’t this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg. Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well ... you can do what you want to us, but we won't sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America! Gentlemen!”

Ohio State just doesn’t get it.

It all started with the embarrassment of a press conference after the story broke that Jim Tressel was covering up evidence that Buckeye players were selling or trading away any piece of memorabilia that wasn’t nailed down, highlighted by the disastrous, “I hope (Tressel) doesn’t fire me” comment from Ohio State’s pretend president E. Gordon Gee.

It continued with the laughably rah-rah performance by Luke Fickell – who, with Urban Meyer lurking, is the Buckeye version of Ron Zook – claiming that he was too “focused on the task at hand” to notice that the bombs going off around the program.

And now this.

Ohio State is vacating all its wins from the 2010 season, which is the ultimate non-punishment, punishment – NO … ONE … CARES - while putting itself, quite literally, on double-secret probation, meaning that if there’s one more slip-up, one more mistake, then this fraternity of theirs has had it with the NCAA.

And the school actually thinks it just did something to pay for its sins.

It's the equivalent of a spoiled child getting caught for trying to set fire to the house, and then suggesting he should be punished by erasing the “Good Job!” he received on his macaroni and pipe cleaner art project. Ohio State is doing everything possible to make nice-nice with the NCAA, but it’s not doing anything to actually punish itself and it’s certainly not doing anything to change the program to ensure that there aren’t more problems in the future.

Athletic director Gene Smith said, with a straight face, that vacating wins is significant because it affects the seven-game win streak over Michigan – like Rich Rodriguez just got the best of the Buckeyes. He also basically suggested that players on the current team might feel ashamed because the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas isn’t in the record books anymore. (Ironically, if that win doesn’t count, then the players should be free to sell and trade away the trinkets and items they received from the game.)

The bigger problem, though, is that Smith and everyone at Ohio State is putting this in terms of wins and losses. This isn’t about the football team, this isn't about Michigan, and it isn't about the record book. This is about THE Ohio State University.

Forget about hitting a delete key or putting in an asterisk next to the 2010 season, THE Ohio State University needs to be bending over backwards to show the world that it’s an institution of higher learning, and not a football program that has students and classrooms in place to provide a fan base. It needs to show that it really and truly thinks that the culture of Ohio State football needs to go in a new direction, and it has to show that it wants to change because it wants to, not because it's being forced to.

Smith is talking about wanting to shake things up when it comes to cars that the players drive, but why? If there isn’t any problem with the car dealerships under investigation, and if OSU didn't see fit to punish itself for anything when it came to the allegations, then why does anything have to change? This goes far, far, far beyond how the Buckeye football players live their lives as college students, as Smith intimated. This goes to how a monster of a football program has to be changed up and how the culture has to be different so this type of thing can’t bring more shame to the school.

Don’t Ohio State administrators, the ones who actually care about the academic reputation, want to do something big? Shouldn’t Ohio State have the people in place who demand nothing short of perfection with the way the athletic department is run? Taking away a few wins and saying you’ll try to do better isn’t going to make one lick of difference. This was a chance for THE Ohio State University, not the athletic department, but the school itself, to make a stand and show that it really and truly wants to be above reproach, but instead it tried to do everything possible to keep the machine rolling while pretending to care about making things better.

How about starting from scratch?

How about sacking everyone and anyone who came within ten feet of this scandal?

How about trying to figure out where the fire is burning behind all the smoke and not making excuses every time it seems like something else is amiss?

How about doing the legwork yourself, and not letting the media tell you when you did something wrong?

How about trying to figure out how a football coach can become so powerful that he could be bigger than the school itself?

No, THE Ohio State University, this isn’t Jim Tressel’s fault. This isn’t Terrelle Pryor’s fault. This is THE Ohio State University’s fault. The football program has become totally out of control because the pressure has become too great and the expectations have become too high for any sort of real change to occur, and while it’s fine to have a great football team, is it worth everything it apparently takes to have one at Ohio State? And that’s where the NCAA comes in.

Other programs, particularly USC, will have a very interested eye on what the NCAA does after Ohio State’s mid-August meeting in Indianapolis. USC actually did try to change things up and it really did make the effort to be better, starting with the hiring of Pat Haden as the athletic director, and it amounted to a fat load of jack squat when it came to the appeal process. And now, Ohio State insults the system, the NCAA, and the scandal with these non-punishing self-punishments, and if it gets away with it and if there aren’t any more things added on, then USC, and others, will rightly have a major beef.

It’s time for THE Ohio State University to figure out what it wants to be. After what it’s trying to pass off as penalties, it’s obvious that the school has no real interest to do anything other than to try to let the storm pass before going on with business as usual.

OSU is a JOKE and has been to me since they won against Miami in the BCS championship game a long time ago. I did not want to start a new subject, but has anyone else heard rumors about AM academics??? Only posted this in this subject Buc since it also concerns all of us I felt, not trying to offend ya.

born2bAdawg, I can promise you this, no offense is taken. Think what you posted is dead on. Once upon a time north/south of the the Mason Dixon line they played that game. Like kentdaddy said in another thread, you just have to understand what is being said.

Buc has a serious problem with folks that want some wiggle room. OSU is trying to make a case that they are DIFFERENT. Some how, some one has to show me why OSU should not be held to the same STANDARDS that Southern California or Southern Methodist were held to. Am I wrong bringing up the two cases, or . . . . .

Was just curious about it Buc. I completely agree with you about OSU being treated how they should. I'm not sure why they think they are above other universities considering they aren't known as a powerhouse or anything important except to the majority of ESPN alumni that went there. In the article it was said plain enough....Don’t Ohio State administrators, the ones who actually care about the academic reputation, want to do something big? Shouldn’t Ohio State have the people in place who demand nothing short of perfection with the way the athletic department is run? Taking away a few wins and saying you’ll try to do better isn’t going to make one lick of difference. This was a chance for THE Ohio State University, not the athletic department, but the school itself, to make a stand and show that it really and truly wants to be above reproach, but instead it tried to do everything possible to keep the machine rolling while pretending to care about making things better...That was from the article above and it tells you where OSU stands as a university. The "THE OSU" emphasis that previous and present players use gets on my nerves anyway, considering the only team they dominate is Michigan...o sorry I forgot the non-aq teams as well.