When asking football coach Jim Tressel about his apology in Canton today to a group of Ohio State fans for his repeated lying to OSU school investigators last year, AKRON BEACON-JOURNAL columnist Marla Ridenour inferred to Tressel that Monday’s speech contained his first act of genuine contrition.
Tressel’s response to Ridenour:
“I don’t know what you mean by that. I’ve tried to apologize all along.”
Today was Tressel’s first public appearance since Ohio State reported his NCAA rules violations to the governing body last week. In addition to a $250,000 fine and two-game suspension leveled against Tressel by the school, OSU noted in its report to the NCAA that it would take the following “punitive measures” against the coach:
Issue a public reprimand to Coach Tressel for his involvement with the activities in this report. Additionally, Coach Tressel will issue a public apology.
That “public reprimand” - in addition to Tressel’s “apology” - fell to school president Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith at a press conference in Columbus last Tuesday, the same day the Ohio State report was released to the public.
To be fair, Gee and Smith were at least dead-on about one thing.
Tressel’s body of work is undoubtedly impressive.
7:18 pm on March 14th, 2011
Looks like The Three Stooges are running the Athletic Department.
8:01 pm on March 14th, 2011
What is Tressel apologizing for? What the players did? That he was coach? That he lied to the NCAA when he said he only found out about it after the bowl was set? That he told OSU about the emails but not the NCAA? Or that he didn’t tell OSU, his employer?
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE APOLOGY FOR?
8:50 pm on March 14th, 2011
someone needs to teach him how to apologize better b/c he’s really bad at it.
2:45 am on March 15th, 2011
It’s hard to understand how to apologize when you’ve gone your whole life without doing anything wrong.
or…
He’s finding it difficult to apologize because he knows deep down that he has no genuine remorse over this. Even if 2010 is symbolically taken away from him and the NCAA makes him unemployable, nothing will ever un-do what happened. Given a mulligan on this whole thing, even knowing how it would play out, I think he would do things exactly the same. The risk certainly outweighs the reward, even in hindsight in this case.
2:13 pm on March 15th, 2011
Tressel is a Holier than thou jerk! He knew about this ENTIRE MESS and covered it up by silence and LYING. If Ohio St. had ANY BALLS they would fire him immediately, but they DON”T and WON’T. Just another coach who acts like he plays by the rules and teach young men lessons for life, and then will DO ANYTHING to Win. Sorry state of affairs in Columbus.
5:39 pm on March 16th, 2011
I can only state that Jim Tressel at the worse case scenario was worried for the 6 players future. Though it is always are job to enforce the rules we are bound by, we don’t always believe that the rules are perfect. I think Jim did this to absorb some of the punishment the players would have recieved. He reports this 9 months ago, all six players probably would have been suspended indefinitely and been out on the street find a way to make a living rather civil or criminal. By absorbing part of this punishment at the very worst the players will at least graduate with a 4 year degree from Ohio State University. What do we know, Jim Tressel has removed players who do not academically measure up. Two very talented individuals which would have made this season more superb Devon Carter and Ray Smalls both are not on the team because of academics. If it was about winning Devon Carter would have been on the squad because he was probably the frontrunner of the recievers. Jim Tressel is still the most classy winner around and did nothing wrong except give 6 individuals a future by taking some of the slack. Go BUCKS!
9:43 pm on March 17th, 2011
Dear Mr Haines:
One cannot be “the most classy winner around” when ignoring the rules. This point is lost one you.
9:44 pm on March 17th, 2011
Dear Mr Haines:
One cannot be “the most classy winner around” when ignoring the rules. This point is lost on you.