Jim Tressel Suspension and the Ohio State Buckeyes: A Fresh Perspective

"In 10 years as the Buckeyes' coach, Tressel has often showed us his teams can't win big games. On Tuesday night, Tressel showed us he can't win the big news conferences, either."

That's what Mark Schlabach of ESPN states in his latest article on Tressel.

It's a very bitter, ugly, harsh piece, that beats Tressel up in about every way possible.

Not only does he use Tressel's leadership books against him, which it predictable, but he paints him as a unapologetic cheater backed by a "win at all costs" focused university.

I'd like to say that I'm surprised by the response by Schlabach and the other writers and football fans, but I'm not.

In fact, there is no need to be defensive as a Buckeye fan in the midst of this turmoil, though that's the knee jerk reaction everyone in Buckeye Nation would like to have.

Jim Tressel isn't Tim Donaghy or Barry Bonds, as much as guys like Schlabach would like to paint him that way.

We know that, and we know he won't be remembered as a cheater. So rather than get in a message board fight or a Twitter war, keep a few things in mind: 

The media loves drama

It's hard to put much stock in anything you read and watch in the national media.

Guys like Schlabach write to get views and gain readership as much as anything, and drama is a great avenue to do that.

You watched SportsCenter lately? Highlights are quickly headed to the back-burner just like music videos on MTV.

Instead the hour is typically filled with analysis of issues in the Miami Heat locker room, NFL lockout troubles or Albert Pujols' contract dispute.

In a society that's in love with tabloids and Hollywood drama, sports journalism has unfortunately followed suit.

More than celebrating winners and writing about great games, it's now about Tiger Woods' love life, sports scandals and teammate feuds.

Don't get me wrong, what Tressel did is wrong and he deserves to be punished but I'm not buying he's near the villain he is being pegged to be by some.  They're creating drama for a reason.

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Winners always have lots of haters

Let's face it, when you win, people can't wait to see you fall.

Ohio State has dominated over the last decade under Tressel, including seven Big Ten titles, a 5-3 record in BCS games and a national championship.

They have spent tons of time in the spotlight and knocked off a lot of schools in the process. Needless to say there are a lot of people now lined up to rub salt in the wounds.

Think about it. No one was crying when the video scandal hit the Patriots. People cheered the Dallas Cowboys train wreck. They're doing same with the Buckeyes right now.   

Tressel has sold himself as an "Honest Abe"

While this story would have hit the headlines no matter what coach made the mistake, it's more shocking coming from a guy like Tressel.

No one seems that astonished when Lane Kiffin or Jim Calhoun slip up, because they have the reputation of being sleazy.

The Vest on the other hand had built himself into a moral leader and a "molder of young men."

He has books on the subject and fans have bragged about the fact that OSU doesn't run their program like schools in the SEC. Now that reputation has taken a hit.

While Tressel's mistake is far from the heinous crime that it's been made out to be, considering his perceived integrity, it's a major blow.  

So take a deep breath as you watch ESPN or read some scathing article about JT.

While the next 10-12 months are sure to be awkward as OSU takes the field in one of the weirdest seasons ever, this will all blow over.

No doubt it will leave a stain on Tressel's ultimate legacy, but it should be relatively small.

He's not going to be remembered like ARod or John Calipari, and he shouldn't be!