Jim Tressel: Being Caught in NCAA Scandal Requires No Shame or Blame

Jim Tressel, though it’s hard to see it now, is a model of the modern college coach. His crime isn’t a shame, and his punishment isn’t a hardship.

As word broke that Jim Tressel had resigned, there was this air of “oh well, I mean he had it coming.” There was no shock, no outrage—just a bit of melancholy that a coach who built a program into a perennial contender was being ousted because neither he nor Ohio State had any other choice.

Tressel deserves every ounce of blame that he gets for the way he handled the awful situation with Terrelle Pryor. As you may or may not recall, Tressel had learned of Pryor and other Ohio State players selling memorabilia online and in exchange for goods and services. After all, it was theirs to sell, wasn’t it? According to the NCAA it was not, at least not while playing under the umbrella of the NCAA.

When news broke of the players' indiscretions, Tressel kept his mouth shut, hoping that the five-game suspension would be served and his secret of keeping the information to himself would never be found. When information leaked that Tressel had been made aware months prior to the NCAA catching wind, Tressel offered up a series of all too flimsy excuses. He didn’t know who to talk to. That’s like saying you saw your friend's wife cheating on him and you didn’t know who to confess the information to.

Tressel’s attempt to cover up rather than come clean was a black mark on the school and a certain blow to his credibility and reputation, but his response was just Tressel following procedure. This is the modern college coach, and until the NCAA adjusts its permissions, punishments or a combination of both, situations like Tressel’s will continue to permeate the college landscape and make us all laugh at the idea of integrity in college coaching.

Tressel will likely to what other coaches do. He’ll take a sabbatical and spend his time working for ESPN or the Big Ten Network, or another offshoot. His services will be coveted, his insights appreciated, and as bowl season approaches his name will be mentioned for virtually any job that arises. He’ll have his pick of the litter.

He’ll arrive somewhere else and build his program, sidestepping the rules and procedures of the NCAA in order to win. He’ll pretend he doesn’t know, the way Pete Carroll probably did. He’ll act like he’s not aware of the boosters and agents that hang around the practice field and the dorms like common criminals stalking their prey.

He’ll “no comment” everything that smacks of the truth when it comes to players accepting money from a booster or an agent because that player feels entitled. After all, when Ohio State is great, it sells more jerseys and gets more money from sponsors. Why wouldn't that player be entitled to a cut?

When the water gets too hot or Tressel is exposed for his transgressions, he’ll move back into the booth and then on to another school.

Tressel is the modern-day coach. His lifestyle is nomadic, and the decisions he must make every day stretch the boundaries of morality and ethics because he works in a system that has lost all sight of morality and ethics.

The NCAA isn’t interested in keeping the integrity of its sports programs. It is interested in lining its pockets. After all, if sponsors could just pay players, why would they ever give the school as much money as they do?

For the school, winning is paramount. College football and college basketball are worth billions. The biggest cut of the pie is given to the teams that win the most. Winning gives you BCS bids, which give you money. They give your conference the chance to negotiate TV networks or start a network of their own.

All of that pressure falls on coaches. Certainly they must be able to rise above it, right?

Imagine Tressel. You get wind of players selling their own items for money. Telling the NCAA could result in sanctions for the players, yourself and the school. Who are the players really hurting anyway? If you lose players, you lose games. If you lose games, you lose the Big Ten, if you can’t be on top, eventually they will find someone who can. There are very few coaches these days who get a pass on failure.

So if you just keep your mouth shut, you can hope to divert all of that and keep earning that big-time money, the fan adoration and the security that you have for as long as you have it.

Worst-case scenario? Your reputation takes a hit, but in a few years you are coaching anywhere you want. After all, who’s going to pass on Jim Tressel? If Urban Meyer were found to be dirty, would most schools still take him? Absolutely. Winning is at a premium in college football.

When I was 17, I had a summer job. I learned that another employee was stealing. Feeling a sense of moral obligation, I told management. He and the nine other people that knew got fired. At first I felt like a hero because I stood my moral high ground, but after weeks of being short-handed and the rest of the staff hating me for having been the catalyst for the termination of so many valuable employees, I wondered if I made a mistake.

I made $5.85 an hour at this job. Had I been making millions, and had our overall performance as a company rested on my shoulders and my job, I wouldn’t have said a word. I wouldn’t have taken that risk. That’s the truth. The bigger the position, the more money at stake—and the less integrity and morals you have. It’s a function of keeping your job. At 17, no family and for $5.85 an hour, what is the worst that happens? At $4 million there is far more to consider.

Side note: The next summer I went to reapply for my job. They basically told me I wouldn’t be promoted and they didn’t really have a position for me anymore. How’s that for doing the “right” thing?

The NCAA has no morality—just a set of rules to make sure the money is coming to the right place. Had they had morals, Cam Newton would have sat out; so would've Terrelle Pryor.

Ohio State fans shouldn’t feel sad Tressel resigned. Save the outrage. Save the sadness. As long as NCAA football puts winning and money first things like this are bound to happen.

Get used to it.