The Sports Illustrated article we have all been waiting for is finally out, and boy is it a doozie. In it, George Dohrmann says that Jim Tressel has been aware of violations made by his Ohio State players dating all the way back to 2002, just his second year in Columbus; and that he has had a history of violations in his programs since he was at Youngstown State.
In reality, Ohio State players have been trading memorabilia -- including items bearing Tressel's signature -- since at least the coach's second season, according to multiple sources. The number of players involved is also much higher than what has previously been disclosed.
Here is some of the other information that Dohrmann discloses, via SB Nation.
- The memorabilia-for-tattoos violations started occurring all the way back in 2002, Tressel's second season at OSU.
- Former Buckeye defensive end Robert Rose claims that he and "at least 20 others" on the Ohio State team traded memorabilia for tattoos.
- SI uncovered allegations that some players traded memorabilia for marijuana. As a coach at Youngstown State in 1988, Tressel contacted a school trustee in regards to arranging a job for one of his players. That player also received a car from the trustee's company.
- During an event in which Ohio State was hosting recruits, assistant coach Tressel rigged a raffle to ensure that the highly-prized recruits won prizes "such as cleats and a jersey."
And there is a lot more where that came from. With this on the horizon, it's no surprise that Tressel elected to resign yesterday. The only thing that remains is to find out from the NCAA how many of these violations will lead to punishments for the University and their next coach.
The biggest thing that Dohrmann claims Tressel is guilty of is knowing about these issues and not reporting it. that is one of the biggest violations a coach can make, and almost always leads to their eventual dismissal. This is no different. If you haven't gotten the chance to check out the article yet, I recommend you do so. It will give you a different view on the sweater.