Tressel resigned? Quick, let's relate this to Butch Davis.
May 31, 2011
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel resigned Monday under scrutiny from the NCAA and the media. From a tattoo-parlor scandal to a new "prong" involving quarterback Terrelle Pryor and cars, along with other extra benefits, Tressel's biggest fumble was attempt to cover it all up. He played the "I didn't know" defense, which has done all the way back to his days at Youngstown State. This time he left a damning email trail that eventually caught up to him and likely Ohio State.
Some of you have your keyboards at the ready, looking for that local pound of flesh. But before you feverishly type "What about Butch Davis? How does he still have a job while Tressel leaves in shame?" in the comment section, take a deep breath and think about the logical answer. The proverbial smoking gun.
As it stands nearly a year after Marvin Austin and John Blake brought all sorts of problems to Chapel Hill, Davis appears to be insulated from the type of damning evidence that brought down Tressel. While most of us roll our eyes at the idea of a head coach of a major college program not knowing the background of his ace recruiter or that he was basically acting as a runner for a sports agent, there isn't evidence of direct involvement similar to Tressel.
It's that simple.
Make no mistake, at times North Carolina has handled the NCAA investigation like Keystone Kops. As the antithesis of the SEC, officials in Chapel Hill welcomed the NCAA with plenty of access. Remember, integrity of the university was at stake and stonewalling the NCAA was not how they do business at UNC. Slight problem, it cost the Tar Heels a potential breakthrough season with a number of player suspensions and an investigation with no foreseeable end thanks to more information gleaned from that access.
North Carolina's best intentions actually showed how ill-prepared they were to handle what the SEC calls a typical day.
Even little things like the "sign out sheet" have come back to haunt UNC. After defensive lineman Quinton Coples brought the NCAA back on campus because of his appearance at a post-NFL draft party he attended in Washington, D.C., athletics director Dick Baddour told the News & Observer that the policy still had "glitches."
And if the policy was broken by a player?
"It's not set up that way," Baddour said. "It's an internal policy, not an NCAA rule. When you have an internal policy, you take each case by the severity of the situation. You have to factor the track record of the people involved and what else is going on in that student's life. Then you deal with the total amount of information that you have."
Um, OK.
As embarrassing as the whole process has been for North Carolina, it still hasn't reached the level of Ohio State. Schools go to bat for their coaches all the time, especially for those who win. But at Ohio State they fawned over a guy that hid behind his vest of integrity, all while deliberately withholding information from compliance. When the NCAA finds out you lied to them, it'll get you the boot every time.
Most Recent Comments
RE: Tressel resigned? Quick, let's relate this to Butch Davis.
Tressel 'resigned' because he DID know.Butch should 'resign' because he SHOULD HAVE known....
Posted Jun 1, 7:58 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 939
Joined: Sep, 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: Tressel resigned? Quick, let's relate this to Butch Davis.
Tressel lied and covered up but has come clean. Butch is still living the lie so no relationship. I do not think butch has it in his character to ever come clean.RE: Tressel resigned? Quick, let's relate this to Butch Davis.
My only question is, where, exactly, does "the buck" stop? If the Head Coach gets all the credit for winning and having a successful program, why doesn't that same person get the blame when bad things happen to that program? Just askin'.- Posted by tommybrownnc
When the coach takes "The Sargent Schultz defense" of "I know nothing" how can he get the blame???
Posted Jun 1, 5:21 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 6973
Joined: Mar, 2009
Location: Wake Forest, NC
RE: Tressel resigned? Quick, let's relate this to Butch Davis.
My only question is, where, exactly, does "the buck" stop? If the Head Coach gets all the credit for winning and having a successful program, why doesn't that same person get the blame when bad things happen to that program? Just askin'.Posted Jun 1, 12:06 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 976
Joined: Sep, 2010
Location: Garner, NC
