For those of you who don't follow college football to closely, Tressel is the head football coach at Ohio State. Recently, it came to light that instead of reporting a NCAA violation committed by five of his players, he attempted to cover it up. For years, Tressel's had the reputation of a do-anything-to-win coach who ... well ... does anything to win, including using unsavory means to lure recruits who may or may not be terrible people and potential criminals ... Maurice Clarett I'm looking at you.
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| Tressel after winning a national championship on the back of Maurice Clarett, a player I'm sure he did an excellent job mentoring. Oh no? Clarett spent three and half years in prison after he left Ohio State. Oh wow. |
The article covers Tressel's indiscretions as part of a larger story on the crazy amount of NCAA violations that have surfaced in the last two years. In a section devoted to Tressel, the author notes that his actions were seen by some as an act of "loyalty." That's the sentence that killed me. An act of loyalty? To whom? Presumably the players, but in what way is he being loyal to players by covering up their poor behavior and making sure they aren't punished for it? It may seem loyal to cover up their infractions and make sure they stay out of trouble, but in doing that, Tressel's only perpetuating a problem that creates the Ryan Leafs of the world (if you don't know he's a huge douche who use to play football until he lost his mind because he'd never been told no before).
College athletics, in its idealized form, serves to build character in student-athletes. I'm of the humble opinion that sports should instill discipline, work ethic, and character traits conducive to positively contributing to society. Of course, this opinion is better suited for the 1950s or a fantasy land where mountains are made of cupcakes and rainbows and beautiful women throw themselves at me. It's unrealistic and naive to think that college athletics has the character building of its student-athletes as its top priority. Money is its priority ... nothing goin on but the rent.
More than anything these days, college athletics, and I mean all athletics not just football, tests character. If you're a player and a booster comes to you with a duffel bag full of cash, will you do the right thing? Not the right thing as you see it or what may be the right thing in the eyes of many, but the right thing as laid out by the rules you agreed to operate under when you signed on to play college athletics. These decisions reveal character, but the sad part is, if an 18-year-old-kid doesn't have his head on straight coming in, which is a lot to ask, he's in trouble. He's more likely to operate under the "They should pay us anyway" mentality, which is really just an "I'm gonna make up my own system" mentality. Is it right that the NCAA makes billions and college athletes are suppose to make nothing but a free education? I'm not sure, but that's not the issue.
The issue is how college athletics supports a system where players learn that they get to follow their own code of conduct. Athletes take free tattoos, free cars, free strippers (meanwhile I gotta pay for my strippers the old fashion way), and their coaches and administrators look the other way, essentially saying "It's ok boys. You're great. And greatness has no rules." Is that building character? Rhetorical question, of course, it's not building character. We look at these athletes like Terrelle Pryor, Marvin Austin, The Fab Five, and so many others it's like a Justice League of real top-notch behavior, and we say "Look at these douche bags." Or, at least, that's what I say. But the truth is these guys are what they've been made to be by people like Tressel, people who sacrifice the character and futures of their players to win and, to an even greater extent, to make money.
Loyalty. That was the word the author of the article on Tressel used to describe how some felt about his actions. He was being "loyal" to his players. Loyal - by allowing them to do as they please. Loyal - by covering it up. Loyal - by continuing a cycle that will only hurt these players in the long run. That's loyalty like handing a friend a Bandaid after you cut his arm off is "loyalty." If I had friends as loyal as Tressel, I'd be out knocking off liquor stores right now. If Tressel truly had his players' interest at heart, then he is unforgivably short sighted. Those are the options. Either he's "loyal" and exceedingly stupid, or he doesn't give two shits about who these kids become compared with how much he cares about winning and making money. I'm leaning toward him not giving two shits. What do you think?
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