Another Low in College Sports: Jim Tressel Extorts Suspended Players’ Promise to Return

Tressel’s Pledge Sets Dangerous Precedent—Will NCAA and OSU Admin Sit Silent?

On Thursday (Dec. 28), Ohio State head football coach Jim Tresell announced at a Sugar Bowl press conference that his five players, recently suspended by the NCAA, had to make a pledge to return to the team for next season if they wanted to travel with the team to New Orleans, Louisiana and have a chance to play inside the Superdome at the 2011 Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State players Terrelle Pryor (QB), Dan Herron (RB), DeVier Posey (WR), Mike Adams (OT) and Solomon Thomas (DE) were suspended by the NCAA, last week for selling personal items given and/or awarded to them for cash and services–acts they committed nearly two years prior to the NCAA’s suspension announcement. The NCAA suspended the players for the first 5 games of next season, but allowed them to remain eligible for Tuesday’s (Jan 4) Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State University and head coach Jim Tressel have the option of imposing further sanctions on the suspended players that were found to have violated NCAA student-athlete bylaws. The more traditional options available are:  a.) Not letting the players participate in the Sugar Bowl.  b.) Dismissal from the team.  c.) Simply letting the NCAA ruling stand as the punishment. Instead of utilizing  the more conventional and  understandable approaches, Jim Tressel chose this moment to extort a pledge of return from the junior year players–all of whom happen to be eligible for this spring’s NFL draft.

Tressel’s ultimatum “return for next season or you can’t play in the Sugar Bowl” is an outrageous abuse of authority and tantamount to extortion. It’s yet another example of how greed for success and money in college football continues to exploit the student-athlete, most of whom–more often than not– are young black men.

“We told them they would have to make the decision on the NFL prior to leaving for the bowl game,” Tressel said at his first Sugar Bowl news conference. His reasoning: “It wouldn’t be fair to not face the consequences down the road,” (meaning the five game suspensions next season if they took off for the NFL this year).

The facts belie Tressel’s reason for his ultimatum, considering that it was done in the light of Ohio State’s athletic director Gene Smith’s explanation to the NCAA that Ohio State was negligent on its part for not emphasizing to their players that apparel and awards given to them during college does not actually belong to them and thus cannot be sold or bartered for services while they are student-athletes. Furthermore, the University has appealed the NCAA suspensions based on the aforementioned and that the players themselves reported that they were unaware they could not sell or barter these gifts and/awards. The appeal also seeks relief because the University believes the punishment the players received is too harsh—a view shared my many including this writer.

So why is Jim Tressel really forcing these players to pledge their return next season under these circumstances?  I’m certainly not buying Tressel’s “it wouldn’t be fair not to face the consequences” explanation. Hello Coach Tressel—these young men have already faced the consequences: They were caught and suspended for five games by the NCAA. Their names, faces and actions are national public fodder. Whether they stay at OSU or leave for the NFL, they are marked men in the eyes of the NCAA and the public–a punishment and embarrassment that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

In my opinion, Jim Tressel is blatantly taking advantage of the situation to serve—his—best interest: 1.) This move allows him to soften the blows from the folks calling for him to not let the suspended players play in the Sugar Bowl— but he knows his team needs them in order to beat a SEC team in a bowl game for the first time in 10 tries 2.) Most importantly, his ultimatum gets highly productive players back for next season. And if their appeals are granted, those 5 game suspensions could be drastically reduced—giving the Buckeyes an even better shot at a BCS championship.

It’s all greed and nothing more.

A Dangerous Precedent

The enforcement of this pledge would not stand the light of day in a court of law. Nonetheless, the fact that Tressel is brazen enough to demand such pledges in the first place and bold enough to broadcast it to the public is very troubling.  And if left unchallenged by the powers that be—it sets a dangerous precedent in college sports.

Is the NCAA going to sit silent on Tressel’s extortion pledge from his players to forgo potential monetary gain by entering the draft this spring in exchange for playing in the Sugar Bowl to further showcase their talents to the NFL?

Doesn’t the NCAA have a rule somewhere prohibiting coaches from extracting “you can play in a game if you return for next season pledges from players?”

Where is the outrage from the Ohio State University administration for allowing their head football coach to engage in such practices?

Oops, I forgot they’re all on the same great exploitation ship–the USS G.R.E.E.D.

The NCAA benefits by having these popular players return—more jersey sales and television viewers for them and Ohio State will certainly gain from the extortion for obvious reason too.

Unfortunately, in their blind pursuit of success and the mighty dollar accompanied by further exploitation of the student-athlete, the NCAA nor the Ohio State administration is likely to have the integrity to do the right thing here: Tell Jim Tressel to publicly rescind his ridiculous pledge that he extorted from his players and apologize to them and their families for stooping so low.