Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor left the Ohio State football program earlier this year after the NCAA launched an investigation into alleged violations, which could lead to serious penalties for the Buckeyes.
Tressel resigned after the NCAA discovered he impeded its investigation. Pryor skipped his senior year and bolted for the National Football League once the NCAA learned of possible violations that included Pryor receiving free cars and money in exchange for playing for the Buckeyes.
It seemed as though the two men ”“ Pryor especially ”“ wouldn’t face any punishment for their potential violations. If Pryor had returned to Ohio State, he would have served a five-game suspension, as would have Tressel.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and one NFL team, however, had other plans for the two.
After the Oakland Raiders drafted Pryor in the NFL’s supplemental draft earlier this summer, Goodell announced that Pryor would need to sit out the first five games of the NFL season. He also couldn’t practice.
Now comes Tressel. The Indianapolis Colts recently hired Tressel as a game-day consultant. The Colts quickly placed a five-game suspension on him.
Both of these decisions must be applauded during a time that has seen the National Collegiate Athletic Association begin to lose credibility among the public while several scandals have erupted. It shows that players and coaches in college athletics will not be allowed to cheat and then escape any repercussions by moving on to the NFL, which was the case with current Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and his former University of Southern California player Reggie Bush.
The NCAA ruled Bush ineligible during the seasons he competed for USC under Carroll’s watch for receiving ineligible gifts, which included the university buying a home for his parents. Carroll left for Seattle before the NCAA handed down any punishments. The New Orleans Saints drafted Bush and he helped lead the team to the franchise’s first Super Bowl title last season.
Both got away freely ”“ Bush only had to return his Heisman Trophy that he won while playing for USC.
University of Southern California, however, is in the second year of being banned from postseason competition, which isn’t fair to the current players or coaches who had nothing to do with the scandal.
That scenario might not be allowed to develop any more. Goodell and the Colts have now made Tressel and Pryor poster boys for coaches and players who want to violate NCAA rules and escape punishment.
Violators of NCAA rules should not be allowed to cheat at a school, leave that school to deal with the mess they caused, and then escape to a professional league without any repercussions.
Some people might say that Goodell and the Colts overstepped their authority by enforcing suspensions that another association handed down. While this is a valid argument, we feel that such drastic measures must be taken in order to curb the recent growth of collegiate athletic violations.
The NFL won’t admit it, but NCAA football is a farm system for the league. The talented people who play in the NFL all come from college programs such as Ohio State. The recent carry-over of the suspensions shows that the league understands this and will not allow itself to become a safe house.
If collegiate players and coaches see that they can’t escape their violations by leaving the NCAA, it might make them think twice before cheating and possibly ruin a college program in the future.
Ӣ Ӣ Ӣ
Today’s editorial was written by Sports Editor Al Edwards, on behalf of the Journal Tribune editorial board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
