Good article on Maurice Clarett

B1GTide

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I think we can all agree that if you apply the Albert Means approach to Maurice, or Cam, all three schools get hammered. I understand your point about the NCAA being unfair, and I am mad at the NCAA about it to but there's also another element here. It's why should we have to watch competitors do things, and benefit from those things, while Alabama struggled for years? Why is Alabama the one walking the tightrope?
I agree with the bolded, because the NCAA set you up - the facts were unimportant. Any time they decide to do that to a school, that school is toast. I have no idea why they decided to pick on Alabama. I have no idea how they pick and choose their "victims". But I don't blame the victims.
 

bamafaninOhiO

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Stepped in to stop the "money train"? We were busted because players were selling/trading their own stuff, which was/is against NCAA rules. We were not busted for paying players - that was not even a suggestion in the investigation. Tressel was busted for trying to cover it up.

Not making excuses - we broke the rules and have to accept the punishment - but we were not busted for paying players. Whether or not the NCAA should have this kind of power is another story. I hate the NCAA, so am biased, but I'd like to see the entire organization disbanded.
I appreciate your posts, and you seem to be one of the least biased tOSU fans I've ever met, but, the punisghment handed to tOSU for the transgressions of Coach Tressel were ridiculous in context with their severity.

I have had to listen for years to the sanctimonious 'holier than thou' talk regarding tOSU and how evil the SEC was....but the luster was stripped off the program and they have a lot of work to do to rebuild their reputation...Tressel showed he was a pretty dirty coach to have acted so darn righteous, and to honor him during a season of probation wasnt a great PR move, IMO...but what has tOSU done that showed any kind of contrition unless it was to lessen the severity of their punishment...

hopefully they put more emphasis on cleaning up things now with the new 13 person compliance department (what, that many to monitor the program?????), because before it seems one of their primary duties was to make sure that it was kept on the 'down low'.

Boosters are a programs best friend and worst enemy, and a former player saying that isnt a good thing, even if it is someone of Claretts reputation...usually, where theres smoke, theres some kind of a flame....


Not trying to attack you, as I have said, you alwasy seem to post very objective, and usually very unbiased opinions. I know thais is a touchy subject to a fan of a program, from past experiences unfortunately.
 
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CapitalTider

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Nothing was made up according to the ESPN article, I'll have to try and find it. Youngstown State went on NCAA probation not long after Tressel left. You are correct that Tressel was not implicated, but the similarities between Clarett's claims and that story were remarkable. Maybe Clarett used that article to fabricate claims; but I don't think he is that smart and I believe there were similar car stories about Pryor.
 

CapitalTider

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Here's the link to the story I mentioned.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1920867

From the article:
As the NCAA would later learn, Isaac was taking money from a booster from virtually the moment he joined the team in 1988. A few hundred here, a thousand or so there, including $3,800 during the 1991 championship season. In all, Isaac got about $10,000, plus the use of various cars, during his career. Ray "The Colonel" Isaac was Tressel's original Maurice Clarett, a Youngstown kid with quick feet and open palms who would lift his team, and coach, to new heights.

Isaac's benefactor was Michael "Mickey" Monus, chairman of the university's board of trustees and a local hero in his own right. As the dazzling, if disheveled CEO of the rapidly expanding Phar-Mor discount drug store chain, he created thousands of local jobs.

* * *

But this much is certain, based on an ESPN review of legal documents and other sources: Monus was no stranger to Tressel. A huge sports fan, Monus could be found on the sidelines during Penguin games. He was on the university athletics committee that hired Tressel. And, according to court testimony that eventually brought the Isaac payments to light, it was Tressel who directed Isaac to Monus at the start of his freshman year.
I don't remember all of the specifics of Clarett's allegations and the Pryor allegations, but a similar fact pattern occurred on both to my recollection, i.e. a booster providing payments and vehicles and Tressel either directed the player to the booster or knew of the relationship in Pryor's case.

I hope this shows that I am not "just making stuff up to aligh with my point of view."
 
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B1GTide

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I appreciate your posts, and you seem to be one of the least biased tOSU fans I've ever met, but, the punisghment handed to tOSU for the transgressions of Coach Tressel were ridiculous in context with their severity.
Maybe - maybe not. Consider the actual wrong-doing. OSU players sold or traded their own personal belongings. Right - need to really punish the school for that. Then again, maybe not.

As for Tressel's lying - he was fired and a show cause placed. That seems pretty fair.

And, lest we forget, we had an undefeated season this year. So the punishment cost us a shot at a BCS championship (and opened the door for Alabama).

You're welcome. :wink:

Edited to add that I think that Alabama would crush the Buckeyes this year - but we would still be in the game without the NCAA sanctions.
 

IMALOYAL1

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It may be the conspirator in me but I have wondered if the PTB kinda set up Tressel to easily make way for Urban. Tressel was stuck with a plodding boring offense that was just enough to win the conference but flounder against elite teams from outside the BigXX.

For an institution to get in trouble, lose their coach, get penalized by the NCAA it has worked out as well as any punishment ever levied, sans missing the title game this year.
 

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