An endangered legacy

An endangered legacy

Jim Tressel will always have a spe- cial spot in the collective heart of the Mahoning Valley. He earned it for the attention he brought to Youngstown State University, of course, but more importantly for the pride he instilled in those he worked with, especially the athletes at YSU.

That makes it all the more difficult to witness his failure at The Ohio State University. Certainly he has not failed at winning on the field. But recent disclosures of his obvious failure to react immediately to the news that some of his players were selling Buckeye memorabilia to a tattoo parlor owner and suspected drug dealer are not easily excused.

It is painful to read the e-mail exchanges between a lawyer who was obviously and seriously concerned about the danger posed to the athletes and the program they represented, and then read Tressel’s weak, even inept, responses.

Tressel’s failure in this instance goes beyond his not reporting what he had learned to his superiors at the university and to the NCAA. It calls into question whether a coach who had built a reputation on putting the needs of his student athletes ahead of winning has lost that focus.

We doubt that OSU’s announced two-game suspension of Tressel or a $250,000 fine is the end of this story. We suspect that the NCAA investigation will focus more closely on the disturbing time line of Tressel’s inaction and the inadequacy of the explanations he has offered to date.