espn is suing OSU

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thedynasty1998

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Jul 12, 2011 12:09 PM
JerseyBuck;827921 wrote:Agree. I would think that the NCAA would already have this information if it did exist. Also, if there was more that OSU is hiding, why self report the emails in the first place?? If you're going to cover something up, don't have ass it by trotting out the Tressel/Cicero email when something bigger could be found.

You think they self reported prior to Yahoo requesting that information?
Jul 12, 2011 12:09pm
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dat dude

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Jul 12, 2011 12:20 PM
thedynasty1998;827931 wrote:You think they self reported prior to Yahoo requesting that information?

When did Yahoo file the FOI documents? OSU's response to the NCAA claims they found the emails "while reviewing information on an unrelated legal issue."
Jul 12, 2011 12:20pm
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thedynasty1998

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Jul 12, 2011 12:25 PM
dat dude;827943 wrote:When did Yahoo file the FOI documents? OSU's response to the NCAA claims they found the emails "while reviewing information on an unrelated legal issue."

Of course they did. They also said no other players were involved in tattoogate, which was not true. OSU wants to paint themselves in the best position as possible. Now I don't know when the emails were found, but I don't buy that OSU had already filed them to the NCAA prior to the Yahoo story. And if they did, why didn't they punish Tressel immediately rather than waiting for the Yahoo article?
Jul 12, 2011 12:25pm
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WebFire

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Jul 12, 2011 12:25 PM
dwccrew;827918 wrote:Clearly ESPN is making a big deal out of it as well as the Dispatch.

I thought he meant people here on OC making a big deal about ESPN suing.
Jul 12, 2011 12:25pm
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Writerbuckeye

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Jul 12, 2011 12:59 PM
thedynasty1998;827950 wrote:Of course they did. They also said no other players were involved in tattoogate, which was not true. OSU wants to paint themselves in the best position as possible. Now I don't know when the emails were found, but I don't buy that OSU had already filed them to the NCAA prior to the Yahoo story. And if they did, why didn't they punish Tressel immediately rather than waiting for the Yahoo article?

OSU had been working with the NCAA on a response nearly two months before Yahoo's article came out. All Yahoo's article did was push forward OSU's announcement of what was going on.

Tressel was let go because of the cumulative pounding OSU was taking in the media. The Board of Trustees got more nervous with each column or story that came out.

Otherwise, the timing was pretty coincidental. They'd simply had enough. It could just as easily have been an ESPN piece that triggered the call for his resignation; but media fatigue was the real reason here.
Jul 12, 2011 12:59pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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Jul 12, 2011 1:21 PM
Writerbuckeye;827978 wrote:OSU had been working with the NCAA on a response nearly two months before Yahoo's article came out. All Yahoo's article did was push forward OSU's announcement of what was going on.

Tressel was let go because of the cumulative pounding OSU was taking in the media. The Board of Trustees got more nervous with each column or story that came out.

Otherwise, the timing was pretty coincidental. They'd simply had enough. It could just as easily have been an ESPN piece that triggered the call for his resignation; but media fatigue was the real reason here.

Media fatigue? That is not what OSU is telling the NCAA. They are saying they parted ways because Tressel committed violations and lied. I agree with you, but that is my biggest problem with OSU's response to the NCAA. The only reason Tressel was fired is because of media pressure.
Jul 12, 2011 1:21pm
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dat dude

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Jul 12, 2011 1:54 PM
thedynasty1998;827950 wrote:Of course they did. They also said no other players were involved in tattoogate, which was not true. OSU wants to paint themselves in the best position as possible. Now I don't know when the emails were found, but I don't buy that OSU had already filed them to the NCAA prior to the Yahoo story. And if they did, why didn't they punish Tressel immediately rather than waiting for the Yahoo article?

Like I already asked, do you know when yahoo filed the FOIA requests? Osu's timeline is fairly clear.
Jul 12, 2011 1:54pm
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JerseyBuck

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Jul 12, 2011 1:57 PM
thedynasty1998;827931 wrote:You think they self reported prior to Yahoo requesting that information?

Ohio State had already self reported the situation with Tressel to the NCAA before the Yahoo article.

This was the biggest issue I had with the Yahoo article, they made it seem, and people think, they broke the Tressel news. To the general public yes, but the NCAA and Ohio State were already working together on the issue.
Jul 12, 2011 1:57pm
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se-alum

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Jul 12, 2011 2:13 PM
ESPN is so pissed that they have no story, and that they were not the first to break any of the stories. It's kinda funny to see this media giant flailing and phishing for anything they can mold into a story.
Jul 12, 2011 2:13pm
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thedynasty1998

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Jul 12, 2011 2:17 PM
JerseyBuck;828051 wrote:Ohio State had already self reported the situation with Tressel to the NCAA before the Yahoo article.

This was the biggest issue I had with the Yahoo article, they made it seem, and people think, they broke the Tressel news. To the general public yes, but the NCAA and Ohio State were already working together on the issue.

I understand what OSU has said. But is it unreasonable to think Yahoo requested the emails and once OSU pulled them they said, we better file a report to the NCAA prior to turnig these over? It's just hard to believe anything OSU says because of how poorly they have handled this.
Jul 12, 2011 2:17pm
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JerseyBuck

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Jul 12, 2011 4:35 PM
thedynasty1998;828077 wrote:I understand what OSU has said. But is it unreasonable to think Yahoo requested the emails and once OSU pulled them they said, we better file a report to the NCAA prior to turnig these over? It's just hard to believe anything OSU says because of how poorly they have handled this.

I guess if you like to reach and are pursuing a certain angle, it's plausible. But the fact of the matter is Ohio State investigated and found out about the emails, self reported it to the NCAA and months after the matter, Yahoo came out with the story.
Jul 12, 2011 4:35pm
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enigmaax

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Jul 12, 2011 4:48 PM
JerseyBuck;828268 wrote:I guess if you like to reach and are pursuing a certain angle, it's plausible. But the fact of the matter is Ohio State investigated and found out about the emails, self reported it to the NCAA and months after the matter, Yahoo came out with the story.

Yahoo also said when they released the article that they had concluded a two-month investigation, which aligned nearly exactly with the OSU timeline. Dynasty's scenario is very reasonable, especially given there's been no other reference to the "legal matter" that supposedly brought the emails to OSU's attention.
Jul 12, 2011 4:48pm
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2kool4skool

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Jul 12, 2011 4:56 PM
vball10set;827885 wrote:if they are, then not only should Gene Smith be packing his bags, but Gordon Gee as well

lol at Gee's job being in jeopardy over some football shit.
Jul 12, 2011 4:56pm
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Zoltan

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Jul 12, 2011 5:15 PM
2kool4skool;828288 wrote:lol at Gee's job being in jeopardy over some football ****.

If Gee is involved in a cover up here his job is totally in jeopardy. I would actually argue it’s as good as gone.

ESPN wants those emails because they are convinced there was a cover up. If that is the case OSU deserves severe sanctions. If you are going to cover something like this up, you bury everything from the beginning, and you certainly don’t self report anything to the NCAA. And OSU fans wonder why the SEC laughs at them? Most likely the emails will produce more dirt to throw on Pryor.
Jul 12, 2011 5:15pm
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2kool4skool

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Jul 12, 2011 5:27 PM
Zoltan;828308 wrote:If Gee is involved in a cover up here his job is totally in jeopardy. I would actually argue it’s as good as gone.

Gee doesn't have anything to do with the football program, and even if he was involved, he would never admit to it and isn't dumb enough to send an e-mail that implicates him. ESPN could think he was involved in the Caylee Anthony murder and OSU will laugh in their faces and give him another raise. He's untouchable.
Jul 12, 2011 5:27pm
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Writerbuckeye

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Jul 12, 2011 6:03 PM
Zoltan;828308 wrote:If Gee is involved in a cover up here his job is totally in jeopardy. I would actually argue it’s as good as gone.

ESPN wants those emails because they are convinced there was a cover up. If that is the case OSU deserves severe sanctions. If you are going to cover something like this up, you bury everything from the beginning, and you certainly don’t self report anything to the NCAA. And OSU fans wonder why the SEC laughs at them? Most likely the emails will produce more dirt to throw on Pryor.

Of all the emails most certainly protected by federal law, it would be those that are from-to-or about Pryor. The law is very clear on this. Unless Pryor would waive his right to privacy (and why would he at this point?) those e-mails are off limits. I don't see that changing.

Now public records of contacts between any of the administrators and Tressel that don't include student information would be (and probably already have been) released.
Jul 12, 2011 6:03pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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Jul 12, 2011 6:55 PM
Writerbuckeye;828354 wrote:Of all the emails most certainly protected by federal law, it would be those that are from-to-or about Pryor. The law is very clear on this. Unless Pryor would waive his right to privacy (and why would he at this point?) those e-mails are off limits. I don't see that changing.

Now public records of contacts between any of the administrators and Tressel that don't include student information would be (and probably already have been) released.

I don't think they requested emails from or to Pryor. They wanted emails that included Sarniak's name. I think by denying access to the emails it only raised more questions about a cover up or false statements from OSU.
Jul 12, 2011 6:55pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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Jul 12, 2011 7:15 PM
JerseyBuck;828268 wrote:I guess if you like to reach and are pursuing a certain angle, it's plausible. But the fact of the matter is Ohio State investigated and found out about the emails, self reported it to the NCAA and months after the matter, Yahoo came out with the story.

Fact of the matter? Why so sure? The point that someone brought up about the Yahoi investigation being two months seems to get overlooked. So if OSU did in fact find the emails first and self reported (or was working on the report), why in the world wouldn't Tressel have been punished immediately?

As soon as it was made public Tressel was punished, but not upon OSU discovering his coverup? Just doesn't make sense.
Jul 12, 2011 7:15pm
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JerseyBuck

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Jul 12, 2011 7:56 PM
enigmaax;828282 wrote:Yahoo also said when they released the article that they had concluded a two-month investigation, which aligned nearly exactly with the OSU timeline. Dynasty's scenario is very reasonable, especially given there's been no other reference to the "legal matter" that supposedly brought the emails to OSU's attention.

Ohio State's report had already been filed with the NCAA by the time Yahoo would have started this "investigation". There is at minimum two week window from when Ohio State reported and Yahoo "source" aka a leak in the NCAA, gave them the info.

You state this has been overlooked, considering absolutely nothing has since this came out, don't you think some other outlet would have jumped on this and said something??

The reason Tressel was not yet punished was because Ohio State was reading it's response to the NCAA and this is when the Yahoo story broke, forcing them to show their hand earlier then planned.
Jul 12, 2011 7:56pm
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Jul 12, 2011 8:15 PM
thedynasty1998;828386 wrote:I don't think they requested emails from or to Pryor. They wanted emails that included Sarniak's name. I think by denying access to the emails it only raised more questions about a cover up or false statements from OSU.

Not only that, but if they were covered under privacy laws, why were they emailed to Sarniak? If they were, that was a violation of the privacy law.
Jul 12, 2011 8:15pm
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thedynasty1998

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Jul 12, 2011 8:37 PM
JerseyBuck;828425 wrote:Ohio State's report had already been filed with the NCAA by the time Yahoo would have started this "investigation". There is at minimum two week window from when Ohio State reported and Yahoo "source" aka a leak in the NCAA, gave them the info.

You state this has been overlooked, considering absolutely nothing has since this came out, don't you think some other outlet would have jumped on this and said something??

The reason Tressel was not yet punished was because Ohio State was reading it's response to the NCAA and this is when the Yahoo story broke, forcing them to show their hand earlier then planned.

I thought Yahoo had their story released on Tuesday and OSU submitted their report to the NCAA that Friday?

So OSU waited basically 10 weeks before punishing Tressel? That is unacceptable.
Jul 12, 2011 8:37pm
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JerseyBuck

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Jul 12, 2011 8:49 PM
thedynasty1998;828463 wrote:I thought Yahoo had their story released on Tuesday and OSU submitted their report to the NCAA that Friday?

So OSU waited basically 10 weeks before punishing Tressel? That is unacceptable.
Ohio State finds emails.

Ohio State self reports incident to NCAA.

More investigation is done and Ohio State starts preparing their response to the NCAA.

Yahoo breaks story to general public.

Ohio State hands in response with punishment, etc.
Jul 12, 2011 8:49pm
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Writerbuckeye

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Jul 12, 2011 9:09 PM
Boy you're REALLY stretching to find anything you can here. It's almost getting laughable at this point.

When you are dealing with the NCAA and violations, you don't just hurry up and fire a coach. OSU did that with O'Brien and lost a couple million dollars because of it. You have to wait until violations are OFFICIALLY with the NCAA and they acknowledge that, in fact, an infraction has taken place. You can't hurry them up, because they work on their own schedule as everyone already knows.

Once an infraction is verified, then the university has to begin working on what it's going to do in response and figure out what the likely penalties are going to be.

Would you have preferred Ohio State had suspended Tressel with pay during that time? Because that's about all they could have legally gotten away with. Personally, I'd rather he stay on the job and earn his paycheck until it's decided what's to be done.

Look how many months went by before Bruce Pearl was finally terminated from his contract. Like it or not, when you're paying these guys millions of dollars, and they work under complex contracts...you have to make sure every step is followed correctly before you take action -- and that absolutely includes waiting until the NCAA has done its thing.
Jul 12, 2011 9:09pm
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se-alum

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Jul 12, 2011 9:30 PM
thedynasty1998;828463 wrote:I thought Yahoo had their story released on Tuesday and OSU submitted their report to the NCAA that Friday?

So OSU waited basically 10 weeks before punishing Tressel? That is unacceptable.

They weren't going to punish Tressel until they had completed the investigation and turned their report over to the NCAA.
Jul 12, 2011 9:30pm
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enigmaax

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Jul 12, 2011 11:18 PM
JerseyBuck;828051 wrote:Ohio State had already self reported the situation with Tressel to the NCAA before the Yahoo article.

This was the biggest issue I had with the Yahoo article, they made it seem, and people think, they broke the Tressel news. To the general public yes, but the NCAA and Ohio State were already working together on the issue.

They did "break the news". Breaking news is about reporting it to the public. It doesn't really matter whether they found it on their own or not. They scooped the whole country on it, so of course they're going to tout that. Their competition is other news outlets, not the OSU compliance department, administration, or even the NCAA.

Found a timeline that answers several of the questions brought up here. It does not appear that Yahoo's inquiries prompted the discovery of information, but Ohio State had also not self-reported prior to Yahoo's discovery of the information.

— Jan. 13, 2011: While reviewing information to appeal the players’ suspensions, Ohio State’s office of legal affairs finds Tressel’s email exchanges with Cicero.

— Jan. 16: Presented with the emails, Tressel finally acknowledges them. In its self-report to the NCAA, filed later, Ohio State officials say of Tressel, “As you know, shortly thereafter, you were informed of this and invited to participate” in the investigation.

— March 7: Yahoo! Sports publishes a story in which a source says that Tressel had knowledge of his players’ potential NCAA violations as early as April and did not disclose it. Smith has his staff rush to finish the self-report.

— March 8: Ohio State reports Tressel’s violation to the NCAA and calls a news conference to announce it has suspended Tressel for two games and has fined him $250,000. In the letter to the NCAA, Ohio State says, “The institution is very surprised and disappointed in Coach Tressel’s lack of action in this matter.” Yet at the news conference, university President E. Gordon Gee and Smith lavish praise on Tressel. Asked if he considered firing Tressel, Gee jokes, “No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I’m just hopeful the coach doesn’t dismiss me.”
Jul 12, 2011 11:18pm