H*****r
发帖数: 764 | 1 It didn't exactly take the Amazing Kreskin to see this coming when star
quarterback Terrelle Pryor and three other offensive starters were cited by
the NCAA last December for selling rings, jerseys and other memorabilia as
underclassmen. But 6 1/2 months later, it's official: Ohio State is vacating
all 12 wins from the 2010 season, including the Sugar Bowl win, and placing
itself on two years' probation as penance for fielding multiple ineligible
players.
Ohio State vacates 2010 wins, self-inflicts probation. Is the NCAA appeased?
The Buckeyes' self-flagellation comes as part of their official response to
accusations of major NCAA violations involving both the ineligible players
— Pryor, running back Dan Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive
lineman Mike Adams and reserve defensive lineman Solomon Thomas — and
exiled head coach Jim Tressel's season-long cover-up of the violations. It
also comes arguably 6 1/2 months too late. Initially, when OSU first brought
the case to the NCAA last December, it not only escaped a heavy-handed
response on the order of probation and vacated wins, but actually managed to
keep the offending players eligible for the Sugar Bowl, where they each
played a crucial role in a 31-26 win over Arkansas. It was only when Tressel
was caught red-handed a few weeks later that the NCAA even decided to
return to the case at all.
Now, Tressel is gone, Pryor is gone, and even the record books are being
wiped clean of their tainted legacy. Officially, the Sugar Bowl win will
disappear from the record, along with the 11 regular-season wins that
preceded it and the co-Big Ten championship that came with them. Only the
Oct. 16 loss at Wisconsin, the lone defeat of the season, will remain.*
Still, from Ohio State's perspective, a retroactive eraser to the results of
games that TV networks and ticket buyers have already shelled out for is
the least of its worries.Compared to the heavy scholarship losses and two-
year bowl ban the NCAA dropped on USC last year for essentially the same
offense, vacated wins is a velvet glove. By slapping itself with the more
tolerable penalty now, on the heels of dumping its disgraced head coach, OSU
is clearly hoping it can appear proactive enough to fend off the more
painful variety later on (emphasis added):
Sources familiar with the university's response [to allegations of NCAA
violations] also told The [Columbus] Dispatch that Ohio State is admitting
major violations of NCAA regulations, but says it should not face harsh
punishment because no OSU official other than Tressel was aware of player
violations.
[…]
Sources said the university concedes it is a repeat offender, but
contends it has responded appropriately, imposed fitting sanctions on its
football program and should face no further punishment.
"Tressel as rogue coach" is the only viable card Ohio State had to play
against an airtight case of intentional deception, and it's playing it. The
only question now, ahead of its all-important date with the NCAA Committee
on Infractions on Aug. 12, is whether the committee is still willing to
raise the stakes. |
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