Bukeye Running Back arrested on drug charges

[flathunter]

http://www.nbc4i.com/cfoot572/4507647/detail.html

[Dirty Harry]

For a guy who was supposed to clean up that program, Jim Tressel sure is having his share of problems.

[atrkyhntr]

That is no lie...
What is hap'ng to the Buckeyes is a direct reflection on his program but you just don't know what kind of person you are recruiting with all the smoke they blow up your A$$ about through the process... Almost all programs have their fair share of duds...

[bkr43050]

I say this is a good chance for Gene Smith to set the tone on his watch. I say suspend the kid for a year. Set a precedence that will get the kid's attention. Putting them in "detention" doesn't seem to help.:rolleyes:

[atrkyhntr]

You can't do that its only a misdemeanor and not a felony...
The kid should get some kind of drug council/treatment at the least and be told his grades, attitude and overall personal perfoemance or then he is gone...
The punishment needs to fit the crime...

[bkr43050]

The punishment will fit the crime if they make the stance that a first misdemeanor drug offense is a year suspension. Second offense is removal from the program. Felony offense of any kind is also a removal from the program. I mean is that really asking too much? What kind of message are they sending to the kids if they basically tell them you can push your luck until you get caught and then you may have to clean it up a little.;)

[bkr43050]

It seems that too many of these athletes view their eligibility as a right and it is not. It is a privilege. Privileges can be more easily revoked.

[Rooster]

WOW! A college kid smoking pot !?!?

A year’s suspension for somking pot?

What if he had been caught speeding? Should he get the same year suspension?

I think that these CRIMES carry about the same punishment under the law…..

[bkr43050]

Notice in my earlier post, I said a misdemeanor "drug" charge.;) I am sure the college kids smoking pot does not surpirse a lot of folks. But these are athletes who are supposed to be respecting their bodies. And they are supposed to be representatives of the OSU athletics. That is not the image that the university wants portrayed and rightfully so. If they want to smoke pot they can...just not if they want to play for the Buckeyes.;)

[atrkyhntr]

Every student at every college is a representative of the school they attend, athletics or not...
You are asking too much Brian...

[bkr43050]

I wish I had Gene's job because heads would be rolling.:D

I just think that the athletes who are being handed a free ride through college and in many cases a pass to the NFL, NBA, etc. should be held at a higher standard. Look at what the university invests in these kids. I know the athletes always come back with, "Look at what we are doing for the university by being here". But the truth of the matter is the kids need the college programs just as much if not more. It just breeds an attitude among the athletes that they are in control of the program and they really should not be. Perhaps my strong stance is a bit too far to the strict side but I feel that the university's stance in recent year's has been far far to the conservative side and protective of the kids.

[atrkyhntr]

Look at what the university invests in these kids.
It also is the other way around...
These Universities make millions off these kids and should very well cut them some slack and give them every chance to turn themselves around... The boosters would demand nothing less...
If the kids can start makign a little scratch instead playing for free, in many cases their not getting a full ride, then cut them some slack and liek the real world maybe have a 3 strike your out policy... A year is still too much

[bkr43050]

I would be willing to bet that these players that we keep hearing about are on full ride scholarships.;) As I said I recognize that the university benefits from the athletics. But the question is would they not still benefit from the athletics if they got tougher on these kids? I believe they most certainly would.

When it comes to drugs I know I am not willing to be so lenient on my own kids that I would tell them up front that you get 3 strikes so try not to use them all up.:rolleyes: There has to be a consequence for their actions. And a little counseling but not taking anything away that is important to them does not seem to me like a consequence.

[atrkyhntr]

They take away alot from these kids after they get busted...
Many must stay on campus and report where they go when they leave and what time they will be back, become part of a group that in some form combats drug abuse, they must keep a certain grade level and much much more some even pretty darn inventive... They loose alot a freedoms they once had for whatever period of time is determined... You don't hear of many getting into trouble more then once because they get the boot when they don't get the message then end up at some div 2/3 school...
My kids don't/won't any strikes either...
Many who get busted are minorities, many more, why who knows but we can'y toss them away for a mistake that is not even concidered a major crime anymore unless yu are dealing...
Drugs in any form are wrong... Take it from a kid who grew up late 60's early 70's
Been there done that and I am very glad I was not given the boot after a 1st offense...

[big black jeep]

These guys that get busted are just stupid. Why risk getting everything taken away by doing stupid things like drugs. I know myself I had a few scholarships to schools next year to play football but I hurt myself and had to have surgery. I ended up with 8 screws 2 plates and a bolt in my ankle. It sucks not being able to do something you love. i just don't see why that would take a chance at screwing that all up.

[bkr43050]

Clyde,

I can see where you are coming from but like I mentioned earlier, I did not recommend the boot after first offense. I recommended a year suspension. Yes a year is severe but it is not the boot.

It is just getting very old reading every day of a new problem child or new scandal linked to OSU. I am really amazed that the university's reputation has held up as well as it has throughout the last few years.

I can't help but think that John Cooper is sitting back somewhere chuckling to himself about the whole fiasco. Supposedly his exit was largely due to not being able to control his kids. Now when they have a coach who has a streak of winning overall and more importantly against the team up north then the root cause of the problem is not the head coach. Like an old timer great coach said one time, "Winning ain't everything. It's the only thing." ;)

I am not implying that the onus is on Tressel on this. But I am saying that Cooper was not at fault in that respect any moreso than Tressel.

[atrkyhntr]

I liked Cooper man...
Trouble is every school has them... Somethings never change..

big black jeep
SORRY about your injury and I hope everything works out for you in the end

[ohiotuber]

Brian,
I totally agree with you. IMHO, the ONLY way sports in general will be cleaned up is through stiffer consequences. There needs to be a message sent that certain behaviors will not be tolerated if you want to play. Catch a "non-athlete" doing some of the things athletes do & they'd be history. How many of us would keep our jobs if we were caught doing drugs? I know I'd be on the street. Sports ARE a privilege...I personally think that scholarship athletes should be paid a stipend, but I also believe their standard of conduct should be high. I used to tell my Dad that his punishments were unfair & he would say..."Yep! That way, you'll think twice about making that mistake again."
Mike

[bkr43050]

Thanks Ohiotuber!!! I finally have someone that agrees with me. I may go brag to my wife.:D

I am not really much in favor of the stipend concept. Not that I would be disappointed if they did it but I just don't think it will help in any of the situations that occur. Think about what is getting these kids in trouble. Drinking, drugs, bar fighting, etc. What do each of these activities require? Money. And if they are given more money it is not going to keep the kids from getting in trouble. The only place it benefits is by keeping the kids from being tempted into illegal money from boosters, etc. The problems with the law in my opinion would only get worse.

[fishits]

Key word here guys is "KIDS"
Take a small step back and imagine if this were your kid then ask yourself again what they should receive for a first time offense
These kids have no real world experience and many come from one parent homes which in our present time frame is becoming more prevalent in this society
to say money is the root of all evil
that is how you are putting it no two ways around that
is nonsense
also recommending a year suspension for something like that is also nonsense
you are asking to take a kid and give him a year suspension
which to a kid is forever
for something you would only be slapped on the wrist for
shame on anyone who thinks like that
placing a kid who has only just started his life and away from home in most cases in a situation that you yourself would not be in
tsk tsk
higher standards for a kid just doesn't play out in this America we all our equal under the law and those standards should not change because of your standing in society

[bkr43050]

First of all, if I am caught on a drug offense it is more than a slap on the wrist.;) Secondly, it is not like we would be taking everything away from these kids. They would still have their scholarship intact and would still benefit from the thousands of dollars that it is saving them to get an education that will hopefully benefit them in the future. The thing that so often gets overlooked here is that the college athletics exist because of the colleges and universities themselves. The primary function of a college or university should be educating those who choose to enroll. If the athletics are to be treated as some fun activity and solely as a springboard to professional sports then why not separate colleges and universities completely from the athletic programs? Let the athletics be a business of their own, farm teams if you will.

It is sad at times to hear how kids who go to college for athletics absolutely abuse the privilege (and yes it is a privilege and not a right;)). To hear how some of these athletes never go to class but yet somehow manage to make it through year after year of eligibility is disheartening. And then you have the thousands of students who work their tail off to earn an education.

Oh and lastly, I will answer your first question. What would I do if it were my kid. I would probably take athletics away for a year and tell the kid to get good grades and earn the privilege back.;)

[fishits]

shame you do not read what you write...
your blabber is non-sense in this free society and better suited for a control them all commie country I helped fight to ensure the very freedom you enjoy now and will celabrate the lives of my brothers in arms who have fallen this very Monday coming up
I am very glad you do not make the decisions concerning these kids and their lives
even a criminal gets 3 strikes and a year off does not fit the crime

[ohiotuber]

Maybe I can illustrate, from personal experience, the point(s) Brian & I are trying to make.
My son was a College athlete, a "party guy", . We took his car for 1/2 a year, stopped the sports, and, when grades continued to deteriorate, He flunked out. We held a family intervention (Mom, Dad, 2 sisters, & a clergyman) & advised him to find another place to live when he left school in May. After bouncing to various friends' for a couple months, he roomed with another friend & finally seemed to get his head on straight. My youngest daughter's high school has college scholars, athletes, & grads speak to the junior class every year regarding the college experience. My son called the school the year after he flunked out & asked if he could talk about what NOT to do in college & with your life. This young man described all his pitfalls, the repercussions, waste of time & talent, etc, etc. Teachers, students & parents were in tears...in fact, we found out about drug use, etc for the first time. His comment on being asked to leave the only home he knew for 22 years was, "I wish they (family) would have done it 2 years ago."..... 5 years later, that young man has just been promoted to a Vice President of his company. He has a wife & 2 beautiful little girls & has become an excellent citizen.
To say I am PROUD of him would be an understatement.....to say the reversal would have taken place WITHOUT SERIOUS consequences would be wrong....and he would be the first to agree with that.
Sorry to ramble, but being a productive athlete, IMHO, does not "earn" special treatment. The real world can provide a very harsh welcome to those "former privileged characters".
Mike

[Darwin]

shame you do not read what you write...
your blabber is non-sense in this free society and better suited for a control them all commie country I helped fight to ensure the very freedom you enjoy now and will celabrate the lives of my brothers in arms who have fallen this very Monday coming up
I am very glad you do not make the decisions concerning these kids and their lives
even a criminal gets 3 strikes and a year off does not fit the crime
Sounds like you had better read what you write. Free society you say? Sounds like you want a society that everyone MUST have the same opinion as you or they are wrong. :rolleyes:
Seems to me you are :T :T :T

[fishits]

Buddy Punk
I've been told to watch for your nonsense
Is that all you can add :rolleyes:

For every success story like yours there is a failure Mike but I am glad you choose the correct path for your child...
A decision that you made as a parent is fine but do not let an admin type make that decision for you
Sorry to ramble, but being a productive athlete, IMHO, does not "earn" special treatment and it should also not earn you an automatic suspension

[bkr43050]

Wow Mike! That is a great story and I fully understand why you are very proud of your son. You put into words everything that I was thinking. Thanks for sharing that story.

I am sorry Fishits that you somehow misconstrued my statements into something about communism versus free society.:confused: I cannot even begin to see how communism came in to this picture. And as far a "freedom" these kids have all of the freedom in the world to go to school and get an education and even play athletics if they are good enough. And they also have every right to go out in the real world and try to make a go of it since they are legally no longer kids. The choice is theirs. They hopefully will have guidance from family and friends to make a choice that they look back on with pride. I think Mike did a great job of explaining how athletics is not a necessity to these youngsters in their quest to become good adults. If they choose to do so it can be great tool for their future but certainly not a necessity.

I am quite aware as well that this Monday is Memorial Day and I too plan to visit the cemetaries and commemorate those who served our country to make it great. Once again, I am sorry if I somehow led you to believe that I did not respect their service to us all.

[fishits]

you choose to lump everyone into a nice little package:
do this you get that do that you get this
our country was not and is not as such

[shuvlhed1]

the problem is here is we are not dealing with law, we are dealing with university rules. If he broke the rule, then suspend him for a year or whatever. If that is what the punishment is, then dole it out. For cryin out loud, it is only a year away from a GAME. let me repeat, A GAME. he still gets his tuition and board, what is the problem?

We got people calling other's commies, saying ignorant things like a criminal gets three strikes (what the heck does this have to do with anything?) Saying parents should be the only ones to punish their adult children? huh? :rolleyes: Actually, it just seem to be one guy :T . On a side note, I think that Huggins should give his "BIGGEST THUG RECRUITER CROWN" to good ol' 'clean up the program Tressel. At least that way we can keep it in state! :D

[River Walker]

First off,I agree with BKR and Ohiotuber on this one.Fishits asks how would I feel if it were my kid and he received a one year suspension.It would never come to that,if it were my kid,either I would yank his butt out of that school,or if I couldn't do that,he would not receive one nickel from me,the school would have to pay for everything including entertainment.I guess so far,I lean to the most severe punishments than everyone else.I don't agree totally with 1 year suspensions,if the crime is drug related,or assault(like so many are),I believe expulsion is the correct choice.Saying stuff like,college kids on dope,there's a surprise,is so lame,and a huge cop out.Trying to say that an athlete receives the same penalties as a regular student is plain stupid.I wonder if a regular student at say Nebraska did the stuff that Lawrence Phillips did,would he have still been walking free,and with the chance to make millions? Ask yourself this one Fishits,if you kicked your pregnant girlfriend in the stomach like Dan Wilkerson did,do you think you would receive jail time? Also saying that these things go on at every university(and they do),is just excusing it more.If someone robbed you at gunpoint,does it make it all right to you that that happens all the time everywhere? Maybe you guys that think these college jerks should get little slaps on the wrists should live in California where no celebrity is guilty of nothing.

[Walleye Wizard]

Maybe Ohio State should look at their fiercest rivals and learn something. If anyone could find an instance at the University of Michigan Football program when a player screws up like all these Buckeye players and are allowed to remain on scholarship I would kiss Woody Hayes A$$. The fact that Ohio State athletics are in this state is because Andy Geiger is too much of a Wussy to stand up against the boosters. Is everybody too naive to believe that all thes players that claimed Tressel and his brother set up "jobs" are liars. One was even a coaches kid who claimed to be paid thousands of dollars for basically little or no work. At what cost does winning become more important than this great university's image. Since Tressel took over it seems like there has been pleny of ink on the police blotter in columbus with his players at the center of attention. I know Cooper couldn't beat Michigan but I don't think he stood for this much crap from his players.

[bkr43050]

First of all Walleye Wizard, it is no longer Andy Geiger ship.:rolleyes: Gene Smith is the AD now. It remains to be seen if you carries any different message than his predecessor. Secondly, while michigan may not have the current frequency of problems they do in fact have problems as well.

Just two years ago they have a convicted felon (Marlin Jackson) return to finish his career before serving his sentence for felonious assault and aggravated assault. That is by all means a serious crime and went unpunished by the university. I think he may have missed a game or two.:rolleyes:

And here is another:

Michigan Football Player Faces Trial On Indecent Exposure Charges (http://www.clickondetroit.com/cfoot540/4182673/detail.html)

I agree that Michigan's problem have been fewer in recent years and I don't know what the factors are in that but I hope OSU is taking notes. But to think that Michigan or any other major college is above it would only be naive.

[Warpath]

First off, it is an entirley true statement to say this behavior goes on everywhere, at every college. You are talking about 18 to 22 year old men who grew up for the most part doing whatever they wanted and having everything handed to them. Every student-athlete who plays football at OSU, or Nebraska, or Miami (FLA) was "the man" in high school. Those athletes were treated differently than other students by and large. Once they get to college, they find out a harsh reality. They are only as special as the guy next to them in the locker room. It's a huge adjustment. Then they find out another harsh reality. That people in the real world have to answer for the things they do. They probably got away with that in HS. Then it gets plastered all over the news, 'cause they're an athlete at OSU. Would we have plastered it all over the news if I had smoked a joint outside of a dorm in college. Maybe in the blotter, but that's it. I played lacrosse in college, and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference because football is a money issue. Football is king.

And the only thing preventing every college town newspaper from printing every story of every incident is the boosters. When you win a national title, the focus is put on you. The football boosters run all of college athletics, not just football. Football is the only sport that makes money across the full spectrum of the NCAA. It finances all the other sports. Sure, basketball makes money at Duke, but across the full spectrum of the NCAA...basketball does not make a cent. Wonder why Andy Geiger is a wuss and won't challenge the boosters? There's your answer.

Unfortunately, it is a different world in universities. Everything they do occurs in a vacuum. It is not governed by the rules that you and I live by. So when something like this happens, it doesn't seem right, and the punishment doesn't seem right.

Just my opinion.....

Eric

[River Walker]

The whole point is celebrity status vs the average guy.Just a few examples;Two former Cleveland Indians,Will Cordero and Albert Belle.Cordero busted up his wife's face with a telephone,Belle,you name it-jail time-0.You or me-duh! How many coke busts for Daryl Strawberry? OJ,MJ,Robert Blake,Kobe,Ray Lewis and on and on,blah,blah blah.I do agree with WP,you hear a lot of stuff about OSU,not only because of winning a championship,but because they're here,and so are we.It does happen everywhere,but it's still unexusable,and shouldn't be tolerated.Yes,Michigan has had their share of malcontents and then some,the Marlin Jackson story from earlier is a good example.In Michigan's defense though,when their coach(ex-coach)got out of hand,and got in a bar fight(like so many players do),he was axed like right now,and rightfully so,his game record mattered not.In C-Bus,at the church of Tressel,is there any crime his name would stick to-nope.

[bkr43050]

Wait a minute RW!! OJ,MJ,Robert Blake,Kobe,Ray Lewis were all found not guilty so they did not do anything.:p They have managed to make a joke ou tof our judicial system by showing how plenty of money can fix a lot of problems.

In C-Bus,at the church of Tressel,is there any crime his name would stick to-nope. Right now you are right. But when they go through a bit of a rough stretch as far as winning you can bet people will recall the problems then.;) After all nobody had a problem with Cooper's control of his team as they were challenging every year for the title. But once they finally reached the conclusion that he could not beat Michigan on a regular basis then the word was he had no discipline or control over his players.:rolleyes: Right now the only thing that separates Cooper and Tressel is that one is currently winning ball games.:rolleyes: