Comparing Tressel and Paterno? Really?

By Texas Buckeye -12 December 2012
28 Comments
- Football

Stumbled upon this from Lori Schmidt's twitter account:

If Ohio State can honor Jim Tressel, why can't Penn State mention Joe Paterno?

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/12/if_ohio_state_can_honor_jim_tr.html

This column reeks of a guy that (in my personal opinion) doesn't have a clue and goes to show that there's a lot of people at Penn State who still are in denial of what really happened at Penn State. I know this issue has been talked about a lot but it still baffles me that some people can still be really ignorant. That's just my brief take on the matter. Read the article and see what you think.

Buckeyebrowny919 on 12 Dec 2012 - 4:24pm #

::most epic of facepalms::

"Winter is coming" - Urban Meyer

razrback16 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:25pm #

Some people are just stupid, and as Ron White always says -- "You can't fix stupid".

ShowThemOhiosHere on 12 Dec 2012 - 4:48pm #

Jim Tressel - football issue of cheating

Joe Paterno - beyond football issue of child molestation

How do these compare again?

Class of 2010.

bleedscarletpis... on 12 Dec 2012 - 4:58pm #

They don't. At all.

Texas Buckeye on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:03pm #

This is coming from Josh Folck. His words, not mine. The two coaches can't be compared this way, but he thinks otherwise.

It's true... We really are a bunch of nuts!
Go Bucks!

RBuck Mod on 12 Dec 2012 - 4:59pm #

They didn't honor Tressel. They honored the 2002/3 national champions.

"It's just another case of there you are". ~ Doc (1918-2012)

Phillips.449 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:33pm #

^^^^^ Exactly! I am tired of hearing that we honored Tressel. Yes he was ONE of the MANY that we honored that day, but NOT the only person that was honored.

sb97 on 13 Dec 2012 - 8:15pm #

As far as I am concerned they did honor Tressel AND the national champions. The man lost his job, career, and reputation. He paid for his transgressions and I have no problem with him getting an ovation for all the good he did (Even some of Tressel's harshest critics admit that he has done a lot of positive things). And if the media has a problem with that... I don't care.

osu07asu10 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:06pm #

Trinkets/Tattoos v. Ruined lifes and passively (at best) allowing criminal activity?

Just what I thought, spitting images of eachother. RETURN THE JOEPA STATUE AT ONCE!

BrewstersMillions on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:10pm #

"Plus, with him dead, there is a chance we will never find out what he did or didn't know."

Stopped reading here. Yes we do. Moving on.

4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off

tennbuckeye19 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:17pm #

One of them allowed a pedophile to walk around free for over a decade and continue to commit deviant sexual acts and victimize who knows how many innocent young boys in that time frame. To me, that sure makes covering up a little tattoos for memorabilia trading seem like absolutely nothing.

IBLEEDSCARLETANDGRAY on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:29pm #

Thumbing your nose at silly NCAA bylaws that don't matter to a hill of beans do not condemn a man. Covering up and allowing a serial pedophile abuse the innocent is. Big difference.

"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever

Bucks43201 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:33pm #

Unreal

"You win with people." - Woody Hayes

Alhan on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:34pm #

I made the mistake of reading the whole article as well as the comments including this gem from the most clueless person ever (Mike):

Nice job Josh, and just so you know there are still hundreds of thousands if not millions of us who agree 100%. The worst crime committed on the campus of Penn State was and always will be the treatment of our beloved JoePa and his family in the wake of one sick individuals actions.

The WORST crime? REALLY?!

I'm amazed and disgusted that people like this are still out there.

You can kill a fly with your slipper or a cannon. Either way, the fly dies. -Ramzy

LouGroza on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:40pm #

You see those types of comments more than you should. And it is the reason why I will always feel disgust for that place. Unless it changes, and it seemingly will not, it is known that the people make the place and this thought seems to represent the majority.

jthiel09 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:36pm #

Did this guy live under a rock for the last two years? Does he honestly think that what Tressel did are even comparable? Wow ...... and I thought that ass from the Detroit Free Press or former Yahoo! Sports writer Chris Chase were the worst ....... I was wrong.

Bucks43201 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:42pm #

I just got re-pissed off at PSU again. Takes me back to a blog post I put up over the Summer:

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/blogs/bucks43201/penn-state-recruiting-letter-to-osu-targets-following-tat-gate

having to do with this little gem....

"You win with people." - Woody Hayes

avail31678 on 12 Dec 2012 - 8:10pm #

Well said : "I just got re-pissed off...."
Me too.

avail31678 on 12 Dec 2012 - 8:13pm #

Well said : "I just got re-pissed off...."
Me too.

osu07asu10 on 12 Dec 2012 - 5:48pm #

My e-mail response to the "author" of the article:

Josh,

Someone serving in a position similar to yours who chooses to write an op-ed on any subject, let alone one with a landslide of background information on it, should probably partake in the minor inconvenience of pounding a few keys and searching said subject on Google.

As many have have compared Tressel vs. Paterno, even though their situations are wildly different (which you even admit), you are free to form your own opinion. My ask of you is to do basic research associated with writing on a subject you know very little on.

"However, there is also no comparison with how much Tressel and Paterno did for their respective universities. Paterno donated millions of dollars back to the school, always produced teams that ranked near the top of the academic rankings and has a wing of the library named after him. Not sure any of that can be said about Tressel during his time at Ohio State."

You sir, are a moron. In a Google search titled: "Jim Tressel charitable contributions", that took all of 1 minute, I found:

http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/2012/05/jim-and-ellen-tressel-charity-king-and-queen/

Since we obviously can't count on you to do your own research, let alone click a link someone provides you, I will paraphrase that lovely article, which can't begin to quantify the charitable donations of the Tressel family.

- Established the Tressel Family Fund for Cancer Prevention Research in 2003 (has raised more than $1.5mil for research)

- Donated all proceeds from "The Winners Manual" to the renovation of OSU library, and pledged continual support for operations.

- Made two visits to veterans overseas, most recently in 2009.

- Donated $1mil to Youngstown State athletic department more than 4 years after leaving university

- Actively involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, The OSU Med Center, Ohio Chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation, Salvation Army, and many many more that are too long to list and who are we kidding, you wouldn't read it anyhow.

Lastly, I'll leave you with a quote from the CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation for Ohio, Susan McConnell:

"Jim Tressel is one of the most amazing men I've ever met, and I was just devastated to hear of his resignation. He comes to our events and hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised as a result of him just being there, we have kids that their wish is to meet Coach Tress and go to a game, and he ALWAYS has time for them."

As far as academics under Coach Tressel:

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/060311aaa.html

Penn State wasn't in the top 25 in 2010-11, but I am pretty sure you can't improve on #1 can you? Winning and doing it the right way? Yep, that is the Ohio State University not Paterno led Penn State.

2011 APR scores:
- The Ohio State University: 985
- Penn State : 976

I'll wait patiently for a response, but I won't genuinely expect one, how could I from someone so obtuse and dense they cannot take a mere two minutes to conduct the bare minimum research on a subject before making an absurdly false blanket statement devoid of any factual information. Next time, I hope you do a little better with that soapbox you're standing on.

Kyle

P.S.: Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. Mythology distracts us everywhere. For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie: deliberate, contrived, and dishonest. But the myth: persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.

steensn on 12 Dec 2012 - 6:04pm #

Will patiently be awaiting his responce...

jthiel09 on 12 Dec 2012 - 6:25pm #

Please post his response if you get one. I doubt you will but if so .... I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to read his explanation.

osu07asu10 on 12 Dec 2012 - 6:44pm #

Believe it or not, he responded pretty cordially. Obviously was offended by the moron comment (which I admit was unnecessary and apologized) but explained his position, I responded and gave my final retort. On my iPhone but will get it posted up here shortly

zosima on 13 Dec 2012 - 6:25pm #

I am curious to read the response also.

avail31678 on 12 Dec 2012 - 8:05pm #

Well done. Thank you. The problem at PSU is that the coaches put football above life and morality. A lot of the fans and students continue to do the same. Clearly both coaches contributed to society. Turning a head to pedophilia is nowhere in the same solar system as letting ineligible players compete. My goal isn't to excuse Tressel, but rather to get delusional PSU fans to recognize the real victims and not think they (and PSU football) are the victims.