Tressel Still The Best Coach For Ohio State

“We’re allowed to say what we think, and that's, I guess, one of the standards that makes our country a little bit different.”

Jim Tressel made this statement while answering a question I asked him about comments made by Terrelle Pryor about former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN college football broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit at a press conference on January 3 in New Orleans.

“I'm not sure giving opinions is that flattering,” Tressel went on to say.

Today Tressel is learning once again that opinions are not flattering.

While a number of Buckeye fans have rallied to Tressel’s support and most of the media has taken a fair look at Tressel’s situation, some media members, both local and national, have taken an irrational approach to this.

They have called for Tressel’s head and called into question his personal character.

I will not mention names or give links because I don’t want to give them the online traffic and I do not want to get in the business of personally attacking someone because after all as Tressel said, having a right to express your opinion is part of what makes America great.

However, sometimes people say things so idiotic that they need to be corrected.

Yes, Tressel made a mistake.

He admitted it last night.

The biggest mistake Tressel made was not disclosing he had these email conversations in December.

While by the letter of the NCAA law Tressel should have notified someone about the emails when he first got them in April, I can understand why he didn’t.

And I wonder how many of you would have done the same thing Tressel did? I think I may have.

If you spend any time around Tressel you can tell his love for The Ohio State University, his faith, family, friends, and players.

And Ohio State is behind those four other groups, as it should be.

Tressel is a loyalist. He is loyal to his players even to his own determent.

This helps explain Tressel’s decision, but not justify it.

If you want to fire someone for being loyal, and trying to do what, at the time, he thought was best for his employer and the people he cares about then I wonder what kind of person you would want.

The people who want Tressel gone, either don’t realize what kind of man he is or they have some other motivation for wanting him out.

He made a mistake, he is being punished for that mistake, but lets not give someone life in prison for a speeding ticket.

Tressel is not perfect, no one is.

But, Tressel is the best football coach for The Ohio State University.