Recovered Dave Portnoy Blog: Cheaters Never Win And Winners Never Cheat! Jim Tressel Finally Forced To Resign At Ohio State

So obviously Devnest deleted all the old / good blogs off the site many years ago, but through a very elaborate and tactical scheme, utilizing the strategies and skills I learned during my time in the Cub Scouts, that I orchestrated completely on my own that literally no one else at the company knows about, I have recovered an old article Dave wrote when Jim Tressel resigned from Ohio State. Kinda crazy what a low level staffer can do when he puts his mind to something, right?

Listen I'm no Ohio fan but even I have to tip my cap to them today.  The great Martin Luther King once said that the time is always right to do what is right.  And I think I speak for all of humanity around the world when I say kudos to Gene Smith for finally doing the right thing and forcing that lying, cheating Jim Tressel to resign.  I'll admit that I am a little disappointed that it took this long, but no one ever accused Ohio of being a pillar of moral standing and integrity. 

I have Ohio fans in my mentions saying that the players who disgustingly received free tattoos in exchange for their autographs acted on their own accord.  My question to you is do you really think something that egregious could happen in a program without the head coach knowing?  Let me let you in on a little industry secret: nothing happens in a college football program without the head coach knowing. Nothing. Especially widespread collusion and cheating to this magnitude. 

So this naturally raises the question would you rather root for a great coach who wins games, but is a scumbag human with no morals, integrity or basic human decency or would you prefer a lesser coach but a man of high integrity and character who won’t protect criminals?  For me it’s a no brainer. Give me the guy that I can at least be proud of as a man. Somebody who I’d trust with my daughter or sister.  Somebody who you know isn’t going to allow liars and cheaters to run their program. Yes winning is important, but not at the expense of basic human rights. But that’s just me. Clearly many of the good people of Ohio feel differently and who am I to tell them what to think. And I'm not one to make excuses but it must be pointed out that Jim Tressel was 9-1 against Michigan.  Strange how Ohio's success coincides with a cheating scandal.  The question is not if their wins should be vacated but how many scholarships should they lose and how long their bowl ban should be. 

Listen if the shoe were on the other foot I would be the first person to call for Brady Hoke to step down.  But the great thing about being a Michigan Man is that our coach would never lie, steal, or cheat in the first place. Michigan Men hold themselves to a higher standard than the rest of the world and especially Ohio.  In fact if I were at the center of such a heinous cheating scandal like getting free tattoos for my autograph, my shoulder would probably pop out of its socket again for how quickly I'd raise my hand and say I resign.  But that's just a Michigan Man talking. Ohio's coach had to wait for the entire investigation to conclude before being told he had to step away.

And before people say this is a Michigan vs. Ohio thing it isn’t. This is a just a human issue for me.  It makes me want to vomit. Sorry for caring.

Well that seems a little different than the rhetoric I'm seeing coming out of the Oval Office of Barstool these days regarding the newest college football scandal. El Presidente used to be a champion for basic human rights and now he's a win at all costs tyrant that would hire Urban Meyer if it helped him win a ball game.

Wrong. I just showed you 10 years ago where you cried foul over tattoos and autographs. What changed, Dave? What happened to integrity? What happened to human decency? Folks say they want the Old Barstool back, and I'm starting to see why.