Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

n the wake of Monday's resignation of Jim Tressel as head football coach at Ohio State University, this week's edition of Sports Illustrated magazine blasts Tressel for consistently closing his eyes at repeated violations of NCAA rules --- a pattern the magazine says began at Youngstown State University.

"For more than a decade, Ohioans have viewed Tressel as a pillar of rectitude, and have disregarded or made excuses for the allegations and scandal that have quietly followed him throughout his career," the magazine states. "His integrity was one of the great myths of college football. Like a disgraced politician who preaches probity but is caught in lies, the Senator was not the person he purported to be."

The magazine says Tressel looked the other way when his star quarterback at YSU was taking payments from Mickey Monus, a member of YSU's board of trustees and the founder of the former Phar-Mor drugstore chain. The story quotes YSU's former president, Les Cochran, who says he relied on Tressel's word in dismissing NCAA inquiries about rule violations.

Sports Illustrated also recites allegations made by Ohio State's former star running back and Youngstown native, Maurice Clarett.