Sports illustrated | jim tressel resigns, tressel

Sports illustrated - Last Friday, SI informed Ohio State spokesman Jim Lynch of all the new allegations and asked that Tressel be made aware of them. The implication was clear: Ohio State was distancing itself from Tressel, who resigned on Monday. Excerpts from The Fall of Jim Tressel include:

Former defensive end Robert Rose told SI: he made transactions at Fine Line Ink that were NCAA violations and said “at least 20” other players did as well.

Columbus, Ohio tattoo artist Dustin Halko worked out of Dudley’z Tattoos & Body Piercing in Columbus from the fall of 2002 until early 2004 and revealed to SI that he inked at least 10 Buckeyes in trades for memorabilia and estimates that at least 15 different players committed NCAA violations at Dudley’z in similar fashion to the six OSU Buckeyes found to have committed NCAA violations at Fine Line Ink. Halko says he also traded tattoo work for a magazine bearing the coach’s autograph.

Sports illustrated - (Through Stephen Palmer, his lawyer, Rife declined to comment on his involvement with Ohio State players.) Martin was particularly close to Rife, Ellis says; about a year earlier Rife had given Martin a different car, a 2004 Jaguar sedan. “Eddie tossed him the keys, and off Jermil drove,” Ellis says. (Through Palmer, his lawyer, Rife declined to comment.). Ellis showed SI pictures of players—Pryor, Thaddeus Gibson, Dan Herron and Solomon Thomas—being tattooed or showing off their artwork. Rife appears in one photo with a player. (Rife’s lawyer denies that his client gave marijuana to any players.)

Ohio State declined to make any of its current players available to respond to SI.

Technorati Tags: columbus dispatch jim tressel jim tressel resigns tressel ohio state