December 29, 200421 yr http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1954785 Tuesday, December 28, 2004 ESPN.com news services COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said athletic officials will sanction a businessman who gave improper benefits to quarterback Troy Smith. The benefits led to Smith's suspension from Wednesday's Alamo Bowl, where the Buckeyes will face Oklahoma State. Geiger said 46-year-old Robert Q. Baker, who shares a luxury suite at Ohio Stadium, gave Smith an unspecified benefit at the Columbus business he used to head, in violation of NCAA rules. He said possible penalties include preventing Baker from buying tickets to Buckeyes football games or not allowing him to buy into a luxury suite. The violation comes after Maurice Clarett made allegations to ESPN The Magazine of payments and improper academic help this fall. "I'm not sure that I think everything that Maurice said lacked credence," Geiger told the Akron Beacon Journal. "But what wasn't there is what is there now -- we have an example of something that has happened. "Do I think it's systemic or widespread? I have no evidence of that." Geoffrey Webster, an attorney for Baker's former company, Poly-Care Services, called the university Dec. 9 after employees described an envelope being given to an Ohio State player who doesn't work for the company. An employee was disturbed by Baker's boast "Now, I own him," Webster told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I can't think of any way to make that a good statement," Webster told the paper. "I've spent 30 years as an attorney, word-smithing things. I have a real hard time coming up with anything else that he could have meant that could be a positive. I just can't. "To say something like that is really wrong and really inappropriate." Webster said it wasn't clear what was inside the envelope. Smith was suspended for the bowl game and next season's opener. Ohio State will have to petition the NCAA for his re-instatement. Being an alumnus of the university didn't prevent Webster from coming forward with the damaging details. "I love Ohio State," Webster told the Plain Dealer. "I just think it's going to take awhile for this small cadre of boosters to figure out that this is not acceptable behavior. My concept of the booster program is that it's there to establish mentors for young men and women. "A booster should be someone who helps them make good decisions, not someone who throws envelopes at a kid and puts them in a position where they have a hard time making a good judgment." Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
December 29, 200421 yr Finally the holier than thou Big 11 programs are starting to get the scrutiny once reserved only for the teams in the SEC and ACC.
December 30, 200421 yr Author A football team takes after it's head coach and Tressel is a slimeball, imo. 644607[/snapback] Agreed, he is the definition of a fraud.
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