Can Buckeye Nation Forgive? (Cont.)

I’ve posted before on the five Ohio State football players who violated NCAA rules by selling things they had received from the University and getting discounts on tattoos.  Before the Sugar Bowl Coach Tressel told the media that the five players were allowed to make the trip for the bowl game only because they had promised that they would return to Ohio State next year and accept their punishment, rather than avoiding any penalties by leaving early for the pros.

At the time, some skeptics laughed at the quaint notion that the players had “given their word.”  They said the pledges that Coach Tressel mentioned were just a fig leaf that would allow the players to participate in the bowl games but wouldn’t mean anything when the players had the opportunity to leave for the NFL draft.  I’m happy to say that the skeptics were wrong.  Each of the five players has kept his word; they all declined to declare for the NFL draft and will return to the Buckeyes next year.  In fact, for the first time in years Ohio State did not have any juniors declare for the draft.

The five players — Terrelle Pryor, Boom Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, and Solomon Thomas — kept their part of the bargain, and now it is time for Buckeye Nation to hold up its end.  It is time for us all to forgive these young men for their mistakes, applaud their mature adherence to their pledges, and give them our full support when they return after their suspensions next year.