We are not all good. We are not all bad. A human being is a mixed bag of the decisions and paths they take in life. Jim Tressel exemplifies this. He has many qualities that appear to make him a good person. He has many qualities that appear to make him a bad person.
Human beings don’t like complexity in other human beings. It makes things too difficult to understand. We want our villains and we want our heroes. In the world of sports, where emotions and rivalry runs high, this is even more true. When it comes to Jim Tressel, the evidence shows a complex man inclined to both integrity and to ignoring blatant rule breaking. We should not be too quick to exclusively apply the label of a person wronged, a scapegoat or an all-out cheater.
According to the much discussed SI article, Tressel knew about a car and money received by star quarterback Ray Isaac while Tressel was head coach at Youngstown State. Today Isaac runs a coaching business in North Carolina and still calls Tressel a “surrogate dad.” He credits Tressel with teaching him important life lessons like never taking the path of least resistance.
Here we have two potentially contrary behaviors by Tressel. The first is willful ignorance of NCAA law breaking. The other is of a nurturing parent, teaching life lessons. Can both approaches exist within one mind? Cognitive dissonance certainly makes it possible. We could argue the duality of man makes it possible.
The SI article goes on to say that Tressel helped Isaac get out of traffic tickets if Isaac read a book and then wrote about its redeeming qualities. Was Tressel helping out a kid in need, even if it meant a little rule breaking or was he trying to rationalize his rule breaking in his desire to help his star quarterback? The truth probably lies in how you perceive the human psyche (and whether or not you are a fan of Ohio State).
Continue reading “Tressel Take Suffers From Lack of Perspective”
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