Jim Tressel a Tragic Hero according to Mark Dantonio
At the Big Ten media days this past week, Michigan State head football coach Mark Dantonio was asked what he felt about the situation that brought the resignation of former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Dantonio called Tressel a tragic hero that will win out in the end like tragic heroes do. This comment caught the attention of a Wolverine radio broadcaster, Jim Bradstatter.
Bradstatter, a former Michigan offensive lineman who still looks the part, tweeted that being someone that lies to your boss and lies to the NCAA does not make you a hero. "Is it heroic to teach young men that wrong isn't wrong unless you get caught? Gimme a break." he wrote.
The next day Dantonio was asked if he had heard about the Bradstatter comments and what he thought of them. His response was humorous to anyone that is not a Michigan fan, "I don't even know who that guy is," he said. And he followed up with stating that Jim Tressel touched everyone in a positive way that he met through his coaching career. Further bashing the Michigan guy, he asked if Bradstatter had ever worked as a coach or had meaningful relationships with college players? A rhetorical question.
Of course Dantonio is a good friend of Jim Tressel, coaching at Ohio State from 2001-2003 as the defensive coordinator and also during the 1980s.