Forgiveness For A Running Back

He went from being loved by the Buckeye Nation to being one of the most disliked players ever. In 2002, the Freshman phenom was one of the key cogs in Ohio State's national championship run. Shortly thereafter it all fell apart...all due to poor decisions on his part. It got so bad that he was released from his scholarship and tried to take his coach, Jim Tressel down with him. He accused Tressel of violating major NCAA rules causing Tressel to go through some uncomfortable media scrutiny before he was proclaimed "clean" by the NCAA.

I'm talking about Maurice Clarett who was just released from prison where he has spent the past three and a half years. He not only was released, but he has enrolled in classes at Ohio State. No, he is not going to play football, but the fact that he is in school is something incredible.

The really incredible part of this story is that Jim Tressel, the very guy Clarett tried to take down, has been helping to make this happen for Clarett. “We've been working for the last three months try to get the i's dotted and the t's crossed to get him back in and move him towards a degree,” Tressel told reporters Tuesday.

While Clarett was easily the most hated man in Columbus, this was obviously not the case in the Tressel household. In an article on one of my favorite web sites, The Ozone, Tressel had something to say that we all can learn from.

“Anytime someone is part of your life, even if it doesn't go well, you've got to continue to be there for him,” Tressel said.

“That's just the way we do things.”

Although Tressel continue to reach out to his embattled former player, Clarett’s life continued to spiral out of control, eventually landing him the slammer in 2006, three years after he was released from the Denver Broncos without playing a down in the NFL.

With his return to classes at Ohio State, Tressel is optimistic about Clarett’s chances of transforming his life story from tragic to inspirational.

“It's what you hope for,” he said.

“We all make mistakes...some are different mistakes than others and there are always consequences for whatever the mistake is and if you take care of that, usually the world is a forgiving world.”

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."

Matthew 6:14

Watch Your Mouth!

This past weekend, my family and I headed west to Chicago for the weekend. We spent Friday in Chicago and Saturday we braved the cold temperatures and attended the Ohio State versus Northwestern football game.

The Buckeyes played well and won 45-10. We had a blast.

Later that evening we were watching the local news who were discussing the game. Two different sportscasters stated that Ohio State showed poor sportsmanship by “running up the score.” They claimed that they did this because they ran a fake punt on 4th down and 2 with nine minutes to go and they were leading by 21 points.

I was amazed at what I was hearing. I then thought about all the people who were watching this who did not see the game and how their minds would be swayed into thinking this was the truth simply because it was said from a “trusted” source.

I know that OSU did not run up the score for the following reasons:
1) Coach Jim Tressel doesn’t have a “run up the score” bone in his body
2) The Buckeyes were up 21 points in and were playing in weather conditions that were anything but perfect. With 9 minutes to go and a couple of turnovers, Northwestern could have come back. Sure, this was not probable, but it was not impossible.
3) OSU’s offense has been anemic much of the season and Coach Tressel was probably trying to build confidence for the stretch run.

I bring all this up because we need to be careful what we say. Whoever came up with the slogan “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” was wrong. Words can be damaging.

So let’s watch what we say!

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.

Psalm 141:3

National Signing Day

It is called by many the biggest holiday on the calendar of a college football fan. Yes, it's national signing day, when talented high school recruits can sign on the dotted line for the first time, cementing their spot on the roster of the college team of their choosing.

I am embarrassed to say that I pay attention to this stuff. I follow it probably too closely. But it's fun for me. I like to see who the next Buckeyes are going to be and how the staff is working to fill positions of need. I especially like the way that Ohio State coach Jim Tressel goes about it. No promises of playing time. No special favors. He just tells it like it is. I think a lot of players respect that.

Even though this can be fun, I believe it has gotten way out of hand. Certain web sites were inaccessible yesterday due to the large amount of traffic trying to access them. Just to see what player is going where.

There are these mythical rankings of the classes each year which is rediculous. ESPN's can be found here. How can you possibly rank high school players who haven't played a down of college football with any degree of acuracy? There is no way to measure their potential--how much they will grow physically, mentally, spiritually. There is no way to predict what kind of a teammate they will be. There is no way to measure their heart.

Year after year we are shown instances of highly rated players who ended up hardly making an impact on their team. We are also shown players who were never even mentioned during the recruiting days who became key players on their teams. Yet, we don't learn--we still pay way too much attention to these future "stars."

All this foolishness of paying attention to and ranking these players reminded me of a verse from James:

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little hile and then vanishes. James 4:13-14

Playing To An Audience Of One

I have to admit, one of the things I am most disappointed about in Ohio State's second consecutive title game loss is the perception they have nationally. I am sick and tired of hearing how inferior Ohio State and the rest of the Big Ten Conference is based on two games.

Pat Forde of ESPN actually wrote that should Ohio State qualify for the game next year, they should be banned (read article here).

I am also hearing criticism of Coach Jim Tressel, even from some Buckeye fans. This is a guy who is 30-3 in has last 33 games. That is remarkable. In addition, his top ranked team last year faced 3 #2 ranked teams in the same season (never done before in college football) and won two of those games. Coach Tressel definitely has this team in the right position.

In fact, this years team was picked by most "experts" to finish fourth in the Big Ten! They lose very few seniors so the future is very bright. Leadership is key and that is what Coach Tressel has brought, Christ-centered leadership--and the Buckeye nation is better for it.

As for the nay-sayers. Let 'em keep yapping. If you are doing the right things and pleasing God (and I believe Coach Tressel is), you can't worry about what others say.

Leading By Example

I wrote last time about a coach who is a great role model--someone who really leads by example, Jim Tressel. Another coach who was also very successful and also led his team by example was John Wooden, the great basketball coach from UCLA. He is perhaps the most successful coach ever and one of the reasons was the way he led.

Here are some words of wisdom from his book, Coach Wooden One on One:

I began smoking during World War II. I'd quit during basketball season—stopping on my birthday in October and starting again when the season ended. I never smoked in front of the boys. I finally quit to improve my example. I was convicted. I couldn't expect my players not to do what I was doing.

A leader's most powerful ally is his own example. There's hypocrisy to the phrase "Do as I say, not as I do." I refused to make demands on my boys that I wasn't willing to live out in my own life. Hypocrisy undermines respect, and if people don't respect you, they won't willingly follow you. One of my players complimented me greatly when he said, "Coach, you walked the talk."

Do you walk the talk?

Calm Leadership

One of the chapter titles in my book, Bleedership, Biblical First-Aid for Leaders is "Calm Leadership." No one I know of exhibits calm leadership better than Jim Tressel, head football coach at Ohio State.

In a reprint of an article in the Columbus Dispatch, I read this comment made by Doug Datish, a starting offensive lineman on last year's team:

"I don't know if it takes any pressure off, but I think it gives us that sense of--being able to watch him and learn from him over these past five years, it is something I admire about him and try to do myself, and I think other guys on the team try to do the same thing. And I think as you see him exuding that type of confidence and that calm he has about him, it is really something to marvel at, and something that really helps you out."

When you you as a leader act calm in the midst of a storm, it helps the whole team. I sure hope that is the case Monday night! Go Bucks!

Lead By Example

I don't hide the fact that I am a huge Ohio State fan. That's why I was thrilled to read this excerpt in a magazine about the Buckeye's head football coach, Jim Tressel:

Ohio State Linebackers coach Luke Fickell arrived at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center a few seconds after his boss one morning earlier this year. Then he watched Tressel, walking in the front door in front of him, picking up trash on his way to the door.

"And I'm looking around like I'd better find something to pick up, too," Fickell said. "If he is picking up trash, I mean, what kind of example is that? Just little things like that every day lets you know it's about people, it's about doing the right thing, it's about being a good person."

Cool stuff. Something we can all learn from!