Ohio State will hold a press conference Tuesday night amid a report by Yahoo! Sports that football coach Jim Tressel knew of players sell...
Tressel, athletic director Gene Smith and school president E. Gordon Gee will attend a press conference at 7 p.m. ET.
"We are moving very much forward and I am confident that we will solve these issues," Gee told the Ohio News Network while at the statehouse for the governor's State of the State speech.
Smith, who is the chairman of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament selection committee, was expected to be at press conference Tuesday in New York as part of a discussion about the tournament and its television coverage. He did not attend and instead returned to Columbus.
According to the Yahoo! Sports story, Tressel was made aware in April that players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, were selling clothing and other items to Edward Rife – the owner of Fine Line Ink Tattoos in Columbus.
Yahoo! Sports said a person, whom they did not identify, reached out to Tressel with the information.
Two days before Christmas, Pryor, running back Daniel Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, defensive end Solomon Thomas and offensive lineman Mike Adams were suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season.
Jordan Whiting was also suspended for one game in 2011 for receiving discounted services because of his status as a student-athlete.
At that time the suspensions were announced, Tressel and the school said they did not know of the violations until earlier that month.
If Tressel was aware of the players selling the memorabilia and did not report it to school officials or the compliance office, he could face punishment from the NCAA or Ohio State.
Tressel's contract, which pays him an estimated $3.5 million per season, requires that he report any — the word "any" is underlined in the contract — possible rules or legal infractions immediately.
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