As I was one of the writers who originally printed the name of the high school student with the sign, in one of last week’s Lantern articles, I feel somewhat responsible for the pillorying that this kid has received in the local media.

The kid, whom I would really prefer not to have to name again, is a local high school student who held up a sign at the Ohio State-Wisconsin game saying “the wrong O’Brien resigned,” in reference to the coach of the Boston Celtics coach with same name who had resigned the day before. In light of that crime to the Buckeye nation, the student had the pleasure of being confronted by three OSU assistant coaches and berated for a couple of minutes.

And then, all of Columbus had the pleasure of reading a certain sports columnist describe the sign as a “homemade grenade” and call the individual a “misinformed kid.”

He got all of this for holding up a clever sign that did not contain one iota of offensive or obscene language. The sign was not personal or in bad taste. Its crime was being a sign, which did break a Schottenstein Center rule.

Give me a break. If that sign had been critical of Wisconsin, or had made a cheese joke, it would have been fine. People aren’t mad because he broke a rule. Because he dared to criticize anything athletic department related, these people have to start name-calling and ranting hyperbolically about the end of sporting civility.

All of this is coming from the same people who screamed “traitor!” when President Holbrook suggested that people should try to calm down the Lane Avenue gameday “scene.” I would hope that in the people’s minds that mass drunkenness, public urination, actually obscene T-shirts and other such “color” is worse than one kid’s clever sign.

But is this such a surprise from a sports media establishment that at times seemed to take glee in making fun of Norma McGill’s mental illness? That wasn’t very classy, and yet another moment that makes OSU a target for out-of-town media when writers think our media is idiotic enough to make light of mental illness.

I bet if those coaches had even stooped to physically intimidating the sign-holder, some media members would have said “he deserved it.” All of this just for criticizing a coach. It seems that OSU has taken a page from the Bush administration in legislating your morality – as long as it is the morality that it approves of.

Is this such a surprise out of OSU coaches, who too often seem totally obsessed with their image and their own press clippings? Nope, it’s not to me. Not when I have seen other Buckeye coaches hound media members for alleged improper adjective use and other such sins against the athletic department.

Sorry coaches, but if you’re going to come here and take advantage of our “big-time” facilities and our “big-league” media coverage, you’re going to have to deal with occasional criticism. So what if some members of the local media have apparently decided to surrender their right to criticize – everyone hasn’t decided to surrender.

And Coach O’Brien, the “I’m not going to let him wave that sign in my face” cowboy routine was total fiction. He was a full 50 feet away. Jim, unstrap your holster and take off the chaps, pilgrim. Your justification holds no water.

So, OSU coaches, stop chasing after media members to talk syntax, stop chasing after fans who dare to criticize your vocational aptitude and get back to coaching! That is what you signed up for, right – or was it the free gear from Nike?

Aaron Stollar is a junior in journalism. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].