I know that defeat in Glendale was last week but I want to make a final stand. I love Buckeye football but like Malcolm X, “I wouldn’t be a man,” unless I held our beloved team accountable for recent decisions.

The 2006-2007 Ohio State Buckeyes are paper champs: promoted as one of the best teams in college football history was a catastrophic misinterpretation. I’m not saying this because of the 41-14 pounding, I understand being out-coached, out-played and ill-prepared. I say this because the NFL was the obvious focus of our leaders Antonio Pittman, “The Exploited” Anthony Gonzalez, and Ted Ginn Jr. I have some question for these few in particular. First, where is your pride and leadership? Why hasn’t one these kids called a team meeting and said, “We are staying and we are not leaving like this. We are going to abuse every opponent that is in our path to the 2008 title game.” Why hasn’t Ginn and Gonzalez gone to the receiving corps and Todd Boeckman and said, “Lets start running routes to get that chemistry.” Why hasn’t Pittman gone to Coach Tressel and said, “Why didn’t you let me and Wells punish that Gator defense on the ground?” Why hasn’t Ginn realized that if he can’t play in a national title game with a minor sprained ankle that he is not going to be able to get rocked by that wedge buster when returning kickoffs? I want to take us back in history: In the 1988 NBA Finals, Isiah Thomas played on a badly sprained ankle, could barely walk and was crying, but put up 25 points in the fourth quarter against the Lakers in a heart breaking loss, which is still a Finals record. Where is your heart son? The leaders of this team have made it very clear: not here. Why did Gonzalez declare for the NFL 3 days after that humiliation? I know why: paper champs. Would Muhammad Ali “The Greatest” during his era of domination retire after losing his title? No way in hell, because he is the definition of a champion who wasn’t afraid to get medieval, who wasn’t afraid to sacrifice, and who wasn’t afraid to destroy an opponent when disrespected. “What’s my name!?” But instead, these athletes are worried about a career ending injury when they should be irate about their manhood being decimated on January 8th.

Marcus Thomas is a junior in journalism and political science and can be reached at [email protected].