Hell hath no fury like a sports dad scorned, and Buckeye receiver/returner Ray Small's dad isn't pleased that his son will not play in this weekend's OSU-Northwestern game. Buckeye coach Jim Tressel suspended the younger Small for one game--"to start with," in Tressel's words--for repeatedly violating team rules.Small's dad, Ken Small, is calling shenanigans.
"They're intentionally trying to blow his career," Ken Small told The Associated Press by telephone from his home in suburban Columbus.There is evidence to suggest that Ray Small is blowing his own career, without any help from the Ohio State coaching staff. He was "demoted" from jersey number 4 to number 82 last spring; he is also the only Buckeye on scholarship without a biography in the school's media guide. Hence, he's clearly been in trouble before, and maybe he hasn't quite gotten the message yet.
Small's dad doesn't dispute that his son violated team rules, stating that Ray Small had been late for classes and meetings and had some parking tickets. So give him credit for staying away from the "Not My Kid" syndrome familiar to anybody who's ever worked with kids and their parents. Ken Small has something else he's pondering, though, and it's worth looking at.
