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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on May 12, 2008
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The following post was recently made on TheMat.com by Scott Rohler, father of Josh. It was in response to some of the negative things being said about Dave Rella and Jared Platt.
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Quote from Scott Rohler's post:
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"First, let me say - It has been a year (or better) since my son Josh was released from Penn State. Now, with the "dismissal thing" going on, I feel I need to clear the air about a few things. With Josh's permission, I will tell you our side of the story. Yes, Josh was academically ineligible after the first semester. Yes, Josh went out and participated in some things he shouldn't have when he found out he was ineligible. An in-house drug test came up positive. The coaches made a decision to "release" him. The first phone call I recieved (Thursday), I was told that Josh was off the team but that the scholarship was a one-year deal and he could stay for the rest of the year. They thought it was in his best interest to leave now, though. The next day I recieved another phone call. He had to leave immediately and be out of the dorm by Monday (January 15). Classes started Tuesday. Troy thought I should know what I would be dealing with(when he came home) and informed me that Josh was using cocaine. On the ride home, Josh was very persistant on stating he never did cocaine. He insisted on a copy of the drug test. Once we had contacted Dr. Acherman (spelling?) for the drug test, he informed us that he sent the results for two drug tests to Troy: Josh's and another athlete's (the one who did the cocaine) and that it was his mistake. We recieved a copy of it. That very weekend Penn State was wrestling at the Virginia duals. By the time the weekend was over, they had been telling the other coaches that were there that Rohler was kicked off the team for failing a drug test for cocaine use. Still to this day, Josh has to deal with people asking him about being kicked out of Penn State for cocaine use. It's a pretty tough thing for a young man to carry around the mistakes he has made, it's harder to carry around someone else's. As a friend of mine put it once, the wrestling community has an incestuous relationship. Stuff spreads like wildfire. On another side note, I know when kids were brought in on recruiting trips, they were "encouraged" to do what ever it took to make sure the recruits "had a good time." I'm tired of certain people talking about team standards because there are two of them. One when they want you, and one when they don't anymore.
I do not condone what Josh did! Never have, never will! I think Josh made some mistakes and he has paid for it. I also think his privacy was violated(I believe a drug test is covered under the HIPPA laws). You can all hide behind your screen names and come on here and bash me for posting this. I don't care. This is really about getting it out in the air. I have no reason to lie. I have really wanted to do this for a while.
Jared and David: Keep your heads up! There is life after Penn State!"
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Dan Ransick added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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I think now more and more stories will be coming out of the wood work from this situation. That is now three members of the 2006 recruiting class that are no longer with Penn State and all three were blue chippers.
I did find an article about the Eddie Jayne situation dating back 10 years ago. I will be interested to see what else pops up in light of this situation.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Robert Seibert added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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This kind of stuff stinks for everyone involved.
Is Rohler wrestling anywhere now?
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Mark Niemann added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Dan,
I too saw that Eddie Jayne article recently. It just so happens it was about a week after I asked him to fill me in on the EJ story. (I had enlisted in the Army and was in Colorado for his college career...just didn't know so I thought I'd ask.)
Everything in the article was what he said, but when it came from Eddie it was more of a "That's the way it went. No good guy, no bad guy" type of thing. Zero bitterness whatsoever.
However...in the article, I saw a quote from the coach...something about him not wanting to hear Eddie's name mentioned with thr PSU program anymore.
Unfortunate, IMO.
But as Rex said, transferring (not that Mr. Jayne transferred) has to be a difficult thing for all parties involved.
I guess that is one good thing about being a 4x sectional qualifier...no committments to break!!! <smile>
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Leo Zimmer added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Just my two cents... I think Penn State is a mess. Not taking sides here.
If all the accusations against these boys are true, then the Penn State wrestling team is a mess for letting happen on their watch.
If these accusations are false, then the Penn State wrestling team is a mess for spewing this stuff.
Either way... a mess! If either of my son's were being recruited by coach Sunderland right now, I would steer them elsewhere.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Jayne adjusting to life without wrestling
Chris Antonacci - The Daily Collegian
November 18, 1998
Eddie Jayne led two different lives.
First, there was Eddie Jayne, a 133-pound wrestler on the Nittany Lion wrestling team.
Second, there was Eddie Jayne, a student-teacher at Park Forest Elementary School, teaching children the three R's.
Now there is just one Eddie Jayne, after he was removed from the wrestling team by first-year coach Troy Sunderland prior to the season.
After student-teaching and sitting in on meetings, Jayne would arrive at wrestling practice more than an hour late, upsetting Sunderland.
"Coach Sunderland didn't like that," Jayne, a fifth-year senior, said. "I tried to explain what my duties were as a student-teacher. He said, ‘Wrestling was going to be it this year,' and that was it.
"It was kind of mutual. He pretty much wanted me to agree with his decision, but it would have been impossible for me to wrestle."
Sunderland refused to comment on Jayne's departure. He said he would like to move on with the future of the team and put the past behind him.
"I've said all I want to say about Eddie Jayne," Sunderland said. "I don't want to see his name in the paper anymore in regards to the wrestling team."
Obviously, Jayne did not take Sunderland's recommendation. Instead of spending this season teaching rookies on the squad wrestling maneuvers, he will teach third-graders the intricacies of penmanship, long division and the solar system.
And for Jayne, it is all worth it.
"It is really rewarding," the 22-year-old said. "Somedays, I come home and I just feel great working with those 27 kids.
"I don't want to look back and say I made the wrong decision. I don't want to go back and second guess myself. You go one way and you stick with it."
He should do just that, said Jill Ferrnoe, the teacher who oversees him at Park Forest Elementary.
"He's made the choice, which is meaningful to me," Ferrnoe said. "He is going to be doing this for the next 40 or 50 years and he really has his heart into it."
Not only was Jayne juggling student-teaching and wrestling, but he also was busy with work from other classes. Jayne said his workload was becoming overbearing, which was not typical for the two-time member of the Big Ten All-Academic team, especially because he considers himself "a perfectionist."
Ferrnoe said she sees this characteristic in him through his work with the students, as Jayne prepares lessons creatively, putting a lot of effort into them and making them enjoyable for the students.
While Jayne loves wrestling, he said he could not pass up the opportunity to advance his career -- especially when he considered his eligibility would have been through after the completion of this season.
In the long run, he said student-teaching is in his best interests. Besides, he is graduating from Penn State next month.
However, giving up wrestling is not and will not be easy for him. It has been within the Jayne family for a long time. His parents started a youth wrestling program in Elyria, Ohio, and Jayne has been wrestling since he was 6 years old.
Still, Jayne says his departure from the Lion squad does not end his love of wrestling. He hopes to return to wrestling in the near future -- perhaps as a coach. Coaching will be a way for him to combine his loves -- working with children and, of course, wrestling.
And for his teammates, they understand what choice Jayne had to make. It is their support that makes his predicament easy to handle, which means a lot to him.
"Sometimes a wrestler departs from the team and the other wrestlers try to shun him," Jayne said. "When I left the team, the guys were still my friends and my roommates, it's no different.
"I am still Eddie Jayne."
And when the wrestling team gets its season underway, it can count on him being their friend as well -- cheering them on from afar, supporting them as if he was still in uniform.
"I'll be there," Jayne said. "I will be a big fan. Hopefully, I will get the crowd all riled up. I get goofy like that."
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Mark Niemann added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Quote from Dan Cosimi's post:
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" ... I get goofy like that.""
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Oh really!?! In all my conversations with Mr. Jayne, he's never struck me as the outgoing type. Perhaps we'll switch roles for a day and I can teach him a thing or two about being outgoing!!!
See you soon, Meester Jayne!!!
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Dan Ransick added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Penn State has now lost six wresters in the past two years in Galloway, Rohler, Ward, Platt, Scott and Rella. I think that they can get the guys there but they are having a hard time keeping them there.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Ethan Moore added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Penn State's getting killed here, and I just want to throw in my two cents.
Aside from the Rella situation, I see an athlete who was caught using an illegal substance and was academically inelgible, and an athlete who was unable to attend practice.
How is this a poor reflection, in either case, on the PSU coaching staff for choosing to go in another direction?
Before indicting the program as a whole, everyone should take the time to review the incidents from the program's perspective.
In addition, we are taking the word of wrestler's family members as gospel. There are always two sides to every story.
Concerning Rella, PSU could have denied him the ability to compete this year (like many head coaches do in transfer situations, ESPECIALLY if that wrestler is going to another in-conference school). I think they were quite understanding.
I don't know Sunderland, but I did grow up about 20 miles from West Liberty, and I have a hard time seeing a Dernlan being a part of decisions as unethical as the posters on this forum make them out to be.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Leo Zimmer added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Ethan,
The NCAA refers to it as "lack of institutional control", we have all heard it used in other instances.
I agree that ultimately a kid is responsible for his own choices... good or bad, but when there are six kids in two years that have made "bad choices", then you are either recruiting the wrong kids, or are not exercising proper control.
There's an old saying... If you want to take credit for the rain, you've got to take blame for the drought.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Ethan Moore added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Leo -
I agree 100%. I was just making a commentary on the fact that people seem to be piling on PSU and their staff without making a fair assessment by viewing both sides of the discussion.
In each case, save Rella, an argument could easily be made that PSU was in the right for their decision.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Scott Rohler added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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My response on TheMat.com was partially initiated by Josh. He wanted me to post it because he is tired of explaining to people that he is not a coke-head (which is what was circulated around at the Virginia Duals last year, the weekend he left Penn State). Trust me, he has been dealing with this mistake for over a year now. He did some things at Penn State that just about every kid in college does, face it. HE GOT CAUGHT! I am not saying it would have been okay if he didn't get caught, I AM NOT! We actually thought about seeking legal council for the slander (also I believe drug tests fall under HIPPA Laws for privacy). We would have had to ask other college coaches to testify on what they were told and I doubt any of them would. I also told Josh that even if he could have won, I did not want him to prosper or benefit in any way because HE made the first mistake. Their mistake was a by-product of his mistake (although it still doesn't make it right).
He also didn't like the way they made Dave and Jared look, to the public, like they were the bad guys. Josh still talks to some of the kids from Penn State. He still considers some of them his friends. One thing, for some of you who don't know me, I am a brutally honest person. I sometimes wish I wasn't. Anyway, everybody keeps asking if he is going to wrestle again. He's currently talking with the coaches from Notre Dame, so we will see.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Brady Hiatt added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Mr. Rohler,
I'd disagree with your statement that "just about every college kid" does those mistakes that Josh did.
As for the coaches telling about Josh, I don't know. I do know this. When I asked Matt (we were college teamates and he was a groomsman in my wedding -- so we are pretty close and he knows I say nothing about things he tells me) about why your son had left PSU, he said "things just didn't work out." No mention of anything else. This is the first I'd heard anything that casts Josh in a bad light.
I understand your son's frustration at the situation and applaud your decision for not wanting him to profit from a wrong he did. Those rumors are the unfortunate revirbirations from his actions. Just a thought -- any chance those on the team he didn't get along with so well -- spreading those rumors about him being a "coke-head"? Not a single person on here is naive enough to believe that the athletes themselves don't know what everybody else on the team has been doing.
I hope it all works out for him in his future plans.
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Discussion Topic: Scott Rohler's post on TheMat.com
Scott Rohler added to this discussion on May 13, 2008
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Brady:
I have no idea who you are, nor your relationship with anybody. I did not point any fingers at Matt. Matt treated us better than anybody during the whole ordeal. I think he honestly felt bad about it. If you want to talk to me privately about this, my number is in the Akron phone book. If I miss your call, I will call you back. I said what I had to say and I don't want this to carry on any longer. I would rather read or talk about something more positive. This sport doesn't need this.
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