Chalk this up: For once, thanks to one of my best friends, my brain won out over my heart.

I recently wrote a rough-draft article defending Jim Tressel against the parasites that are jumping to gnaw on a good man when he’s down.

My twist in the article was a parody of my noticing a co-worker absent mindedly taking an ink pen from work. This is how I saw Tressel’s transgression. To me, it wasn’t as big a deal as ESPN and other media outlets are making it out to be.

He didn’t write a check to Cam Newton’s dad. He denied knowledge about some players cashing in their own property for tattoos.

I furthered my parody by stating that many other people in other organizations do worse things than simply overlooking fellow employees who pocket office supplies.

Some cheat on a grander scale, thumbing their noses at the boss, because the rules allow them to do so (visit www.oversigning.com). Others are at the pinnacle of their game with the Grim Reaper lurking in the background (Auburn).

But you haven’t noticed those stories in the headlines, have you?

My point was this: The major media outlets are quick to slam a person of integrity when he falls, but slow to cover the transgressions that presently make college football a sham.

For the record, I didn’t officially say that the SEC cheats within the rules, but outside the boundaries of integrity, crushing young men’s dreams in the process.

I didn’t say that the NCAA allows this to happen or that the Big Ten has forbidden this type of behavior for more than half a century.

I didn’t say that ESPN mysteriously turns a blind eye to the business dealings within the SEC, save for one documentary, and the huge advantages it gains by oversigning high school kids and later discarding them like yesterday’s meatloaf.

I didn’t mention that any of this is done purely for money and championships and glory.

I didn’t mention that Jim Tressel has more class than an ocean full of Les Milses’s and Nick Sabans or that a walk-on player such as Tyler Whaley couldn’t have thrived at their schools.

I also didn’t make note of the fact that Tressel’s Buckeyes somehow compete on a national stage each and every year without resorting to SEC recruiting practices.

I didn’t say any of that. But it was all there between the lines. I did say that Tressel is human and that he made a judgment error, which, to me, was the equivalent of jaywalking.

Then I sent my article to a buddy for a critique.

Butch Chatfield, a lifelong friend and Buckeye fanatic who lives in Columbus, startled me with his response to my article defending The Vest.

“I disagree with you,” he said in a sharp delivery.

“What? Why?”

“We are The Ohio State University because we don’t cheat,” he said. “If this was Arkansas or Alabama or LSU, it would be OK. But we are Ohio State. We’re not the SEC. Tressel should have just admitted he made a mistake. He should have come clean the minute he learned of this.

Honestly, I think he should have been fired.”

“What?!” I screamed.

“I’m sitting in my Buckeye room with pictures of Archie Griffin and Chris Spielman, men of integrity. Do you think I want their image torn down because somebody lied? The tradition here is great because we don’t have to cheat to win. We don’t lie, ever.”

Butch went on to say that he loves Jim Tressel, but that the integrity of the university is paramount.

And I was defenseless following his passionate rant. How could I argue with that? He’s right.

So I shelved my story to tell you this one because I agree with everything Butch said, except for the part about Tressel being fired.

The cornerstone of Ohio State’s tradition is integrity. Without it, the Buckeyes are no better than those in the SEC, where deceit of young players is common, accepted and well documented (though, somehow not yet widely publicized).

Tressel should be punished to uphold the great tradition that built The Ohio State University. I totally agree.

But, then, based upon his record as a humanitarian and the values he instills in countless young men, he should be forgiven.

Thanks, Butch, for the perspective.

Billy Bruce is a freelance writer who lives in Pedro. He can be contacted at hollandkat3@aol.com.