Question of the Day: If Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel knew his players were selling memorabilia well in advance of official notification, what should be his punishment?

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Writers from around Tribune Co. weigh in on the controversy surrounding the Ohio State coach. Check back throughout the day for more responses, and feel free to leave a comment of your own.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times

This is a big IF, but IF Jim Tressel knew of the allegations months in advance of the announcement he should be severely reprimanded/suspended ... and that’s just for appetizers. Start with grounding him for five games next season, the same punishment his players received after being graciously/ridiculously allowed to lead their team to Sugar Bowl glory.

This story stinks, it always has, and right now down at THE Ohio State A&P, there’s a huge cleanup on aisle 2. We are open-minded and all ears waiting to hear the school’s official response, and suspicious of any story citing one ‘anonymous’ source. It is so ‘old media’ now to wait until all facts are in before pronouncing judgment, but also no downplaying the potential seriousness of the charge or what it could mean to the reputation and future of an honorable institution.

[Updated at 1:16 p.m.:

Mark Wogenrich, Allentown Morning Call

First, we probably shouldn’t be asking a conditional-tense question seeking a hypothetical punishment based on a two-month investigation that yielded a one-source story. But since that’s what appeared in Tuesday morning’s in-box, here goes.

If Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel knew some of his players were selling memorabilia and didn’t self-report the violations to his employer or the NCAA, as a Yahoo! Sports report alleges, he should be discharged from his duties as coach. And Ohio State should have to vacate its victories from the 2010-11 season for using ineligible players.

But here’s another conditional-tense question: If the report is incorrect, or based on flawed or malicious whistle-blowing, what should happen to Yahoo! Sports? The news service has a history of sniffing out these stories (ask Reggie Bush), so it can’t be dismissed out of hand. But this story has some distance to cover to find firm ground.]