Now that all of the rumors have died down about Ohio State and prospective athletes de-committing, it is time to hear what the students have to say. If you have no idea about here’s a brief synopsis. In the past few weeks some picture have been posted online of prospective athletes with a few residents of Ohio. It has come to the attention of Ohio State and the prospects that this person is a registered sex offender and not someone that students should be around. Ohio State was not aware of this person until these pictures surfaced.

There have been a few athletes that committed to Ohio State for football for the upcoming season that have de-committed because of these pictures – some of the prospects were in the pictures. The question has thus surfaced as to whether or not the athletes should de-commit over something that Ohio State had no control over. It is a sad thing to say but there are people at any college campus that students shouldn’t be around, so just because of this person athletes are going to choose a different school.

I spoke with a few students about the athletes de-committing and they all had the same response. A junior at Ohio State, Rachel Petty, stated “I think they have a right to do it [de-commit]. I don’t really agree with it but I definitely think it’s a factor.” Rachel makes a good point with her comment; it is their right to de-commit if they do not feel comfortable at Ohio State. Another student and CSF writer, Garrett Mayers, stated “Should they? No. But the fact is they do and will continue to do so. Though unfortunate, it’s beyond anyone’s control.” Garrett also makes a good point; these athletes are going to de-commit if that is what they want to do.

While it is not ideal that athletes have de-committed from Ohio State it isn’t all bad. All of the athletes that have de-committed have stated that they are still considering Ohio State, but that they just need to evaluate their options now. Ohio State has ensured that the person that was posting the photos will never be around Ohio State or its students ever again and I believe this is making the athletes feel more comfortable again. They clearly chose Ohio State over other schools because they like the school or the football program or some other reason entirely, but the fact of the matter is they chose Ohio State once, so they just might choose Ohio State again.