Sorry State of College Athletics- Bad Judgment & Personal Ethics

How did collegiate athletics get to this point where the lack of personal ethics and bad judgment continues?

The money and the salaries paid to coaches continues to grow and so do the problems associated with both. It is fair to ask whether any number of coaches were dishonest people, lacked personal ethics, or were consumed with the power and status of their jobs.

George O’Leary was hired as the Notre Dame football coach in 2001 after a successful seven year run at Georgia Tech.  A few days after he was hired, inaccuracies were discovered on his resume. On the resume, O’Leary claimed that he had earned a master’s degree from “NYU–Stony Brook University,” a non-existent institution and actually two separate institutions over 50 miles apart. In fact, he had taken only two courses at NYU, and never graduated.

He also claimed that he had earned three letters in football at the University of New Hampshire, when the school claimed he had not even played in one game. O’Leary blamed the inaccuracies on “resume padding” that had followed him through his career. Notre Dame asked for his resignation and he never coached one game for them.

When you combine arrogance, greed, ambition, and the human tendency to blame others for your problem, it is a lethal combination for disaster and poor conduct. The key is establishing personal ethics and that means having the right principles, morals, and values that rule one’s life .

Butch Davis was hired by the U. of North Carolina in 2006 as head football coach. His seven year contract called for annual compensation of $1.86 million per season.

At the end of October 2010, three star players—WR Greg Little, DT Marvin Austin, and DE Robert Quinn—were ruled permanently ineligible after it was discovered they improperly accepted gifts from sports agents. Five other players were found guilty of accepting improper benefits and/or inappropriate academic assistance.

On July 27, 2011, Davis was fired by UNC chancellor Holden Thorp amid NCAA investigation of academic misconduct and allegations players receiving improper benefits from agents. In a statement that night, Davis said he was “honestly shocked” by the dismissal and called it “a sad day.”

“I can honestly say I leave with the full confidence that I have done nothing wrong,” Davis said.

You have to ask yourself where were the man’s personal ethics and why wasn’t he pointing ten fingers at his own tummy?

Bruce Pearl was a successful men’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee from 2005-2011 and was paid well over $1 million per year in salary and benefits. Pearl, 51, was caught lying to the N.C.A.A., one of nine violations the program was cited for in a notice of allegations sent last month by the N.C.A.A.

Prior to being fired, he expected to remain the coach for a long time and correct the alleged problems that occurred under his watch. Where was his personal ethics compass during his tenure as coach?

Jim Tressel was hired by Ohio State University as the head football coach in 2001. He was paid $3.5 million in 2010 and 2011.

In September 2010 he signed a NCAA compliance form saying he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by Ohio State football players while he was coach. His image was a honest and religious man who never said or did anything without thinking it through first.

Yet, the NCAA and investigators from Sports Ilustrated reported that 28 former and present players participated in memorabilia-for-tattoos violations stretching back to 2002. Tressel chose to ignore this and supported players who were involved with purchasing used cars from two Columbus car dealers under special pricing programs.

The desire for power, control, money, and ambition was too powerful for a man like Jim Tressel who claimed he had personal ethics. He was fired in May 2011.

What can we make of Joe Paterno’s situation at Penn State University where it appears that his 46 year coaching tenure is all but over?

In a scandal that is just beginning and shocking to any reader, young boys were sexually molested and attacked by a former coach on Paterno’s football staff for years. He knew about this and failed to report his knowledge to the police.

Where were his morals, principles, values, and personal ethics?

There is simply too much money in college athletics and the salaries paid out to head coaches borders on lunacy. Our job as parents, teachers, coaches, managers, and supervisors of young people is to teach, enrich, develop, and prepare them to be productive human beings.

We must teach them that doing the right things selflessly is essential and required. Utilizing good personal ethics is the proper roadmap to a successful and enriching life.