By
this point, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that colleges and universities
across the country will do just about anything to preserve their athletic
departments and the sports that provide financial support for them. Penn State
lined up behind Joe Paterno after he enabled Jerry Sandusky to abuse and molest
countless young boys. Michigan State let Larry Nassar terrorize scores of
girls. And most recently, Ohio State kept Pope Urban VI on the payroll even
after it was evident that he bore false witness, obfuscated and destroyed
evidence in attempts to cover up the fact that he knowingly kept a spouse
abuser on his staff.
If
that can all go on, then nobody should be surprised that the Board of Regents
at Maryland didn’t fire D.J. Durkin despite a report that painted him as unable
to exercise the necessary leadership and oversight for the Terrapin football
program, a deficit that led to the death of Jordan McNair over the summer.
After a ridiculously long period of “investigation”, the best the school could
do was issue a mea culpa for not providing enough support for Durkin, as if he
were some rube brought in to take over the program against his will and with no
prior experience on a college coaching staff.
The
Board’s decision to keep Durkin as coach was preposterous and clearly
demonstrated the university’s unwillingness to sacrifice some football
prosperity – Maryland enters Saturday’s game against Michigan State 5-3, with
its only impressive win coming over Texas back on Sept. 1 – to do the right
thing for McNair’s family and its students. It took school president Wallace
Loh, after meeting with campus leaders and absorbing the scathing criticism
from political leaders and media outlets, to do the right thing and send Durkin
away.
This
was a classic lack of leadership by the regents, who now have no credibility
whatsoever and can’t possibly govern the school with any legitimate authority
moving forward. Their mistake was a dagger to the heart of the McNair family
and a tone-deaf attempt to preserve the football program at the expense of a young
man who had been maltreated during conditioning and whose care post-collapse
was amateurish at best and horribly negligent at worst. Compounding the
disrespect was the Board’s decision not to fire members of the training staff
who were responsible for the shoddy medical work.
Thursday
night, Board chair James Brady announced his resignation, bringing a sliver of
honor to a body that had none. He cited his presence’s being a detriment to the
forward progress of the university.
What
a perceptive guy.
The
bigger issue here is not whether Maryland will continue to attract
applications, fill its basketball arena and keep challenging for mediocre bowl
berths. Like the Sandusky tragedy, during which the victims were often
overlooked in PSU’s desire to preserve its institution and football reputation,
the victim here is Jordan McNair, his family, friends and teammates. It’s not
Durkin. It’s not the institution. McNair is gone, and as Maryland tries to
figure out its next steps, people must remember what happened and hold the
school and every other institution of higher learning to a far higher standard
than we have in the past.
It’s
fashionable to refer to college sports as “a sausage factory”, in an attempt to
excuse behind-the-scenes dealings while we enjoy the finished product. That can
happen no more, and the four instances described here are the primary exhibits
why.
(We
can also include the death of the Notre Dame student manager who was sent 60
feet into the air to videotape football practice during a storm. ND fought to
avoid any release of documents relevant to the irresponsible decision and
received little criticism in the wake of the tragedy.)
Every
school in the country, and particularly those who are using big-time athletics
to burnish their reputations, promote their institutions and boost fundraising
efforts, must establish protocols to insure there is never another episode like
McNair’s death. They must hire administrators and coaches who truly care about
players, rather than bottom lines or wins and losses – and do the same things
themselves. It’s great fun to be associated with a successful program, but it’s
even better for the college if those participating in the games have good
experiences. There can be no other way.
Durkin
and his staff failed McNair and his family. They cared little for the young
man’s condition and that led to his death. That cannot be disputed. Their
actions showed their true feelings. That the Board decided Durkin should stay
on shows how completely skewed the approach to college athletics has become –
at Maryland and on a greater scale. Which set of administrators has the courage
to change things? Who will declare an end to the insanity? Let’s hope those
people step forward quickly, before another “hard-charging” coach produces the
next catastrophe.
* *
*
EL HOMBRE SEZ: Coach Squints’
oakLLLLLLLand raiders team sure looks like a nuclear waste facility. Yet, old
Squints is talking about building championships and how many players want to
come play for him. The franchise’s pending move to Vegas could be one of the
worst bets ever made in the city…As much fun as it is to watch the Rams’
offense, New Orleans’ new commitment to defense and Kansas City’s wide-open
attack, El Hombre is beginning to get that New England will win Super Bowl LIII.
Captain Hoodie and his minions have figured things out and will continue their
roll Sunday night against the Packers…Despite the best efforts of the NBA’s
propaganda partners to convince us the Lakers are a team worth watching, the
early returns on LeBron’s redshirt season aren’t pretty. L.A. is 3-5 and looks
ordinary. Worse, the team isn’t that entertaining. If you are looking for
something different, check out Denver, the Bucks and Toronto, who won’t get
much love from the promotional folks but who play fun ball…R.I.P. Stretch
McCovey…R.I.P. Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman…R.I.P. Frank Litsky.
* *
*
YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? The Birds
followed up their epic choke job against the Panthers with a must-win over
Jacksonville, raising their record to 4-4 and showing the good citizens of
London what they might expect should Jags owner Shahid Khan consent to let the
NFL move his team there. Tuesday, the Eagles rented wideout Golden Tate for the
remainder of the season in return for a third-round draft pick, a solid move
for an “all-in” franchise. The only problem is that thanks to the loss to Carolina
and a previous Heimlich-necessary performance against the Titans, it’s unlikely
the Eagles will be getting a first-round bye or homefield advantage beyond the opening
weekend of the playoffs – provided they can win the NFC East. Tate might help
the offense, which isn’t scoring like it did last year, but the real progress
this team needs is on D, where the front four still isn’t getting enough
pressure without blitz help, and the secondary continues to flounder at times.
Injuries have been a factor, for sure, but this team just doesn’t have the same
spark it did last season.
* *
*
AND ANOTHER THING: If that wasn’t the
most boring post-season in MLB history, it is certainly close to the top of the
list. The World Series was drab, and even the seventh game of the NLCS seemed
like a mid-June matchup. El Hombre had a chance to speak with former pitcher
Rick Sutcliffe last week, and even he says the game is getting boring for a lot
of people. Strikeouts outpace hits. The shifts are robbing hitters of chances
to get on base. And fire-breathing bullpens make comebacks almost impossible.
Sutcliffe’s solution? Lower the mound. They did it after the historically
futile 1968 season, and it may be time to do it again. In fact, he says he’ll
be surprised if it isn’t mandated before the 2019 season. And, remember, this
is a pitcher talking. While the NBA cashes in on drama, and the NFL continues
to dominate the sporting landscape, baseball’s fan base is graying, and the
sport is offering precious little for young viewers. The 2018 TV ratings were
the third lowest ever, and the only reason they weren’t the worst was that
Boston and L.A. have big brand names. Something better be done before the MLB
starts really bleeding.
