Honor Is In Decline
I’ve heard that sports are a metaphor for life, or something like that.
I’m going to assume it’s true. Given its truth, we are in a world of hurt.
I’m not going to recall all of the “non-sports” sports news of the past few years. You’ve got your Sosas, McGwires and Bonds’s. Your Pacmans and Vicks. Former Senator Mitchell is supposed to name fifty players who used steroids in his report on the issued to be announced tomorrow. There’s an element of dishonor in all of their stories.
The latest media storm in sports is the wholesale rash of dishonoring of contracts by sports coaches. The villain of our story today is one Bobby Petrino, until yesterday the coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He came aboard the first of this year and didn’t get what he expected. First there was the Michael Vick debacle. Then he found out that millionaire NFL players are not as tractable as college kids. Then he had a rash of injuries.
To back track, he signed a five year, 24.5 million dollar contract with the team. Note the word “year.” He lasted 13 games out of the 16 game season. I can handle quitting, even without finishing the initial year. What I have difficulty with is lying.
As the story is unfolding, the team had heard rumors that he was considering going back to the ranks of college coaches. Arthur Blank, the owner, of Home Depot fame, talked to him several times over the weekend; and, he also fielded calls from Jerry Jones (a multi-millionaire football team owner and University of Arkansas alumni) asking if he minded Arkansas talking to Petrino about its head coach opening. Blank and the Atlanta GM said no they didn't want Arkansas talking to Petrino, several times.
Petrino and Blank met on Monday afternoon, and Blank asked Petrino, point blank what he should tell the media about whether he was staying or leaving (the Falcons were about to be trounced on Monday Night Football). Petrino held out his hand to Blank and said “tell them I’m your head coach.” Blank did so when interviewed that night.
Last night at about 5:30 p.m., Petrino resigned in Flowery Branch, Georgia, north of Atlanta where the Falcons practice. At 10:30 p.m., he was in Fayetteville, Arkansas at a press conference where he was announced as the new Arkansas football coach.
The Athletic Director of Arkansas in a news article today, said he first heard that Petrino might resign on Tuesday morning and “jumped on it.” He got on a plane to Atlanta and did the deal that day, he said.
There’s a bunch of other unsavory details. But the moral of the story is a lot of people have no sense of honor these days. Two of them are hanging out at the University of Arkansas, molding its “student athletes” as fine young people.
10 comments:
Regarding Petrino: In the words of the immortal Elmer Fudd "Good Widdance to bad Wubbish". Huhuhu....
Arkansas should be fully aware of the kind of loyalty they should expect from Petrino. If he ditches them for a better offer, they should not be surprised, no matter what he tells them right before he does it.
Hi Dave. I'm sure Arkansas knows what they're getting, a future government official right?
Debo Blue
The word "contract" in the sport's world must mean something very different than it does in the real world.
If I sign a contract, any contract, I can't just walk away from it thirteen weeks later. "Ha ha! I lied!" just won't hold up in court.
All of this has such disturbing cultural implications -- when so many public people make no bones about their lack of integrity.
And then proceed to model that distorted "virtue" to young people.
Majorly messed up.
I've always thought of Elmer as a wise man.
Hmmm. Contract law apparently differs a lot from my experiences with it anyway. I worked for a place here where you had to sign a contract to work there a minimum of a year -some folks had contracts covering several years - and if you left, you had to leave at the end of your contract and submit a 6-week notice then as well. Anyone who didn't honor their contract was sued by the company. And those contracts, the wages paid, were a heck of a lot smaller than the amounts thrown about in these big positions and their huge salary packages. There were some who jumped ship, yes, but often they would leave the area and take a very, very low profile for several years in the hopes the company would forget about them but the company would try to track folks down and milk them for money for "breach of contract."
Contracts mean nothing in professional football. Ask Al Davis.
What did you expect Petrino to do, hang around and get fired?
I think that it goes both ways. There are plenty of owners or GMs that fire coaches for bad seasons despite the contract. It is, in the end, all about money. Neither party honors the contract or their word.
It is sad that this is what we are teaching our kids...
Just as we are teaching them that it is okay to do everything it takes to be the best they can be - even when that includes illegal substances etc.
Exception and Doc,
I don't expect better, I wish for better.
I don't always keep my word. But, the times that I haven't can be counted on less than a hand.
One of the important things in life is doing what you say you will do, regardless of the result to you.
I don't care if it's the MLB or the NFL or college whatever or "I'll see you at eight," do it.
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