Lay Off Coach Chaney
Temple men's basketball coach John Chaney is a 73-year-old man with a hot temper. That temper backfired on him last week when he sent a "goon" into a game against St. Joseph's. The hard foul that ensued resulted in a broken arm for John Bryant, a senior forward for St. Joe's.
Since the incident, Chaney and Temple University have been volleying suspensions. First Chaney voluntarily suspended himself for a game. When the extent of Bryant's injury became known, the university extended it through the rest of the regular season. Then Chaney added the conference tournament on top of that. Along with his self-imposed suspension, Chaney has apologized profusely. He has offered to pay for Bryant's medical bills and called the family to apologize. Still, people insist on making an example out of him.
To pretend things like this don't happen routinely in big time college basketball is ridiculous. Chaney simply had the misfortune of his actions resulting in an injury. Without condoning what he did, I appreciate his apologies and feel confident he has learned from it.
Chaney is well known for his ability to take kids off the street and turn them into respectable, educated citizens who contribute to society. He is a Hall of Fame-type coach with 721 career wins and has acted with complete class since the incident. There is nothing he can do now but wait and see what the university decides to do with him.
With scandals of all shapes and sizes rampant in collegiate sports, we shouldn't demand a school dismiss someone who has done so much good--and will continue to do more--because of one mistake. Let's all just ease off Coach Chaney a little bit.
He made a mistake, it's true. But he doesn't deserve to be fired for it.
Since the incident, Chaney and Temple University have been volleying suspensions. First Chaney voluntarily suspended himself for a game. When the extent of Bryant's injury became known, the university extended it through the rest of the regular season. Then Chaney added the conference tournament on top of that. Along with his self-imposed suspension, Chaney has apologized profusely. He has offered to pay for Bryant's medical bills and called the family to apologize. Still, people insist on making an example out of him.
To pretend things like this don't happen routinely in big time college basketball is ridiculous. Chaney simply had the misfortune of his actions resulting in an injury. Without condoning what he did, I appreciate his apologies and feel confident he has learned from it.
Chaney is well known for his ability to take kids off the street and turn them into respectable, educated citizens who contribute to society. He is a Hall of Fame-type coach with 721 career wins and has acted with complete class since the incident. There is nothing he can do now but wait and see what the university decides to do with him.
With scandals of all shapes and sizes rampant in collegiate sports, we shouldn't demand a school dismiss someone who has done so much good--and will continue to do more--because of one mistake. Let's all just ease off Coach Chaney a little bit.
He made a mistake, it's true. But he doesn't deserve to be fired for it.
posted by Joe Siple | 7:49 PM
2 Comments:
I would agree with you except this is not the first episode that Coach Chaney has been cited for. Chaney's was suspended in 1994, when Temple suspended him for one game after he threatened John Calipari during a postgame news conference. I believe the quote from Chaney was that he was going to "kill Coach Calipari"
Does the punishment fit the crime? I think it does. Repeat offenders should be punished more harshly. Now should Chaney be fired? - easy answer - NO.
Just my take.
Good point. I think we're pretty much in agreement. He should definately be punished for this, but shouldn't be fired. He's already suspended through the conference tourney, so the only gray area would be whether he can coach if the team makes the post-season. I don't feel strongly either way, as long as he's back next season. I just thought he should get a little more credit for taking responsibility for his actions.
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