Competing Controversies

It was striking, last night, how the sports world had two high-profile coaching controversy stories on the same day.

Or, put another way, do you think Ozzie Guillen might’ve been silently pleased that the story about the Bobby Petrino firing came along last evening to sweep him off the front page of sports sections from coast to coast?

To reiterate – in case you’ve been totally tuned out of the world of sports this week (or aren’t a regular ESPN watcher), Miami Marlins Manager Guillen is under fire for his remarks in an interview with Time magazine that seemed supportive of Fidel Castro and his 60-year regime in Cuba.

During an emotional press conference yesterday, Guillen, a former ballplayer who hails from Venezuala,  apologized profusely for his remarks. He said, in essence, his thoughts in Spanish did not translate to the proper words in English.

He was suspended for five games by the ballclub for his remarks and the team has denounced his comments. Meanwhile, the sporting world watches and waits to see how the Cuban-American community in South Florida will react long-term. Will they accept Guillen’s apology? Will they support the ballclub – which just opened a brand-new stadium last week – or will they boycott the team in droves.

Just when the Guillen story was about to be the headliner on sportscasts across the nation, the story about Petrino’s firing broke. The head football coach at the University of Arkansas, Petrino was fired, in essence for lying to the University. He was involved in a motorcycle accident. Later, as the story unfolded, it was learned that a  young woman, Jessica Dorrell, was along as a rider on his motorcycle. As the story evolved, news surfaced that she had been hired by Petrino in a very quick fashion for a job with more than 150 other candidates. Petrino admitted there had been “an improper relationship.”

In essence, his actions left the University no choice. They had to let him go.

The stories intersect because of timing, only. One involves a college coach and issues of ethics and morality; the other story involves an outspoken pro coach who has, in the past, made provocative statements. This time, however, he went too far. Guillen acknowledged that during his presser yesterday.

It’s hard to know what to make of the two stories. Will Petrino coach again? In the pros, maybe? Back at a major university? Less likely? Possibly in time. Will Guillen survive the controversy in South Florida? Will he learn from his mistake?

For those of us in the general population, I think the lessons learned are fairly simple:

• You shouldn’t try to be an spokesperson on a topic that is out of your field of expertise
• If it feels like you are taking a risk, you probably are and you need to listen to that little voice inside
• The cover-up is often worse than the original misdeed

Didn’t we all learn that from Watergate?

JG  

(Source: msn.foxsports.com)

Originally posted 4/11/2012