People are not going to remember John Chaney as a great man and a great basketball coach. They are not going to remember him for the great things he has done for the players who have been a part of his program, or for the fact that he did things the right way. Sadly, they are going to remember Chaney as, to use his own words, a mean, ornery, son of a bitch.
It seems as if everyone in the sports world is calling for Chaney's head, and why not? It is the easy way out to blindly agree with everything else that has been said. It's much simpler for sportswriters to find someone's take and then repeat it loudly than to actually think on their own. Heck, I was prepared to roll out a column about how Chaney should start recruiting WWE superstar The Big Show, aka Paul Wight, before I actually gave the situation some thought.
One of John Chaney's biggest problems is that he is honest to a fault. The day prior to the St. Joseph's game, he said that if the Hawks continued what Chaney believed to be illegal screens that he would send a player in the game to send a message. It happened and Chaney sent in senior forward Nehemiah Ingram, who fouled out in four minutes and in the process broke St. Joes forward John Bryant's arm with a hard foul on a dunk. Chaney admitted Ingram was out there to be physical and now everyone is calling it a premeditated attack. It wasn't.
He didn't send Ingram in to break Bryant's arm and Chaney isn't the first coach to send in a player to be physical, he's just the first to admit it. Chaney isn't politically correct and never has been. His honesty is part of what makes him who he is. If Chaney doesn't say anything about this incident, it isn't an issue. Still, that doesn't excuse Chaney for what he did.
Those who really know Chaney know that what he did was out of character for him. Those who don't know him don't want to. They don't look at what he has done overall for the game; they just look at this one incident. Sadly, this one moment of insanity will forever taint his career, but he shouldn't be fired for it.
If Temple president David Adamany takes the advice of the mindless drones in the sports media world and axes Chaney, the biggest loser would be college basketball.
Most people don't see the John Chaney that dedicates his life to teaching inner-city kids the importance of values and discipline, turning them into men in the process. They don't see the John Chaney who has been a great African-American leader in Philadelphia and who has always strived to do things the right way in his life. They don't see the love, albeit tough, that Chaney has for his players, many of whom consider Chaney to be a father figure. They don't want to.
They don't see the Chaney who, minutes after barely losing a hard fought game 75-71 at Alabama, spent some time with members of a wheelchair basketball team, talking to the players on the team and posing for pictures. He took the time to go above and beyond what was necessary, especially following a big game, to brighten the day of those who weren't as fortunate in life. Not many people know about it because he didn't do it for his image, he did it because that's the kind of person he is.
They don't see the Chaney who is sitting the stands a little more than an hour before a game, signing autographs and talking with fans. It's much easier for most people to just ignore the overwhelming amount of good he has done for the game and demand his resignation.
Without question, what John Chaney did was wrong. The worst part about this situation is that Bryant's collegiate career is over, and no one feels worse about that than Chaney. It will always be something that haunts him and no suspension of any length will compare to the punishment he puts himself through. He has apologized profusely, accepted his suspension, and he took the step to stay out of the Atlantic 10 tournament. It should end there, but it won't.
Many try to pass the argument that Chaney should resign because he won't be able to regain the respect of his players. That isn't a worry, as the Temple players chose to wear their road black shoes at home in their first game without Chaney to show their support of their coach and father figure. They know what he did was wrong, but they also know what kind of a person he is and that he will be back to be their teacher and coach again.
Chaney's actions, to use his own words, were wrong, wrong, wrong. In time, the frenzy will die, but Chaney will continue to agonize over what happened on that day. He will go on to do more great things for college basketball, but in the minds of many, he will be remembered only for this incident. They will remember him as the mean, ornery, son of a bitch who ordered an attack on John Bryant. And it's a damn shame.
Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].
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