1) Grown men shouldn't yell at "kids" for not behaving like adults.
2) "Kids" will sometimes have confusing, poorly communicated opinions.
The kids in question here are actually the student staff of The Daily Nebraskan. In an editorial Monday, the staff of the DN called into question Pelini's handling of recent off the field incidents, saying:
"While his actions to keep players out of trouble are commendable, it's how he has handled players once they are in trouble that is problematic to say the least."
The piece actually goes on to cite Pelini's indefinite suspension of Andy Christensen as an exception to his "policy of inaction." Patrick Witt's arrest gets a mention, but the real sticking point in this editorial seems to be the recent arrest of Husker recruit Josh Williams. Pelini has yet to comment publicly on the matter and that sticks in the collective craw of the DN staff. The piece goes on to say:
"Players should not be invited to our university and given the benefit of a full scholarship if they have a history of violence. If players on the team violate the trust of the community through violence, they should be removed from the team immediately."
Fine. That's an opinion. In my opinion there's quite a bit of gray area here. The player's not on campus--I'm not sure how you stop a robbery in Denton, TX from Lincoln--so I guess we're faulting Pelini and his staff for not unearthing this potential character flaw in Williams during their blitzkrieg recruiting session. Okay, it's not my case but there is a case to be made there. That said, it's tough to criticize a decision that hasn't been made yet.
Bo Pelini, of course, had his own opinion. In another editorial today, Pelini was reported to have "berated a board member" with "choice phrases," claimed the "tone and conclusion of the article was unfounded," and banned the publication from practice. The ban has since been lifted, but the temporary damage has probably been done. (Key word: temporary.)
Make no mistake this was a stupid, stupid decision on Bo's part. He'll make many more as a first time head coach, but I fully expect it will be resolved and forgotten within a week. These are students learning to be journalists and part of learning to be a journalist is emulating the work you aspire to produce. That's the way the editorial read to me, aspiring journalists trying to have a take, rousing some rabble just like Tom Shatel might do. You can't jump down anyone's throat for doing that and Bo will have to make amends for his reaction.
But do I think it signals the start of an alarming trend? Nope. On his radio show today Matt Perrault made a joking reference--I presume--to Communist Russia (audio here), but he was legitimately up in arms, going so far as to say that if this is going to be the nature of Pelini's dealings with criticism that he is sure to be banned at some point.
He won't be. To assume that this is the first step in a vast silencing of the media is ludicrous but I understand the talk radio gig. Have a take, stir the pot, but let's just call it what it was: A bad choice. Lesson learned.
The question of player discipline is probably the trickiest issue in all of sports and it doesn't matter if you're in your first year as a coach or your 37th, there is no right answer for all cases when you're the guy who has to pull the trigger. Osborne dealt with it. Callahan dealt with it. Bobby Bowden could probably right a thinly veiled but best-selling business book about it. (Everything can be turned into a business book, you know. All you need is an ordinal number's worth of "principles.") You do the best you can.
To date, we've seen the best out of Bo Pelini and if this incident is the worst, then I'm still confident we'll be just fine.
That's my opinion.
UPDATE: Jeff from DXP details the incident for the Fanhouse here and in doing so uncovered a gem of a link: Tom Osborne also suspended Daily Nebraskan reporters during the 1995 season. Aha! The plot thickens.
Everyone assumed that Dr. Tom was the calming influence here, but now I like to think that when a seething Bo Pelini flipped a copy of the editorial onto Tom's desk, the good doctor--after a brief, rage-inducing flashback--responded simply with: Let's call those bastards right now!
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