Driving The Lane: Unnecessary Evil

While watching SportsCenter the other day, I heard something that didn’t sit right with me. In the aftermath of the Mike Rice scandal at Rutgers University, they were discussing the authoritarian nature of certain coaches. Someone mentioned how parents would send their children to play for Bob Knight because his level of discipline would benefit them as if they were going into the military.

This really bothered me. First off, I’m not at all a Bob Knight fan, and I can’t stand it when he is praised for being a great coach. The guy has a great basketball mind and had a lot of success as a head basketball coach, but he had a serious problem. He had severe anger issues, and the fact that he was allowed to be a leader of young men just blows my mind.

I’m not trying to say that Bob Knight ever did anything to the level of Mike Rice. The things that Rice did in the recent videos are beyond anything I’ve ever seen from a coach. His actions are absolutely atrocious, and I don’t think you will find anyone who would defend him. Seriously, how could throwing basketballs at players possibly be a good coaching technique? As a coach, the minute you lay a hand on your players, you’ve crossed the line. I’m honestly very surprised Rice was never popped by one of his players for going too far.

Also, this idea of head coaches having their methods compared to those of military leaders makes me sick. First off, it’s insulting to those in the armed forces to compare what they have to go through to that of members of a basketball team. But also, sports should not try to be like the military. Sports are sports. And, especially at the college level, it is just a game.

I’m not against demanding, strict coaching. My favorite coach of all time is the great Bill Belichick. But I can’t imagine he’s best friends with many of his players, other than Tom (Yes, we’re on a first name basis). There is a way to use cold discipline as a coach without crossing the line.

Take a guy like Brad Stevens, the head basketball coach at Butler University. You never see any ridiculous sideline outbursts out of Stevens. I can’t imagine him ever doing anything like Rice did in practice. And yet, he is one of the best basketball coaches in the country and a terrific leader of the young men on his team.

You don’t have to babysit your players. You don’t have to go out to the bars with them after the game. You don’t have to constantly crack jokes with them. Heck, you’re allowed to yell at them all you want. But this idea that coaches should take a military approach to their job is absolutely ridiculous.

This culture of coaching has caused certain bench bosses to take things too far. This year, we have seen several sideline coaching outbursts that are simply unnecessary, even in the heat of battle. We need to end this idea that coaches are the only people who are allowed to freak out during a game. How is it good leadership to go completely berserk when the going gets tough?

There is absolutely no excuse for sideline outbursts like those of Knight back in the day.

There is absolutely no excuse for shoving players and throwing basketballs at them, like Rice as revealed through the recently released videos. And yet, I can’t help but feel this isn’t the end of such behaviors from coaches becoming known to the public. The only solution is to end this outlandish notion that coaches should act like military leaders.