Another blemish, another dollar

Athletes and celebrities being captured on tape and film in their most vulnerable moments, intended or not, is an image that has become all too familiar in today's information age. On Tuesday night, Cincinnati Bearcats basketball coach Bob Huggins was arrested for DUI outside of Columbus, Ohio. The grainy police video showed Huggins stumbling in front of several police officers clearly under the influence.

I knew it was a serious event as soon as I saw him at his press conference the day following his arrest sans his signature windbreaker and dressed in a shirt, tie and suit.

Now I am not one to kick a person when they are down, but I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Huggins stumbling around trying to find what one could only think would be his ability to graduate players.

Low blow I know, but Huggins isn't going to get any sympathy from me nor does he deserve any. Here is a guy who is supposed to be an example to young men and lead them into manhood. A teacher, a mentor and a supposed role model for his group of thugs and miscreants known as the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Now he is following the examples set by his former and present players, I thought it was supposed to be the other way around?

Huggins is the ring leader of a program that has seen its fair share of NCAA investigations, probations and suspensions. His arrest didn't even raise as many eyebrows as it should have because of the atrocious reputation that his program has had since his tenure there. What would be shocking is if Huggins saw his players walk across the stage on graduation day instead of walking along the yellow line at the local detention center.

Cincinnati is not the only college program that comes under investigation, or have players in trouble with the law, it seems like there is a program or player in trouble every other week. But, the Bearcats are the only ones who seem to revel in the scrutiny. The "catch me if you can" attitude that emanates from Huggins' teams is destructive not only to the players but to the health of college athletics.

You have to wonder if Cincinnati Athletic Director Bob Goin took the correct action by suspending Huggins indefinitely. Sure this time will allow Huggins to take a step back and reexamine his career and life but it should also serve as time for the University of Cincinnati to question whether or not they want to continue with the way their basketball program is being run.

With the impending move to the deeper and more competitive Big East in 2005 Cincinnati will now have to compete for recruits with Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The cupcakes that were in Conference USA are few and far between.

The wins that the University are used to could rapidly come to an end, and place the embattled coach and the administration at an even more important cross-roads than they are in now. The nature of Division one athletics won't allow a coach who has had so much success on the floor to get fired. There is too much money at stake and too many important people to appease.

What the NCAA supposedly stands for, student athletics, is lost in big time television contracts and conference mergers. The bottom line rules all decisions that are made. The big wigs at the top like to lie to themselves and say integrity, sportsmanship and character take precedent over everything. If it did, Huggins would be gone, Quin Snyder of Missouri would be gone, Jim Harrick would have never had a chance to coach in the NCAA again and Bobby Knight would have been thrown in prison a long time ago.

And so it goes... the never ending dance of humanity. We all make mistakes, and we all deserve a SECOND chance, but how do we explain the third or fourth chances that some of these players and coaches receive.

The NCAA and university administration have to own up to what they are about. I'm sure fans wouldn't stop watching, cheering or rooting for their favorite collegiate teams if they were told that what they were watching was a revenue generating cash cow for their respective universities. However, I know as soon as this happens the end of the world won't be far behind.

Huggins will be back, that's not even a question. He'll do his punishment standing on his head, he should be used to be it by now. Let's just hope he uses his new found time wisely and think about the direction he wants to take his program instead of slugging back beers and shopping for new wind-breakers.