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by RickKarle from WBRC, FOX6

Last Post 15 hours Ago


Tuscaloosa- We Have A Problem!
Feb 27, 2008 | 4:25 PM
Category: Sports
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     Alabama football coach Nick Saban held court again this week (I'm still not sure why he felt the need to address all of these player arrests, as he has constantly reminded us that these matters are between the players and the coach).  While Saban offered no new disciplinary programs, curfews, or broad-based measures to further crack down on bad behavior, he did find time to scold the media for already finding many of his players guilty. 

     Saban reminded us that each disciplinary action is taken case by case, and he's not ready to "throw the baby out with the bath water." The coach asked one reporter if he had children- and if the reporter did, he certainly would never kick his child out of the house, but rather work with that child to edcuate him on the merits of responsibility.

     Uh, coach? Here's my rub. Like you, I have two children- and I can tell you my two kids would never be walking around the Tuscaloosa Strip at 3:00 am. If my son was on scholarship at Alabama, getting a free education, he would know that he would have to hold himself to a higher level than others. He would know how to treat authority figures with respect, and know when to zip it.

     Let me make this clear:  I was not an angel while in college. I ran with the guys (and a serious girlfriend). I partied hearty, and I, like most of us, did some stupid things. But guess what? I was never arrested, I was never rude to adults, and I was not a scholarship football player clubbing at three in the morning.

      It's time for Nick Saban to drop the hammer. Eight player arrests in the 14 months he's been at the Capstone? Saban's message is not getting through to his players. It's time for the four million dollar man to step up.  Call for a curfew  (12 midnight weekdays, 1 am weekends) and remind the players that the next player arrested at the strip will face losing his scholarship.  Call for a meeting between the players and the campus police, learning more about what is setting off what some say are Barney Fyffe-type officers out to nab their prize-  football players.  Take the players on a visit to Donaldson Correctional Institute so they can see where they could end up if misbehavior continues (go ahead and laugh- I visited the state pen in college as part of a law class and it has forever stuck).  And coach? Stop pointing fingers at the media, picking on young newspaper writers who won' t stand up to your bullying.  Learn that being a college coach is indeed different from being a parent. You can't coddle every player, and it's time for some tough love.

   Coach? How good do you want to be?  Some tough love may result in your player's admiration.   For the most part, you are coaching a superb group of young men. You are an impressive, talented coach, and a man (despite the tough-guy exterior) who truly loves his players. Don't let a few bad apples spoil what can be a rewarding and long stay in Tuscaloosa for your family.  It's difficult to punish someone you love (see: your own children), but the sooner you shed your soft-on-crime image, the sooner your players, your coaches and your fans will buy into your program.

 

 

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Member Comments Total Comments: 11
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AlabamaHammer
Feb 28, 2008 | 8:54 AM

Kudos! I applaude you for stating what everyone should be telling CNS. Thanks for stating it so well...
FlukersFeet
Feb 28, 2008 | 9:43 AM

Get off your high horse d-bag. Your kids will never be walking around at 3am on the strip??? It's naive parents like you that have the kids that end up in rehab, hopefully not worse, b/c their parents are clueless about the real world. You may have been whipped in college and not gotten arrested, but it doesn't mean you're a horrible person not worthy of playing on an athletic team if you do. And there is a difference between getting arrested b/c you blew your cool with some punk bouncers and ending up in the state pen. Get a clue. I see why your job consists or reading cue cards for 30 seconds a night on the local news. You'll never go any further and you now it. I imagine this insecurity has led you to rip on Saban. Report the news, we don't need your slanted opinion.
crite1221
Feb 28, 2008 | 9:45 AM

Ha, be prepared for you "saintly" children to run amuck..... You wannabe's have such great advise when you ahve never been reponsible for a large group of people 24/7. You are so righteous....spare me.

CNS owes you media darlings...nothing, bet it nothing when it comes to how he interacts with a player that needs direction or need to be redirected. Again he doesn't owe you a damn reason why he did what he did. That is between he and the player. I have over 1,000 employees and if there is a problem I hold my conversations very private out or RESPECT for the other individual....something you and you media buddies know nothing about.

So go spout you dribble, but in the end you did nothing but stir the pot to get you ratings....sorry way to earn a living...no better than the tabloid junkies at the supermarket...sleazy.
coree39
Feb 28, 2008 | 10:41 AM

Karle,

You have got to be kidding me! Are you a news anchor or a "Dr. Phil wantta-be"? I heard nobody ask for your opinion on how Coach Saban should handle discipline at the University of Alabama. I doubt very seriously that anybody (other than yourself) really cares what your opinion is concerning this matter. Report the news and describe the 3 minutes of highlights during the sports portion of the news. That is all you should be doing! Do not go to such extremes as this just to try to get people to watch your news show or increase ratings or whatever your plan was.

Are you really that naive to think that "my children would never be out at 3 in the am when they are in college"? You will not be making decisions for your children when they are 19, 20, 21 or 22 years old. If you are, then they will not be ready to live in the "real world" after college. It is typical behavior (and has been for decades) for college kids to stay out until 3-4 in the morning. Why should an athlete be any different? Should they miss out on certain college experiences just because they play a sport? I don't think so. Also, remember this didn't happen the night before the Iron Bowl or anything. This happened during Rashad Johnson's off-season. What other time is better for these student-athletes to be "just college students"? There is not one!

Also, were you there? Did you see what happened prior to Johnson's arrest? How do you know he was not treating authority figures with respect or that he did not know when to "zip it" or that he was being rude to adults? This is all hearsay. Let us al
Dittow46
Feb 28, 2008 | 8:19 PM

I'll bet your own parents would have said their son would NEVER do some of the things you probably did while you were in college. Just make sure you remember that when your own kids are out from under your supervision. Its easy for a parent to control their children while they live at home - much harder to do so when they're off on their own living in a dorm or apartment with no curfew.
You say being a football coach is different than being a parent (true), but you opt to go into a parental spill in your article. Care to explain how you want to associate the two when you yourself go on to disassociate the two? It would appear that you're attempting to stroke your ego as a parent in control while bashing Coach Saban with an innuendo of him being a coach who isn't in control. Understand - you don't know what is happening on the "inside" with Coach Saban and his players. Like it or not, that is the way Coach Saban wants it to be in spite of "journalists" like you pitching a hissy fit to find out more.
Suzee read my blog
Feb 29, 2008 | 10:39 PM

To the 4 previous postings- whether Karle is right or wrong about his children is not the point. The real point is that U of A and Saban has a serious problem in the player behavior dept. Karle's absolutely right that their scholarship status should be in jeopardy as a consequence for their behavior, whether on the field, on campus or off campus. There is simply NO EXCUSE for them to behave in the way they have and it needs to be stopped. If it weren't for the fact that they are talented in athletics, they would probably be in minumum wage jobs, unemployed or in jail. The reason? Because the kind of behavior they are exhibiting in Tuscaloosa reflects their character and attitude, as well as a complete lack of appreciation for the opportunities that have been put before them. I firmly believe that it is going to take some of them being kicked off the team and out of school to make believers out of the rest. U of A has serious problems to solve and it's going to take some severe consequences to solve them.
noshamejamezzz read my blog view my photos
Mar 6, 2008 | 11:56 AM

They need to run Karle and Finebaum's jackasses so far out of town they will find Bama again.
noshamejamezzz read my blog view my photos
Mar 6, 2008 | 11:57 AM

NEVER FIND BAMA AGAIN IS WHAT I MEANT.
villham read my blog
Mar 7, 2008 | 5:48 PM

You guys that want to put down Rick Karle live in a dream land. Win at what ever the cost. Why not go to the prisons and get some of the "MEATY" guys that work out all the time and let them be BAMA's football team. You already have a large number of criminals on the current team. GO who ever plays BAMA!!!!
IBConcerned
Mar 7, 2008 | 7:59 PM

Karle your viewpoint from way down there is coming up short. Grow up!
Suzee read my blog
Mar 9, 2008 | 10:31 AM

vilham, Bama just getting them before they make the "big time" prison teams. They are in training for prison.
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RickKarle

Rick Karle is Sports Director at FOX6 WBRC, anchoring sports segments during FOX6 News at 5, 6, 9 and 10 pm. Rick started his duties at WBRC-TV in April of 1989. Prior to working in Birmingham, he served as sports anchor at WJXT Jacksonville, Fla, and Sports Director At WNNE in Hanover, New Hampshire. Born in Syracuse, New York, Rick received his B.A. degree in journalism from the University Of New Hampshire. Here in Alabama, Rick has served as a board member for the American Cancer Society. He also works closely with the Big Oak Ranches, United Cerebral Palsy, and has been on the Advisory Board of Camp Smile-Mile. Rick also serves on the selection boards for the Alabama Sports Hall Of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall Of Fame, and the Blue-Gray Hall Of Fame. Rick is an 8-time Emmy award winner with the National Academy Of Television Arts and Sciences, Atlanta Chapter, his latest two Emmy wins coming in 2005. He has won emmys for everything from "Sports Anchor" to "Sports Performer" to "Sports Host" to "Sports Feature." Rick has garnered over 40 Emmy nominations, and has won over 35 Associated Press awards. Rick also has won six Edward R. Murrow Regional Awards for sports reporting, along with one Edward R. Murrow National Award (Dateline NBC being the other sports winner in 1997). Rick lives in Shelby County with is wife Jill, an attorney, their children Noah and Mia, and their two cats, Stewart and Princess.

Member Since: 5/30/2006


 

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