Sports these days makes you wonder a little bit about the ethical decision making of some of sports’ premier coaches. From Pete Carroll and his players’ suspensions, to Jason Kidd spilling his coke, and Mike Tomlin getting in the way of Jacoby Jones‘ punt return during Thursday night’s game, it really makes you wonder if coaches will do anything to win.
Pete Carroll’s problems have dated back to his time at USC, when Reggie Bush played ineligible. Suspensions seem to haunt this talented Seattle Seahawks team. Last year Brandon Browner and top corner Richard Sherman both received four-games suspensions for drug violations, while last year’s first round draft pick Bruce Irvin was suspended for the beginning of the season. The total number of suspensions involving drugs of some sort, is now at eight under the Pete Carroll Era. That number is absolutely absurd. I understand that Carroll and his Seahawks are one of the best teams in the NFL, but is it time to fire Carroll because of the lack of control over his team? I’m sure any coach can make this Seattle roster a successful one, but I don’t believe Carroll deserves to be the captain of this ship. Time and time again Carroll shows that he will win at all costs, even if that means bending the rules.
This brings us to Mike Tomlin… Tomlin in my eyes, is one of the leagues best coaches. He’s been successful his entire time in Pittsburgh, until this season. With a crucial game Thursday night, at a crucial point, Tomlin did the unthinkable; he interfered with a play. While Ravens return man Jacoby Jones was taking a punt up the sideline in the third quarter, on his way to the house, Mike Tomlin got in his way causing Jones to run back towards the middle of the field. Jones juking out of the way of Tomlin cost him a chance at a touchdown and instead was tackled by a Steelers special teamer. The problem is, Tomlin wasn’t even facing the play at the time, which made it look completely intentional. A punt return touchdown would have blown the game open at that point. Which makes you believe that Tomlin did it to keep his team in the game.
The problem is… This isn’t just happening in the NFL. Coaches are making unethical decisions in the NBA as well. In a game this week, Kidd’s Brooklyn Nets were down by four with eight seconds left and no timeouts. Kidd subbed out point guard Tyshawn Taylor for Mirza Teletovi. As Kidd walked over to Taylor while holding a cup of soda and mouthed to Taylor to hit him. Taylor walked into his coach, who dropped his soda, essentially getting a free timeout in the process (what Kidd wanted.) Kidd and Taylor both claim it was an accident and the Nets’ coach received a $50,000 fine from the league. Not to mention, Brooklyn still lost the game.
Now with these three scenarios, it might be time to consider if coaches should be held to an even higher standard and if stunts like these should be more heavily scrutinized and even punished. What do you think?
