RAZORBACKS BASKETBALL TEAM Coach Did Right Thing

WIN OR LOSE, FANS SHOULD STAND BEHIND PELPHREY

By Brenda Blagg

Sunday, November 15, 2009

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SPRINGDALE — Sports radio this week has been filled with commentary on the suspensions of several University of Arkansas basketball players, some of it critical of the coach who handed them down.

Here’s an alternative view of what John Pelphrey, the Razorbacks’ head basketball coach, did as he limited the play of five team members and all but guaranteed that the Razorbacks will have early losses this season.

Coach, there are plenty of fans who think, as you apparently do, that your team shouldn’t win at all costs - especially if the wins come at the price of character. This is highprofile college sports.

Athletes, like it or not, are public figures who are expected to live up to a high standard on and off the court. You are right to hold them accountable.

For a basketball player, especially on this level, missing games is a serious consequence. Players need to play and they need to get better to realize those dreams of glory in college hoops or to get noticed by the pro teams.

Coaches need to win to keep their jobs, too; but this coach has done what he needed to do, even if it may mean fewer wins this season.

What it comes down to is that suspension is one of the best, if not the best, way to get the attention of any player who, in the vernacular of coaches, “violates team rules.”

Generally, no one spells out what the rules are or exactly which rule a suspended player broke;

but, clearly, not all of the young men who play for the Razorbacks have lived up to their responsibilities as student-athletes.

While all of their infractions are not known publicly, enough are known to illustrate the extent of some of their bad behavior.

Three players’ actions have gotten the most attention. They were accused of rape by a woman who allegedly had sex with the players at a fraternity house party on campus earlier this year.

No charges were filed by the local prosecutor, but a special prosecutor is now taking a second look at the allegations.

It will be surprising if the new inquiry results in a different conclusion;

but the point is that the sexual activity of the three accused players, even if consensual, was inappropriate. Behavior need not be criminal to be wrong.

There’s no purpose here to name the players who are being disciplined, beyond noting that their punishment is being meted out individually based on specific conduct by each,not all of which has been revealed.

Two players are indefinitely suspended.

One will miss all games this semester. Two others will miss two or more of the regular season games.

The suspensions will run concurrently, resulting in severe impact to the team that faced its first regular season opponent, Alcorn State, on Friday with only eight players. The short bench included just six scholarship basketball players, a quarterback and a golfer recruited from other Razorback teams.

Can they win games? Of course. They blew Alcorn State away. But the odds are against them, especially this week when they’ll face Louisville, a Top 25 team in preseason polls.

It could be a rough start for the regular season; but the blame, if fans must affix blame, goes to the suspended players - not their coach and certainly not the players who are on the court, free of suspension.

Pelphrey was right to run these suspensions concurrently. Fans can suffer through a few losses if it means showing the players that actions have consequences not only to them individually but also to the team they’re supposed to represent.

Notably, the discipline of these players involves more than sitting out games. They’re also attending meetings to discuss proper decisionmaking choices and to relearn university policies as well as doing some community service even as they continue to practice with the team.

Every contact, on and off the court, reinforces the message that these players let themselves, their families, their teammates, their coaches, the university and the fans down.

When the suspensions are over and that investigation goes away, assuming it does, the whole team can get back to basketball. And fans, being fans, can get back to critiquing the on-court performance of players and the guidance they get from their coaches.

Now, however, is the time to stand behind a coach who did the right thing and the players who are playing - win or lose.

BRENDA BLAGG IS A COLUMNIST FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS LLC.

Opinion, Pages 11 on 11/15/2009

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