Hog Calls

Bielema isn't biggest embarrassment

Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the Razorbacks' game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the Razorbacks' game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Amusing to amazing what some fans allege "embarrasses" their university when the comment is uttered by a losing college football coach.

It seems especially amusing to amazing contrasted to what some winning college football coaches have said that went unscathed.

University of Arkansas football fans this week seem most embarrassed that their 1-2 Razorbacks lost as a 21-point favorite to Toledo in Little Rock and as a 12-point favorite to Texas Tech in Fayetteville on successive Saturdays as the Razorbacks head into tonight's SEC opener against Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

However, some profess greater embarrassment with Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema regarding his back-and-forth with Texas Tech Coach Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury initiated it after the Red Raiders' victory Saturday, referencing comments that he alleged Bielema made in July while addressing the Texas High School Coaches Association Clinic.

It's likely that you read that Kingsbury, a Spread offense advocate, expressed outrage that Bielema touted various "kick your ass" attributes of his Pro-Style offense compared to the Spread offenses at the clinic.

Kingsbury remarked that Tech's Spread had just kicked Bielema's backside. For good measure, Kingsbury said Toledo's Spread kicked it, too. He predicted A&M's Spread also would spread the posterior punishment.

Naturally Bielema was asked at his Monday news conference for a response. Bielema recalled never calling Tech or Kingsbury by name at the clinic.

"Come on, brother, don't be so sensitive," Bielema chided Monday among other rejoinders.

"Embarrassing, embarrassing, harrumph, harrumph!" was the refrain from the allegedly outraged among Razorbacks fans. Some even retroactively disapproved of the "borderline erotic" remark that they chuckled over when Bielema described Arkansas taking a knee near the Texas goal line to cap last December's 31-7 bowl victory over the Longhorns.

Like poker players, coaches should learn that talk may be fine while winning but it's "shut up and deal" while losing.

Nevertheless, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long correctly observed Bielema's conduct did not embarrass.

"I wish the coaches hadn't let that get out in public," Long said. "But at the same time this [coaches competitively exchanging criticisms] has happened for years in college football. I don't think he [Bielema] really said anything out of line."

Here is what is embarrassingly out of line. Because he was a winning coach (10-3 and 11-2 in his last two Arkansas seasons), Bobby Petrino was allowed routinely to F-bomb his players, assistant coaches and support staff way beyond the coaching latitude that some call "old school" as his superiors looked the other way.

CBS, catching Petrino mouthing the mother of F-bombs at LSU Coach Les Miles during a game, drew the UA's strongest criticism for showing it rather than its coach for saying it.

When the UA could look away no longer upon Petrino's motorcycle accident that revealed the coach put his mistress on the UA payroll, its athletic director was awarded a bonus and was nationally acclaimed for finally firing an employee who had been excessively verbally abusive for four years.

Talk about embarrassing.

National applause for belatedly doing the right thing exposes a national collegiate condition that should embarrass all in collegiate athletics, especially all those administrating it.

Sports on 09/26/2015

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