UK men’s basketball assistant coach Rod Strickland’s recent drunken driving charge will serve as an interesting litmus test for UK athletics.
This is the first blemish on the new coaching regime and since President Lee Todd and Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart have yet to announce any possible punishment, time will only tell what is in store for the former NBA veteran.
This is Strickland’s fourth DUI arrest, but as it is his first in the last five years, he would only be charged as a first-time offender if convicted.
The punishment is usually up to a 90-day suspension of driving privileges, mandatory alcohol education classes and a fine. Strickland would, in essence, be getting off with a slap on the wrist.
Will UK do the same?
If John Calipari wants Strickland back next year, a betting man says he will have him. However, part of the reason Billy Gillispie was shown the door was that his position as a coach at UK was to uphold a higher standard.
The line dividing Gillispie as a head coach and Strickland as a first year assistant means nothing. People who are hired to take responsibility for men in sports, or in any other leadership role, accept that when they sign their name on the dotted line.
You set the bar for those under you, to mold them as players as well as the ones who hope to attain your position one day.
For a university that just ran the last guy out of town for his personal issues, it is time to take a firm stance on the matter of alcoholism. They hold their players to a standard — there would be an automatic suspension for any player who received a DUI — so why should coach be any different?
I remember being at Gillispie’s introductory press conference when someone asked about a suspected of DUI that allegedly occurred in Texas 10 years earlier.
He assured everyone that incident was a misunderstanding and that he looked forward to knocking down the rivals one game at a time. He instead set up shop at a local establishment and began to live out a wild and crazy social life, one drink at a time.
Although Billy G did not produce wins the university and fans had hoped for, he has accomplished victories since being shown the door by UK.
Gillispie received a DUI soon after being terminated, which caused him to seek the help he needed to treat his alcoholism and he has been working on his personal recovery from addiction ever since.
For Strickland, he should see this recent arrest as a similar wake-up call.
To have a previous DUI arrest is not a huge surprise, as in the socially accepted world of drinking we live in, many people have received at least one.
You can chalk one up to circumstance, but what if it is your fourth arrest and possibly your third conviction?
The sports world has been lit up lately with athletes making bad decisions.
Ben Roethlisberger has not been charged with any crime in two instances of sexual misconduct accusations. He is in trouble with his team and his league for the positions he put himself in and the decisions he made.
Strickland must be punished for his choice. Preserving UK’s integrity through consistency is up to Barnhart, Todd and Coach Cal. When he came to UK, he did so to resurrect this elite program from the cellar of the NCAA.
With two previous schools finding themselves in trouble after Cal left town, he has been defended by his fans.
With players committing infractions, it is hard to keep a close eye on them 24/7, let alone the coaches. But with two strikes against you, one would think Cal would want everyone on the same page.
This program just had a remarkable season and it was on his watch that happened, but winning has to translate off the court, too. He knows that, and if he was willing to take Strickland and his past on, he must accept some of the responsibility in deciding his future.
It is all about setting the bar for the ones that want to attain your position, to mold the ones you were hired to make better.
Austin Hill is an English senior. E-mail opinions@kykernel.com.
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first time offender. let it go with proper reprimands. DO NOT fire him. Billy G got more than one warning to get his act together. AS AN ASSISTANT, he’s a first time offender (correct me if Im wrong) so dont call for his job..until he messes up again.
Get over the Strickland DUI. If he were not a celebrity the courts would not even know about the previous offenses. I new a guy who had his 3rd DUI and the courts only charged him with a 1st offense because the first 2 were 10 years prior and in a different state. He didn’t tell the judge about the prior convictions. Rod does not have that luxury. This should not be a huge deal. Rupp was a lush and had to be Chauffer around. It’s not like he cheated on his wife by sleeping with a harlot in a restaurant then paid for her abortion and pawned her off on one of his assistant. Now that would have been bad.
The kids make the decisions not the parents. Both Wall and Bleadsoe’s coaches want them to go elsewhere but they chose Cal. A top recruit is not going to turn down UK because of Strickland’s DUI. He is a great coach and we need to keep him. I’m just glad the rumors of him leaving for a head coaching job have subsided. If Calipari is questioned about his status he should answer “NO COMMENT”. Punishment, if any, should be kept between them. The state court system will punish Rod enough.
You’re idea of integrity is to fire someone for being human? Seriously, what percentage of people drink and drive? Just because not everyone gets caught doesn’t mean that percentage is not very high. It had been 5 years, and the man hasn’t even been convicted yet. Give it a rest.
When none of our university employees have ever been guilty of committing normal human violations, we will have the faceless, humorless, alien leadership we deserve.
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I did not see anything in the article about firing him. I see the word punishment, and a comparison to a suspension. It also states that since Billy G has cleaned his life up since getting a DUI, after he got fired. I think this article speaks more on The University using him as an example by making its point through his consequences.
Rod Strickland should use the experience the same way Billy G did by checking his alcohol issues. I don’t believe it points at termination as the answer though.
You’re 100% correct.
Those of you who are saying he shouldn’t be fired because it’s his first offense while at UK crack me up. It’s a pattern and just because it has been a few years doesn’t mean anything. Also the argument that others do it is immature at best. For the university to NOT take a strong stand with a policy of letting a kid go from a team (for the same offense) sends mixed messages to not only those players but to the community/country as well.
Rod is a huge help to the program but he has a problem and just like it was just a matter of time before Billy G did something it will only be a matter of time before Rod does something again. We already have Eddie in our past and for most fans around the country of other programs Billy G might as well have gotten the DUI mid season in their eyes. We have a enough to overcome publicly, let’s not make it worse…..let Rod go.
You white knights KILL me! Not too harsh though, still love you guys. But let’s hash this out:
Comparing to normal humans is immature? What kind of sanctimonious ideals should we hold university employees to? That of priests? Oops, bad example. On what basis are you willing to take such a huge leap of faith as to deduce that Strickland has an alcohol problem? I hope if the university comes to that same conclusion, they do so more sanely than you guys have. Our country’s last three presidents have admittedly used drugs. Did that make them unfit to lead?
Realizing the imperfections within us all takes significant reflection. It’s either intellectually lazy or hypocritical to deny them. If you want leaders who do not have faults, prepare yourself for a lifetime full of disappointment.
I personally don’t know whether or not Rod should be fired, but my idea of integrity involves handling issues humanely. Jumping to conclusions so as to project a hypocritical saintly self image is not part of that process. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Or something like that.
I like strickland with all my heart; I like his quiet presence on the bench; my husband said to me while watching a game “I think rod has been instrumental in helping these young men cope, etc. I think so, too. Even though my team was Syracuse I loved you guys! What I dislike is society that makes you not admit mistakes ‘ cause then your out–considered stupid. God help us all
Kentucky has a five year “look back” period, which means that after your first DUI in any five year period, the courts will increase your punishment. This is Mr. Strickland’s third DUI, there is no question there. However, this is his first since 2001, so under Kentucky law, this is his first offense. Now, many people will be quick to make the argument that we should ignore this statutory provision and use the other two offenses to justify calling for his resignation, but I ask you this, if that was you, or a member of your family, which standard would you ask the court to use? The standard of a few over idealistic college students, or the established law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky?
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