Alabama is arguably the finest Division I football program in the country. The purpose of this blog however, is not to get into a sports argument with, let’s say, Oregon or Clemson fans. I am not a sports handicapper. I am about how ethical violations can handicap a young man or 
young woman who throws away a golden opportunity because they haven’t been properly taught right from wrong.
Alabama coach Nick Saban has just made a bold move, and taken an incredible, ethical stance. The decision concerns one of his star football players, Ha’Sean “Ha Ha” Clinton-Dix, a back who has helped Alabama become one of the nation’s leading defensive powerhouses. Coach Saban has just suspended the young man indefinitely for violating team rules. In an era where most everything seems relative, the suspension is firm. What is not known is the length of the suspension, but in a sense it makes no difference.
There are cynics who will say that Alabama’s next opponent (Georgia State) is a team that has yet to win a game and that even if Clinton-Dix misses that one game with the “indefinite” suspension it will not much matter.
On the surface, the cynics may be right, but in the game of ethical life, Coach Saban comes across as a person who has taken a stance.
More than a game
It is highly unlikely that Alabama will have the slightest difficulty in defeating winless Georgia State. However as Clinton-Dix will quickly learn is that his back-up will be in the limelight while he sits embarrassed on the sidelines.
And suppose Coach Saban extends the suspension for two games or three or more? All of a sudden, the defensive star will probably feel, for the first time in his life, that opportunity has passed him by. It is a bitter feeling for an athlete or business person or even a politician to realize that they are not indispensable.
Coach Saban has a firm policy in not revealing the violations that may cause him to suspend a player (though it is rumored that in this case it involved an ‘illegal’ conversation with a sports agent). Obviously, every player on the team knew it was against team rules. Every player on the team undoubtedly understood the coaching staff – and undoubtedly NCAA rules – frowns upon agents talking to players and yet, Clinton-Dix went ahead and did it anyway. There are many valid reasons for the NCAA creating a wall between players and agents. It is a very complex issue but minimally, collegiate players need protection. Safeguards must be exercised. One way of doing this is to convey to players that team rules are not to be violated.
Did these violations make him a terrible person? Of course not. He messed up because he knew better and went ahead and did it anyway. He did what a lot of people do in all walks of life – he felt he was above that rule. He was not.
The lesson that I believe Coach Saban is trying to teach is that team rules apply equally for an outstanding, first-string defensive back as they do for a third string bench sitter. It is the way it is supposed to be in all aspects of life.
How we look at things
It was interesting – to me at least – to read the online comments from loyal fans in regard to Coach Saban’s suspension of this player. The comments quickly spiraled from complaints about the suspension itself to speculation about how the player got his nickname to ridiculous debate about which college team has the best defense in the country. In the context of the issues of story, who really cares? The truth is, that of the dozens of comments I read, virtually none of them commented on the ethical stance of the coach.
We are a society that tends to disregard ethical violations, especially when it comes to sports. We should not do this; it is unfair to sports and to young men such as Clinton-Dix. I don’t know if he will become a professional football player; I am much more interested that he becomes a good person who leads an ethical life. I believe that Coach Saban feels that way as well.
In the end, and when this young man becomes an old man, this bitter lesson may turn out to be the most important lesson of his life. I hope he understands the gift he is being given.