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Are Athletic Teams Holding Players, Coaches Responsible?

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2009

By the time you read this, there will be a new NCAA football national champion. And one of two great coaches will add another notch to his belt. It's fun and exciting to watch, but it appears as if some changes are happening in sports on the college and pro levels - with coaches and players - that are long overdue.

Either coach in last night's national championship game, regardless of the outcome, is a hot commodity. They already coach at top football colleges, but the NFL would like to have either. These guys are doing just fine.

Another fairly hot college football coach was just given his walking papers, however, when Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski interviewed for the New York Jets coaching position. The athletic director told him he would be fired if he interviewed for the job. He did it anyway and the college fired him. It's not likely he'll get the Jets job either, but he'll be fine. He'll get paid the final year on his contract.

The refreshing part is that a college stuck to its guns and fired a good coach because he was quick to look for another job after only two years. In college and professional sports, it's as if a contract means nothing to players or coaches.

Former Boston Red Sox outfielder and hitting extraordinaire Manny Ramirez had a sweet contract but decided he wanted out, so he basically quit playing. He didn't hustle and the Red Sox had little they could do but trade him. After moving to the L.A. Dodgers, Manny demonstrated how great he is, but it might have hurt him. Now he's looking for a new contract and a lot of teams are balking at his demands and a long-term contract. Besides, if he quit on the Red Sox because he was unhappy, why wouldn't he do it again to anyone else?

It's about time that players and coaches honor contracts. They negotiated and found the terms acceptable when they signed them, so they should live up to the contract, just as the teams should.

It's not fair to a college team when the coach that recruits players can jump ship without consequences, but if the players leave they have to sit out a year. It's also not fair that some stars can just quit or become such a nuisance that their teams have to release them. It's a lack of professionalism that's been allowed to fester for years.

Let's hope this trend toward holding people accountable continues.

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