Penn State announced that mens head basketball coach, Pat Chambers, has resigned. Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour named assistant coach Jim Ferry as the interim head coach for the 2020-21 season.
The root of Chambers’ resignation follows an all too common theme in college athletics… his behavior. Before Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall were being exposed for being exposed for their boorish behavior, there was Chambers.
Last July it was reported that Chambers used a strange choice of words to tell Rasir Bolton, who is black, to relax. Bolton to told The Undefeated that Chambers said “I want to be a stress reliever for you. You can talk to me about anything. I need to get some of this pressure off you. I want to loosen the noose that’s around your neck.”
What person in their right mind says that nevertheless a coach?
Chambers would double down on his ridiculousness by saying that Bolton’s parents were “well-spoken” and “organized”. The only thing he left off was “for black people”.
Barbour said Penn State doesn’t release details on reviews of this nature but it was revealed that there was additional allegations that the university wasn’t aware of.
This is an issue that needs to be addressed. Coaches across all collegiate sports have been given autonomy to operate in unacceptable fashions. Player complaints aren’t uncommon but they are finally being heard. Being a collegiate coach that wins isn’t a free pass to be an awful human being. It isn’t a stage for coaches to treat black and female players with reckless disregard.
Stories like the ones at Penn State, Wichita State, and Iowa are all too common. Coaches who feel like they are above common decency in the name of wins and losses. Being successful doesn’t buy you a pass not to be a common human being.
If the NCAA care about the student-athletes like they claim, put less time into restricting players ability to take advantage of a free market and concentrate on your multi-million dollar goons.
