Rodriguez's Rules

The soap opera that is Michigan football began a new chapter this weekend. Allegations from former and anonymous players accused head coach, Rich Rodriguez of holding practices far beyond the NCAA limits. An emotional Rodriguez addressed the media in an Ann Arbor press conference today. He reiterated several times how his coaching staff cares deeply for the Wolverine players. Rodriguez denied the reports about his program, suggesting the complaints were intended to tear up the rebuilding Michigan team. The Big 10 coach also drove home the point his school abided by the rules while he choked up in his 15 minute address.
Bill Martin, Michigan’s athletic director, is taking the allegations seriously. Martin released a statement on Sunday saying he believed the university was in compliance with the NCAA regulations, but would still investigate the situation. The Big 10 and NCAA have been alerted of the investigation attempt. The current NCAA rules allow a player to spend eight hours a week on mandatory workouts in the offseason. Players on the 2008 and 2009 Wolverines criticized Rodriguez for commanding workouts that greatly exceeded the NCAA limit. There were additional reports that quality-control staff members attended voluntary, player-run scrimmages. This is also an NCAA violation. The dismal blue and maize stumbled to a 3-9 record in Rodriguez’s first year in Ann Arbor. Rodriguez built and stabilized a successful program at West Virginia prior to taking the head coaching job at the winningest football program in the country. He took over for Lloyd Carr, who Michigan fans attacked and virtually ran out of town.
I find it interesting the players wanted to remain anonymous because they feared the repercussions. They went to the Detroit Free Press to break the story Saturday night. What do they think will happen after the fallout from the accusations against their head coach? The dissention in the locker room can’t be too comforting and appealing with the season beginning this weekend against in-state rival, Western Michigan. This is no way to start a new season. The distasteful situation will shake things up at the Big House, and the fans have a right to be angry. The press is jumping to conclusions based on a few reports. The former Wolverines claimed they practiced over the maximum 20 hours a week during the season. In my opinion, even if they had exceeded the practice limit, they should not be talking to the press. The right thing to do would be go to the coaching staff or the athletic director. Keep the problem an in-house one before making it a national issue.
Rodriguez praised his players during Monday’s press conference. He acknowledged their hard work and good grades. Rodriguez is a great coach and he should receive the support of his staff and team. It seems like the Wolverines are trying to find anything negative they can and dwelling on their failures of the past. I am sure it is an embarrassing situation for Rodriguez to be called a rule-breaker. If he did in fact fail to adhere to the rules, he should suffer a penalty. But the athletic department should have been notified prior to the player reports appearing in print.

Parting points: I can’t believe today is the final day of August. It’s time to go back to school already.
Movie of the day- “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off