Yesterday, the University of Tennessee confirmed what we have known all along – that its men’s head basketball coach, Bruce Pearl, is a douchebag.
The Big Orange Carrot admitted that he misled the NCAA about possible violations during a 17-month investigation of his program. This is not what UT needed right now, after Lane Kiffin violations, football players being arrested for attempted robbery, basketball players being arrested for drug charges and carrying weapons, players involved in bar brawls… the list goes on and on. Pearl set an example for his players, showing that it’s OK to lie as long as you can get away with it and are winning. Except, this time he didn’t get away with it.
As a result of his actions, the Bruchebag will lose 25% of his salary for the remainder of his 5-year contract, and he will not be allowed to recruit off-campus for a year. His three assistant coaches will also lose 25% of their salaries for a year. Keep in mind that these are only self-imposed sanctions put in place by the University… the NCAA has yet to rule on the mess at Tennessee.
I wonder if Pearl will still have a job by the end of the 2010-2011 season. And congratulations to Tennessee A.D. Mike Hamilton, who has done the impossible in actually making Memphis A.D. R.C. Johnson look competent by comparison.
To add insult to injury, the Tennessee football team is going to get killed by Oregon today.
Arkansas in the Top 25, Ole Miss losing to Jacksonville State, all of Tennessee’s programs in a world of pain… this is turning out to be a pretty good year in college sports.