I have a zero tolerance policy for my son on some things. It's still partially my responsibility when he does them. My responsibility extends beyond establishing a zero tolerance policy. I don't think Bzz necessarily believes that his does.
Agreed, but there are very different responsibilities that come with being a parent of children than with being the coach of young adults.
Even good kids make stupid mistakes.
Agreed. Nearly every single kid that made a 'mistake' in the last few years got a second chance.
I agree with much of your posts above regarding why people defend Buzz.
And I generally agree with the above. However, I don't think it has to be an either/or, and I think the administration is using the culture argument conveniently (which is not to say there isn't an element of truth to it) to reverse engineer an epic fuck-up into some semblance of an intentional plan.
I agree with this, as well. However, I don't buy the 'culture' argument as an
excuse for the fuck-up(s), but rather as Wellman and Hatch slowly cleaning things up (especially in the wake of Carolina and Miami's recent issues). And I am talking about over
all of our programs. The more I think about it, more kids have been cleared out of programs, more coaches dismissed for reasons other than poor coaching.
Had Buzz's tenure gone smoothly, I doubt they would have mentioned it at all.
Disagree. I'm all for recruiting good kids. But the coach still has some responsibility towards helping them navigate what it means to be an 18-22 year old college student and athlete while staying away from potential pitfalls. Recruiting kids that you think have good character (impossible to get it right all of the time) is only a portion of the equation.
Admittedly, my perspective may be skewed from my own experience: Each and every one of the coaches that I have served under from the club to high school to collegiate levels have put the responsibility to stay out of trouble solely on the athlete.
In my opinion, it is the parent's job to teach the kids how to act, Student Athlete Services' job to keep their academics in line while at school, and the coaches job to coach. That doesn't mean that he can't mentor a student-athlete or maintain a teaching role that extends beyond sport, but the problems that our athlete's have had over the past few years can not be put on the coach in any way except for that they were recruited in the first place.
I think Wake Forest has, and should continue, to put a great deal of emphasis on the character of the athletes that we recruit. I think that is what the culture change is about.