CECIL HURT: 'Croomgate’ leaves Shula looking petty April 04, 2004
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At some point today, Mike Shula’s ship will dock in New Orleans and he will walk down the gangplank -- and probably wish that he could promptly turn around.
Even a second spin about the Caribbean won’t postpone the inevitable questions about Croomgate -- the decision to remove Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom’s name from one of the University of Alabama’s spring football awards.
It hardly measures up to NCAA probation or Mike Price’s lost weekend in terms of program-shaking importance. But thanks to the collision of bad judgment and bad timing, it has grown into an issue, one that won’t reach closure until Shula has been asked about his reasons. If he doesn’t address it this week, he’ll be asked about it at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, or the Media Days at the end of the summer.
It is possible that Shula won’t respond to the questions. He may simply say “no comment." He may release a statement reiterating what UA spokesman Larry White said earlier this week -- that the new UA policy is that spring awards can’t be named for head coaches at other SEC schools. It might be harsh to refer to that rationale as “lame," but such logic doesn’t exactly run a 4.4 40, either.
Nonetheless, Shula may repeat that, proclaim the topic closed, and be content to accept the verdict that has already been rendered by media outlets from CBS to ESPN: that the decision was petty and short-sighted.
On the surface, it’s hard to argue with that verdict. Not many people have tried, and most of the ones who have tried have taken the approach that Shula is in charge of the Alabama program, and can run it the way he sees fit.
That’s not really the issue, though. Obviously, Shula is in charge of making decisions about the football program. He decides who starts at fullback, which sideline the team stands on, and whether or not the team should don red pants. He also can name spring awards after whomever he wants, whether it’s Bart Starr or Bart Simpson.
But there is a difference between having that unquestioned authority and using it wisely. A good rule of thumb might be the dictum of Hippocrates -- “first, do not harm." That seems to come into play here. Even after looking at the Croom decision from 15 different angles, it’s hard to see what the upside was, while the potential for harm -- or at least hurt feelings and bad publicity -- seem to loom as large as Big Al’s backside. Perhaps Shula has some additional information as to why it helped the Alabama program to make the change, but it’s hard to guess what it might be.
The fact is that Croom is a former Crimson Tide player who has done well. The fact that he played at Alabama, then went on to become the first African-American head coach in the SEC, should be a source of pride, not a reason for erasure.
Shula is not a racist, not by any stretch of the imagination. Furthermore, he shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of the past 50 years of University of Alabama history. Shula didn’t decide not to hire Croom. Shula didn’t stand in the schoolhouse door.
But the fact is, those are things that happened at Alabama, and the echoes of the past have to be taken into consideration when institutional decisions are made. It is frustrating that the national media revives those issues in connection with the University of Alabama -- but it isn’t surprising. In fact, it’s inevitable. If someone in a position of authority at Alabama isn’t cognizant of the potential ramifications of decisions like the one made in the Croom situation, then they should be.
It’s too late, apparently, to “do no harm." But it isn’t too late for Shula to share his side of the story, and at least bring an end to this fiasco.
Cecil Hurt is sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or at (205) 722-0225.
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