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Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Move over Harrick, you’ve been ‘McCorkled’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Jim Harrick Jr. is off the hook. Just when you thought it was impossible for the Georgia Bulldogs to employ a sillier coach than the man who posed the stumper about the worth of a 3-point shot, Todd McCorkle rides to the, er, rescue.
And now this stumper: Why is Todd McCorkle still employed?
McCorkle resigned from coaching women’s golf, but not from the athletics department itself, for a series of suggestive comments he’s said to have made to his players. McCorkle is 44 and should know better, but age is never an inoculation against stupidity. And McCorkle, who’s married to one of his former Arizona players, sounds really, really stupid.
Relationships on a college campus — between teacher and student, man and woman — can sometimes appear to be governed by a hazy set of rules. If even half the allegations levied against McCorkle are true (and the school itself seems to believe they are), there’s no haze here, no gray area. On the contrary, right and wrong are as vivid as purple (the color of the undergarment worn by one of his players, on which the coach is said to have remarked) and blue (don’t even ask).
The university mounted an investigation into McCorkle’s (mis)conduct and found, to quote from legal-affairs director Steve Shewmaker’s May 4 letter, “there is evidence you did engage in inappropriate behavior in violation of the university’s [non-discrimination, anti-harassment] policy.” Shewmaker noted the coach had even admitted to instances of imprudent repartee. And what was the legal department’s recommendation? Immediate termination? The bum’s rush through UGA’s famous Arch?
Nope. One month’s suspension without pay and sensitivity training.
McCorkle subsequently quit as coach but, being luckier than any man deserves, remains on the payroll through next summer. He will, according to AD Damon Evans, “be assigned other duties.” (Social chairman, perhaps?)
Asked Tuesday just what, in such a case, it would take to get fired, Evans thought for a moment and said: “That’s a heck of a question.”
The athletics department’s overriding interest, Evans said, “was the environment in which our student-athletes are involved. Our coach resigned when he met with us [on May 7], and that part of the issue was addressed. … I was satisfied with the resignation of the head coach.”
But why is he still around? Why was Marilou Braswell fired as cheerleading coach in 2004 for being too upfront about her religious beliefs and McCorkle only gets reassigned for being too upfront with his crudity? (Technically, Braswell was sacked for “retaliating against students who report what they believe to be discrimination.” Actually, she read a letter to the squad explaining her position and was dismissed.)
Evans again: “Each issue has its own little intricacies. Our main concern [with McCorkle] was to make sure we do have an appropriate environment for our student-athletes.”
And that’s fine. But why did Georgia allow McCorkle to step down as coach three days before his team was to play in an NCAA regional and say, in an official release, what’s now patently laughable? (McCorkle then: “This will allow me more flexibility in assisting my wife with her LPGA career.”) Why not fire the guy and let him sue for wrongful severance if he dares? (Good luck explaining away that allegation about a Paris Hilton video.)
We chuckle over frat-boy humor, but it’s not so funny when the frat boy is an adult male in a position of power. Imagine you’d entrusted the care of your daughter to such a man. Imagine you’d seen him lose his position but keep his job and his salary. Would you think that’s fair? Or would you think that Georgia, given the chance to make a clear statement, took the weasel route instead?
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The Tuesday Countdown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
10: I felt pretty good about the reassessment of my house the other day after learning Michael Vick’s property dropped 53 percent in about an hour.
9: You know, there are a lot of reasons why somebody dumps a house quickly. Divorce. Financial issues. A new job in a different city. I never realized image cleansing trumps them all. The dude left so fast, he left behind a half-bag of kibble.
8: By the way, if these dogs buried any bones in the backyard, I don’t want to know about it.
7: Coming to HGTV: “The New Hokie Workshop.”
6: I understand why Georgia had a problem with some of the alleged sexually explicit comments made by fired golf coach Todd McCorkle to his players, particularly the part about him telling them what “blue balls” are. I mean, he should know that blue is a Florida color.
5: Don Waddell had to make a move when Dany Heatley asked to be traded two years ago. But here’s the story of this NHL post-season: Marian Hossa - playoff bust. Dany Heatley - one game from the Stanley Cup finals with Ottawa.
4: I don’t know how many concussions Brett Favre has had in his career. But if he really believes that fans believe he still wants to play for Packers - after it was learned he recently whined and stomped his feet and asked to be traded - he’s had one too many.
3: Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo was named NBA executive of the year. Billy Knight — not second.
2: I don’t know Chris Landry. But I know Ray Buchanan. Good guy who likes to talk a lot. Sometimes too much. So here’s my dime store analysis: It seems far more likely that Buchanan blurted out something about Vick and is now backpedaling to make peace with his Sugarloaf neighbor than it is that Landry - who’s got no dog in this fight, so to speak - is flat out making something up.
1: I’ve got jury duty today. I’m guessing I won’t get picked. Again.
Permalink | Comments (68) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
