Rick Majerus: Open Mouth, Insert Foot (Again)

By Trashtalk Superstar

In yesterday's Sunday Chicago Tribune, Columnist Rick Morrissey took on basketball coaches who espouse their political views in public forums. Morrissey's column was prompted by comments that Saint Louis Billikens' basketball coach Rick Majerus made about abortion and stem cell research at a recent Hillary Clinton campaign rally.

I had intended to write about Majerus' comments myself, but then a rash of upsets occurred in college basketball last week, and Rick Majerus' latest incident of shooting off his mouth quickly fell by the wayside in terms of warranting Drive and Dish's immediate attention.

But Morrissey's article hits on most of the points that I had intended to address. So I decided to link it up on Drive and Dish.

For the record, I don't know why coaches (or athletes, actors, rappers, rock stars, celebrity chefs, daytime TV talk show hosts, playwrights, screenwriters, authors, etc...) think that the world needs a public hearing of their political views. If a basketball coach wants to talk publicly about the intricacies of the match up zone, then let his voice be heard. But when he starts to believe that it's imperative that the world hear his thoughts on water boarding, Guantanamo Bay, capital gains taxes, the economic stimulus package, or any other political issue of the day, he's letting himself fall victim to his super sized ego ... if not to delusions of grandeur.

Rick Majerus should never have spouted his political views to a television reporter. And he should have understood that, as a representative of both Saint Louis University and the Billikens' basketball program, part of his job description is to present a positive, non controversial, apolitical public image. But Majerus has a long history of doing his thinking out loud. Drive and Dish has discussed this before.

Look, I was pretty critical of Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski's very public support for Elizabeth Dole during her 2002 North Carolina Senatorial campaign. And I like Coach K. What's more, I had a fairly strong dislike for Elizabeth Dole's opponent, Erskine Boles (even though he's, most likely, a distant relative of mine and doesn't exactly have a lightning rod personality).

But Coach K stuck his neck out too far when he injected himself into the larger political debate. He's a great basketball coach. He's a fine leader of young men (as North Carolina fans will surely attest). And hell, I don't doubt that he knows what he's talking about with regard to government and politics. Krzyzewski is, after all, a really sharp guy.

But it's simply not a basketball coach's place to make his political views and policy recommendations known to the public.

Not Mike Krzyzewski, not Dean Smith, not Bob Knight, Nolan Richardson, Rick Majerus, or even John Wooden.

And as for Rick Majerus, he's certainly always spoken his mind. But he's been speaking a little too much of it as of late.

Rick Majerus just needs to show some self discipline and shut his pie hole -- for the first time in his life.