Coaches are supposed to be role models and upstanding citizens in the community. They sit in the living room of countless young athletes and tell their families how they will protect their children and mold them into men. They promise to instill good morals while establishing a high standard of values and etiquette. They promise they will be held accountable for any problems and serve as an example of how to conduct one's self. In the case of Bobby Petrino (and countless other coaches) the example is less than flattering.
Coach Petrino finds himself in the midst of a PR nightmare following a motorcycle crash last weekend. Petrino failed to disclose he had a female passenger half his age at the time of the accident in an effort to keep his extra marital affair a secret. What kind of message does this send to future recruits?
The message is simple. Coaches are human. They let their ego and curiosity get the best of them just like anybody else. They should not be held to a higher standard because they will fall miserably short of unrealistic expectation. How else can you explain a 51 year old man riding his Harley through Pine Bluff, Arkansas with some hot chick on the back? A motorcycle? Really? Is this guy trying to channel his inner Arthur Fonzerelli? You have to admit this story is pretty amusing.
In the end the case of Bobby Petrino is just the latest installment of how technology exposes frauds. We live in a world that no longer has secrets and with that comes the end of the innocence. The ugly truth is coaches use their status and prestige to "glamour" women and satisfy their insatiable appetites. If society doesn't change their definition of what a role model is we are setting ourselves up for failure. do you agree?
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