Zemek: John L. - Don't Forget About Weber St.

It's not true that there are always two sides to a story. Sometimes, the reality of a situation is so clear-cut that only one telling is necessary. However, in last week's hiring of John L. Smith by the University of Arkansas, there was and is another side to the story: the Weber State perspective, also known as the viewpoint for any school that finds itself disadvantaged in such an abrupt manner.

In sifting through the aftermath of John L. Smith's abrupt move to Arkansas, it's worth spending some time looking at the other side of the story – the Weber State side.

Yes, it's unfair to tell Smith that he had a moral obligation to stay in Ogden, Utah. Coaching – not the practice, but the profession – is a business currently based on taking advantage of emerging opportunities within a context of rapidly moving parts. Smith isn't responsible for creating the state of the coaching industry and its parent, the athletic-industrial complex; his tale is merely reflective of college sports' many ills and inadequacies. It is extreme to view Smith's act as immoral.

The college sports system within which Smith plies his trade is what's immoral here, especially since it exists in the same environment that allowed Wisconsin head basketball coach Bo Ryan to initially block the transfer of a player (Jarrod Uthoff) last week before relenting in the face of public pressure. It would make sense for coaches to be held to certain standards – as a matter of procedure and policy – if they're going to get paid for services rendered while players – who enjoy far less freedom of movement – do not receive a regular paycheck. It would make sense to create rules which do not give the John L. Smiths of the world the chance to bolt Weber State after four months on the job in pursuit of a national title at Arkansas over 10 months. Coaches should not be put in positions where they can do these kinds of things.

Critics of such a view might say at this point, "But you can't legislate morality. You can't insist on a vision or standard for what other people think or do, and prevent them from acting on their impulses in the open marketplace." That's an understandable line of argumentation, but whenever people trot out the "you can't legislate morality" line, they forget one simple truth: almost all legislation is created and undergirded by human persons, thereby representing some form of moral vision or concept in action. The law that comes from political and procedural wrangling might not turn out to be an effective one, but there's a moral vision behind almost every law or – for purposes of this discussion – NCAA policy. Such is the case here. If Weber State's athletic department did something to betray Smith's trust or committed violations (in February, let's say) that detracted from the quality of the job, Smith would stand on solid ground if he wanted out. Without wrongdoing from Weber State, however, this abrupt abandonment reinforces an awful way for college sports and its football coaches to conduct business. It's the system, though, that's immoral, not Smith himself. This is the industry that's been created and shaped over time. The prevailing culture at the moment tells coaches, "Well, the Arkansas job is sitting there – why wouldn't you want to go for it?" Smith is merely acting in accordance with a basic instinct that is not prohibited by rule, policy or procedure. Can I stand here and judge Smith on a moral level? No, because I haven't walked a mile in his shoes or faced the situation he stared down the past two weeks.

What I can do, though, is call Smith's act an unethical one. Like Bobby Petrino with the Atlanta Falcons, Smith didn't honor a contract. Like basketball coach Bob Huggins a few years ago at Kansas State, a school that gave a man re-entry into the head coaching fraternity was not rewarded for its generosity in a time of need. (Huggins, you will recall, found his career in tatters after an ugly and humiliating DUI incident in which he became unhinged in the presence of police officers. Kansas State picked Huggins off the scrap heap, reviving his career in the process. After only one season, though, Huggins bolted for West Virginia. What is it with sports programs whose main color is purple and who are called Wildcats? That's Weber State as much as Kansas State, you know…)

I can't say for sure what I would have done in John L. Smith's situation. What I can say is that situations such as this one need to be prevented in the future… in the short term by a gentleman's agreement among athletic directors that poaching is prohibited after the month of January and in the first year of a coach's tenure; in the long term by rules, policies and procedures that legislate agency and autonomy out of the hands of coaches who enjoy too much leverage at the present moment.

No school deserves what Weber State experienced this past Monday. A person might look at the prevailing culture and say that the SEC is better than the Big Sky, but the prevailing culture needs to be reshaped so that it can send a better message: Fidelity to contracts and ethical uprightness matter more than the pursuit of money and fame.