Bad sports, good sports: Bo Pellini blasts his school’s fans

Posted on September 23rd, 2013 by Alan Spoll

Emotions run high in sports. This is true whether you are just a fan or if you are an actual participant. As I imagine every one of you out there knows, when you are emotional, you often say things that you might not otherwise say. A regular person has a shot to get away with that, as there aren’t usually hordes of people hanging on his every word. A player or a coach has no such luck, however, as someone has a microphone or recording device at every turn when people want to know what you have to say. Nebraska head football coach Bo Pellini found that out the hard way this week when a 2 year old recording of him surfaced in which he cursed out fans of the Cornhuskers, among others.

Pellini’s words were about as bad as you could imagine. Many students had left the game at halftime, as Nebraska was being beaten soundly by Ohio State back in October of 2011. The Huskers came back and won the game, but the comeback appears to have made Pellini defiant and belligerent rather than happy. Speaking to a host from the school’s sports network before an on-air interview, Pellini was asked about the students leaving and he let loose with this gem:

“It took everything in my power to not say, ‘Fuck you, fans. Fuck all of you.’ Fuck ’em. Our crowd. What a bunch of fucking fair-weather fucking—they can all kiss my ass out the fucking door. ‘Cause the day is fucking coming now. We’ll see what they can do when I’m fucking gone. I’m so fucking pissed off.”

Well, there’s no stuffing that one back into the bag, is there? To quote Seinfeld, “that’s one big matzah ball.” He also tossed a few more f-bombs at some local columnists with whose words he had taken exception. Now, it’s one thing to be worked up after an emotionally draining game, but it’s another to say all of that, especially when talking about college kids. Pellini has apologized, of course, but how exactly do you take that back? The team’s fans would likely have lapped this stuff up if it had been about anyone else, as everyone loves having a fiery coach. When that fire is directed at them, though, it is understandable that they would have some trouble with it. I am not sure if Pellini will survive this, but I feel pretty certain that he should not. I know that if he were the coach of the team I loved, I would be done with him. There is no excuse that he could make that would justify those words to me. He says he loves Nebraska and its fans, but he certainly didn’t at that moment and he did not have the self-control to keep from voicing his feelings.

People make mistakes, and I am usually on the side of giving second chances. In this case, there is no way the fans of Nebraska could forget or forgive these words, so there really should be no second chance here. The school needs to fire Pellini and move on.

Bad sports, continued:

2) If the NFL is really going to try to protect its players from head injuries, it needs to enforce its rules and stand behind the penalties that come with them. San Francisco 49ers safety Dashon Goldson was suspended by the league for an illegal hit on Darren Sproles of the New Orleans Saints during a week two game. Goldson had already been fined once this season after another bad hit during week one, so the suspension seemed warranted. Goldson appealed, though, and he somehow won his appeal. He will stay pay a $100,00 fine, but the suspension was dropped. I think this sets a bad precedent.

3) The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West division on Thursday when they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. The players celebrated by jumping in the pool that sits beyond the stadium’s outfield fence. Sounds like a fun thing to do if you are at your own stadium, but doing it at someone else’s place is pretty classless. Senator John McCain apparently agreed with me.

4) A bicycle race in New England turned tragic on Saturday when a car crashed into a group of riders shortly after the race began, killing two people and injuring two more.

5) 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith was arrested on Friday and charged with DUI and pot possession. He played on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, but will now be taking an indefinite leave of absence.

6) Houston Astros shortstop Jonathan Villar managed one of the worst, most embarrassing slides I have ever seen on Tuesday. Check it out.

Bonus) If you happened to watch the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, you’ll know why I added this to Bad Sports. What a total pile of crap that was.

Good sports:

1) Check out this catch by Florida Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Crazy.

Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02