The many questions of the dark side of athletics, especially at senior levels, arose again as the New Year began, with University of Pittsburgh football coach Mike Haywood being immediately dismissed after being arrested on a domestic violence charge, less than three weeks after being named head coach of the Panthers. It followed an interesting article in the New York Times over the weekend which talked about how single head coaches at the collegiate level may be more sought after than married coaches in the future, as they can dedicate more time and have less “distractions” than those with families. The incident in Pittsburgh is the latest in a series of issues both on the college and professional level with head coaches who have been called into question because of ethical problems that have little to do with their on field competence. What has come into question is the endless debate of who and how leaders are chosen, athletic leaders or now, what is acceptable and what is now becoming more and more public as the 24/7 access to any individual continues to rise. Sports on every level is big business, we know that. A big part of that business is winning, no question. However has winning at all costs become too acceptable or, like in other areas of leadership, will sports look to embrace leaders who bring balanc. and respectabilit. to their profession and the people they influence, along with a lifestyle that is not 100% dedicated to job and is more dedicated to service and quality.
One company that is looking to embrace that stance is Liberty Mutual and their soon-to-be-announced Coaches of the Year. The program takes into account not just on field success but off field achievements in academic excellence as well, and tries to find the great stories (and there are many out there) of coaches who lead both on and off the field. The program for Liberty Mutual is a successful one, and could maybe lead to a brand or a service organization finding a national one that tells the stories of the coaches who win but not at all costs on every level and for every sport. The messages that company would send could be quite powerful. It would show the consumer what the companies values are, not just for athletics but in corporate governance as well. It would showcase and get exposure for the brand in a very positive light, and it could help expose the brand or the organization to a new level of consumer. Also it just might influence enough people in authority to show that there is value in doing things the right way…real dollar value with real results. This is not to say that discipline, hard work and gamesmanship should be lost, or that every coach who comes into issues deserves to be dismissed. Everyone has issues and no one lives in an ivory tower. However if there is a lack of leadership, and it makes sense to try and identify leaders through a branding campaign that rewards these core values across the board, maybe Liberty Mutual is on to something and it is a program that should grow. We can never have enough heros and quality leaders at any level, and our coaches, for better or worse, are usually at the seat of that leadership. A good opportunity whose time has maybe come.
