OT: The "buck stops"....nowhere

[DefenseBB]

As I read these Louisville sanctions and the disgusting denial on acceptance of the sanctions by the interim president, I am reminded of my long past father and his Harry Truman wooden placard "The Buck stops here" that was on his desk. Accountability was something my dad demanded, while he was very sympathetic on errors I made, he made me accountable for them to ensure these weren't repeated.

I look around today and see far too many instances of our leaders, coaches, administration, CEO's all taking no accountability on issues that arose during their watch. There are degrees of oversight:

• From the Holly Warlick's lackadaisical approach on demanding effort and heart and offering up the lame platitudes of shaking the head, in almost teary eyes saying "I don't know, I don't know"
• To the malfeasance that has occurred at Louisville
• To the crimes that occurred at Penn State and Baylor football.

Don't get me wrong, ALL three are very different:

• One is just poor sports leadership (no harm, no foul with the school deciding if she is really a quality coach),
• One is criminal with underage but willing young men along with wire fraud
• The others are outright criminal assaults that harm far too many innocent people

No one stood up and said, "we screwed up, we should have known this was going but we didn't. Here's where we went wrong, here's what we're doing about it and here's how we will be accountable going forward"...

Instead we get the crap we got today from Louisville and the disgusting ignorance denials from Art Briles and the BU/PSU Administrations in the past. I am disheartened by this and long for someone to call out these frauds for the money they received as their pay that was to properly oversee their duties. That is why I applaud the NCAA for what it did today. I do not know if it will really deter anything but I can be hopeful.

In the meantime, my head and my stomach hurt.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

We live in a time with no compass and no true north ....

 

[Sonny44]

We live in a time with no compass and no true north ....

You don't have to.

 

[Bama fan]

As I read these Louisville sanctions and the disgusting denial on acceptance of the sanctions by the interim president, I am reminded of my long past father and his Harry Truman wooden placard "The Buck stops here" that was on his desk. Accountability was something my dad demanded, while he was very sympathetic on errors I made, he made me accountable for them to ensure these weren't repeated.

I look around today and see far too many instances of our leaders, coaches, administration, CEO's all taking no accountability on issues that arose during their watch. There are degrees of oversight:

• From the Holly Warlick's lackadaisical approach on demanding effort and heart and offering up the lame platitudes of shaking the head, in almost teary eyes saying "I don't know, I don't know"
• To the malfeasance that has occurred at Louisville
• To the crimes that occurred at Penn State and Baylor football.

Don't get me wrong, ALL three are very different:

• One is just poor sports leadership (no harm, no foul with the school deciding if she is really a quality coach),
• One is criminal with underage but willing young men along with wire fraud
• The others are outright criminal assaults that harm far too many innocent people

No one stood up and said, "we screwed up, we should have known this was going but we didn't. Here's where we went wrong, here's what we're doing about it and here's how we will be accountable going forward"...

Instead we get the crap we got today from Louisville and the disgusting ignorance denials from Art Briles and the BU/PSU Administrations in the past. I am disheartened by this and long for someone to call out these frauds for the money they received as their pay that was to properly oversee their duties. That is why I applaud the NCAA for what it did today. I do not know if it will really deter anything but I can be hopeful.

In the meantime, my head and my stomach hurt.

Give 'em hell, Harry!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

You don't have to.

But I believe in the Lone Ranger and

Admit it. You stole my compass!

 

[2Husky]

If the powers that be had any sense of right and wrong Baylor and Penn state would no longer exist.

 

[HoopsHoppy]

What really blows me, however, is - when something that one is in charge of and answerable for goes bad - and the person announces that they take responsibility and THAT'S THE END OF IT. What changes when one takes responsibility and then proceeds as though that is the only thing that has to be said or done!

 

[bags27]

The guy is interim prez at Louisville, and of course hoping to have the interim removed from his title. Donors are critical to the success of the athletic dept and the athletic dept is critical to the prestige of the university. if you piss off the donors, ain't no way you get to be prez.

 

[UConnNick]

The guy is interim prez at Louisville, and of course hoping to have the interim removed from his title. Donors are critical to the success of the athletic dept and the athletic dept is critical to the prestige of the university. if you piss off the donors, ain't no way you get to be prez.

I'm not exactly sure wanting to be president of that slime filled cesspool shows good judgment on the part of anybody who may want to. As for "prestige of the university", I think that ship has already sailed.

It's a giant commuter school, with over 50 percent of its students being from Jefferson Co. Most of their students are still living at home with mommy and daddy, and the school is an academic disgrace.

 

[bags27]

I'm not exactly sure wanting to be president of that slime filled cesspool shows good judgment on the part of anybody who may want to. As for "prestige of the university", I think that ship has already sailed.

It's a giant commuter school, with over 50 percent of its students being from Jefferson Co. Most of their students are still living at home with mommy and daddy, and the school is an academic disgrace.

Once you get sucked into the office, with the support staff looking up to you, the expensive dinners with wealthy alums, the rush of being called "president" by faculty and students, it's really, really hard to let go. I've seen a brilliant researcher made acting president precisely because he adamantly denied wanting the permanent title, then turn around and do everything possible (in vain) to get it. Power is simply seductive in a way that most of us can't imagine unless we've experienced it. Power in the academy is pathetic, but it is power nonetheless. The guy has always enjoyed doing this kind of stuff, and I'm not criticizing: someone's got to do it:
Biography — Office of the President

 

[cbraarj]

I'm not exactly sure wanting to be president of that slime filled cesspool shows good judgment on the part of anybody who may want to. As for "prestige of the university", I think that ship has already sailed.

It's a giant commuter school, with over 50 percent of its students being from Jefferson Co. Most of their students are still living at home with mommy and daddy, and the school is an academic disgrace.

There is nothing wrong with students commuting to school and living at home with their parents! Your second paragraph is nothing but garbage!

 

[willtalk]

This lack of accountability in our society that seems to get worse each day sort of makes one wish we had the Japanese honor system in place. When people scr*wed up they were expected to commit seppuku/hara kiri. Now in our society they either stay in their positions or end up with a Golden Parachute.

 

[BostonCanuck]

In the case of Holly, she's just not capable of doing any better, and everybody familiar enough with her knows it. That's no real fault of Holly's. It is the school, and more specifically its athletic director and perhaps some other higher-ups, who are failing to take responsibility for that situation. I know it's hard, given that she was a decorated player there and the legendary Pat Summit's hand-picked successor, etc. But leadership is hard, and takes people of real character to pull off well. Unfortunately, that seems to be in short supply these days.

 

[geordi]

This lack of accountability in our society that seems to get worse each day sort of makes one wish we had the Japanese honor system in place. When people scr*wed up they were expected to commit seppuku/hara kiri. Now in our society they either stay in their positions or end up with a Golden Parachute.

Agreed. It starts at the top. Seppuku might be a good option, but then we'd have to replace our elected officials just about every week.