UT goes to war with News-Sentinel

On the eve of perhaps the most important college-basketball game in the history of the state of Tennessee, tomorrow night's #1 vs. #2 showdown between Memphis and UT, the sports world here in Knoxville is, as you'd expect, abuzz with talk about... football.

Wait. What?

Well, it seems Knoxville News-Sentinel sports editor John Adams has created a mighty kerfuffle with his commentary on the Tennessee football team's recent discipline problems. On Tuesday, Adams wrote that Phil Fulmer should be fired for allowing his team to become "the college equivalent of the Cincinnati Bengals." He harshly criticized Fulmer for responding to punter Britton Colquitt's arrest by suspending him for five games, rather than dismissing him from the team. "Keep in mind this wasn’t Colquitt’s first brush with the law. Or second. Or third," Adams wrote. "How could Fulmer not dismiss Colquitt from the team after what could be fifth alcohol-related offense? Answer: Colquitt is a starter."

Oh, snap!

But Fulmer didn't take this lying down. Oh, hell no. He's a man! He's 57! So, in today's paper, at the very top of the sports section, there is a column by, ahem, guest columnist Phillip Fulmer. Explaining that the importance of the issues raised in Adams's column "compels me to do something I have never done in my career - respond directly in writing to a negative column in the newspaper," Fulmer writes:

Mr. Adams has never sat next to me in a prospect's living room, looking his mother or grandmother in the eyes and promising to treat the young man like he was my own child - giving him tough love when necessary and an opportunity to straighten up when that's in order. It is a promise I take seriously and will never abandon to please any columnist.

Ouch! He goes on:

Unfortunately there is no template for helping young people grow to be well-adjusted, responsible adults. I have four children of my own, including a varsity athlete, and like any parent can tell you, each child is unique and each one requires different parenting. The same is true of our football players. The vast majority of our players come to UT and have a great experience, enriching our campus community, and leaving it better than they found it. They all have needs along the way - in the case of a very small number of them, they need a good dose of discipline and accountability.

Since I have been the head coach at UT, I have learned a great deal about mixing "tough love" and encouragement. The hundreds of players we have graduated will gladly attest to both - they have all loved and despised me at different points in their college days. I have kicked some of our most talented athletes off the team when I thought it would do them the most good as individuals or they were damaging our goals as a team. I have taken the heat from partially-informed pundits when I gave others a second chance. I accept that role with honor and humility; it's what an educator does.

It is on this point that I feel most compelled to take issue with Mr. Adams' column. He is certainly free to criticize my football strategy - during my tenure our program has won more games than 95 percent of all other major college programs, but his criticism on that is fair game. He is free to critique our team's appeal with our fans - we have ranked no worse than fourth in attendance in the nation every year I have been head coach, but he's within his rights to chastise us for that too. He is free to say that my best days are behind me - our most recent team finished first in what was the toughest SEC East in two decades, but I accept his criticism on that as well. What I will not accept is Mr. Adams questioning my integrity, my sense of fairness, or values as a man.

At no time in my tenure has a player's football skill or athletic success been a factor in the way he was disciplined. Never. Our internal discipline is based on one factor alone: the course that is most likely to help that individual young man make amends and get his life straight. We make these decisions after much deliberation and with the input of administration, professional staff, counselors, and when necessary, law enforcement. This is not the easy way to mete out punishment. It requires judgment and leadership to keep the entire team focused and respectful of rules and basic morality, but it is the method that best serves the interest of our young men. In my 15 years, I've undoubtedly made some mistakes, but I try to do what I think is in the best interest for each young man.

And then comes the kicker:

It should be noted this is not the first time Mr. Adams has raised this complaint with limited perspective. Thirteen years ago I suspended a young man for two games based on a troubling off-the-field incident and Mr. Adams wrote that I should have kicked him off the team instead. I knew that young man better than Mr. Adams did, and today he is not only a UT graduate, but a sergeant with the Knoxville Sheriff's Department, putting his life on the line for all of us everyday.

Oooooh. John Adams, you've been pwned!!

And just in case you thought Fulmer was going out on a limb with this, I (and everybody else on the "Big Orange Email" listserv) just got an e-mail from the University of Tennessee Athletic Department, in which Athletic Director Mike Hamilton writes:

Many of you may have heard of columnist John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writing a piece earlier this week calling for a change in leadership of our football team. Mr. Adams' column is totally misguided and inappropriate. Coach Fulmer has responded in a guest column which can be accessed at the following link - http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/feb/21/coachs-first-job-is-as-educator-mentor/. John Adams does not know the Phillip Fulmer I know. The education and growth of young men is a tough business requiring tough decisions and tough love. Coach Fulmer understands that. While several off-field incidents with our football team have occurred over the last few weeks, I can assure you these situations are being looked at with a critical eye by our coaching and administrative staff as we dole out punishment, and they are taken very seriously. Discipline is to be painful and sufficient to change behavior. Sometimes we fall short of that goal, but the ultimate goal of trying to represent the University of Tennessee and to assist in the education of these young men as they become mature men has never changed. Teaching young men personal responsibility and responsibility to a team ultimately addresses these issues. An institution could not ask for a better role model in dealing with these young men than Phillip Fulmer. He is a person of integrity and high moral character. This talk of nonsense from Mr. Adams only serves as a distraction from your university's football team and its goals. I would ask for your rally of support behind Coach Fulmer and this football team as they try and bring home another National Championship for you – the greatest fans in America.

Here's the News-Sentinel's article about the e-mail.

All in all, pretty interesting stuff. I haven't followed UT's discipline problems closely enough to have a strong opinion on this, but Fulmer's column makes his case well, and it occurs to me that Adams's column is decidedly weak in two ways: first, he fails to cite any examples of Fulmer treating non-starters more harshly than starters (all he does it talk about other starters who Fulmer was supposedly soft on, which might be evidence that Fulmer is generally soft, but isn't really evidence of preferential treatment to better players), and secondly... is it really plausible that Fulmer would give extra-special treatment to a starting punter? It would be sort of like a modern-day A Man For All Seasons: "Why Phillip, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the entire world...but for the punter?"

Anyway, to sum this story up, for all you SAT types:
John McCain:New York Times::
Phil Fulmer:Knoxville News-Sentinel.
:)

Comments

[Jay Johnson]

I've been a Fulmer guy for a long time. I think he's done an excellent job of representing the university, and overall, he's done a great job coaching the team.

However, I tend to agree somewhat with John Adams, in that I think it might be time for Phil to go. I know a lot of teams have off-the-field incidents which reflect badly on the program from time to time. You have to expect that out of any group of 100 or so college aged young folks. Kids do stupid stuff.

The problem is that the Colquitt issue is only the most recent of about ten players getting into some kind of trouble with the law. in the last few weeks.

To me, while I can't reasonably expect Coach Fulmer to nanny and mother hen all of his players all the time, I do think they should understand that the conduct off the field is absolutely not tolerated.

If he's conveying that sentiment, it's not going through. If he's not conveying that sentiment, then he needs to go.

He should be able to put the Fear of God into his players, while at the same time earning their respect and admiration. If those things happen, the players not get into 99% of the off field incidents.

IMHO, at this point, it seems like the players do not have the respect for their Coach that he should be entitled to, if he was in control of his squad. It would seem that the players would not want to let down their Coach and their teammates.

At this stage, it seems to me that Coach Fulmer doesn't have the control of his players, and it's at that point that he can no longer coach them effectively.

I know Phil's not likely to be going anywhere real soon, but it's this kind of crap that means he's not likely to get the Vols back to winning championships again.

[Scientizzle]

It worth noting that EDSBS always tracks the off-season legal...ahem...incidents of each major football program in the "Fulmer Cup".
2008 standings here.

[Andrew]

Scientizzle, I am proud to note that USC appears lower than both Neuter Lame and fUCLA on the all-time list on the website you cited.