Bo Pelini was on the Big Ten Coaches conference call an hour ago and he answered for his f-bomb fest which was unearthed by Deadspin yesterday. He made the comments two years ago, but they didn’t become public until yesterday afternoon.
First off, the people saying that Bo was admirable for talking about the rant, that he didn’t have to answer questions about it…WHAT? WTF? Just how much of a weak lap dog and cheerleading squad do you expect the media to be with that attitude?
Bo Pelini is a public figure, and this is a HUGE national story. Of course, he has to answer for it. And he did a good job with it today. I think Bo Pelini is doing damage control as well as could be expected in this situation.
Here are some Bo Pelini soundbites from today, and what I think you can read into them:
“That was a conversation that was private during emotional time. … I vented in a situation where I thought it was a private conversation..I think we’ve all said things behind closed doors that were not for public consumption.”<–Yes, I agree this could have happened to anyone. All coaches have felt the emotion of Bo Pelini towards media and fans. Imagine if we had something like this on Bobby Knight or Woody Hayes? Or Adolph Rupp, think of the racist vitriol and N-bombs you could conceivably hear from him. The Bo Pelini rant is the biggest story in sports today, but it’s nothing unprecedented.
The gold standard for this kind of thing is still 1983, Chicago Cubs manager Lee Elia. Enjoy:
Pelini doesn’t know who leaked the audio, but it’s obvious they had an agenda.<– Agreed again, the leaker is someone who probably reached their boiling point with the blowout loss to UCLA, combined with the sparring with Cornhuskers legend Tommie Frazier. Why the informant sat on this for two years, and then waited until Monday…obviously, they’re out to get Pelini and/or the program. Calling him “a rat” is definitely going way too far, but clearly Bo Pelini was in a place where he thought he could trust people, and as we learned yesterday, it wasn’t.
Nebraska probably knows who did it. How many people were in that room with Pelini? Just a few…I’m sure there’s good leads on who did it, and it’s narrowed down.
“I’m very disturbed and upset that it ever came to this…I’m sorry it ever became public.” <– Bo Pelini said something to this effect about three or four times on conference call. He’s essentially saying: “I’m sorry I got caught.” That’s not an apology really. Then again, what’s he supposed to do? He can’t deny or retract that stuff. He has to own it, and he did. That said, it reminds me a lot of It’s like Homer Simpson apologizing on the gun control episode: “But Marge, I never thought you’d find out.”
Bo Pelini said he’s never pursued other jobs. Only had people pursue him. I don’t buy that. I’ve heard otherwise.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan and 1620 The Zone, he also writes for Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and Facebook