Word-Slurring USC Football Coach Got Off Easy

SPORTS POLITICS--Would it be a proper USC football offseason without some off-field problems? Of course not; it’s a program always under the national microscope, in a city so desperate for drama that it created The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

But even given that, Trojan football had another summer of very bad PR. Not just one, but two separate instances of disciplinary issues have dampened the excitement surrounding such an exciting team.

There are so many positive storylines we could be focusing on going into this 2015 season, from having the top-ranked recruiting class to being ranked eighth in the preseason AP Poll to the Heisman hype surrounding quarterback Cody Kessler to the Pac-12 media poll’s prediction of a conference title. But instead, the big story this week is Coach Steve Sarkisian’s drunken tirade at a USC booster event, just weeks after hearing about major developments in tight end Bryce Dixon’s alleged sexual assault.

Though it’s maybe not as wild or mysterious as Josh Shaw’s “superman lifeguard” hoax last year, the pair of preseason headline grabbers are equally — if not more — significant and concerning because of the nature of one and the person involved in the other. Both incidents involve questionable decisionmaking while under the influence, but that’s about where the similarities end. It’s an issue with very broad implications across society, and one that’s particularly endemic here at USC. (Read the rest.)

-cw

CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 70

Pub: Aug 28, 2015

{module [1177]}