Nick Saban is an amazing college football coach.
Nick Saban is not a nice person.
These two things are givens. There is no reasonable argument to make against either.
And just in case you weren’t convinced about the second one, all you need to do is read this post at Sports by Brooks to be convinced. Here is the gist, as Brooks recounts what Heath Evans told to Jorge Sedano on 790 The Ticket in Miami:
Jeno James, our best offensive lineman at the time, comes in and collapses after practice, uh, vomiting all kinds of stuff that would make a billygoat puke, eyes rolled in the back of his head. Myself, about four other lineman are trying to carry him from the locker room, to the training room.
Obviously it’s a moment of panic, everyone, you know, we don’t know if this guy’s, you know, gonna die, I mean, the whole deal. But he’s so big and sweaty and heavy that we actually have to set him down in the hallway between the locker room and the training room.
Nick Saban literally just starts walking in, steps over Jeno James convulsing, doesn’t say a word, doesn’t try to help, goes upstairs, I don’t know what he does. But then obviously they get Jeno trauma-offed to the hospital.
Saban calls a team meeting about 10:30 that night, comes down and says, ‘You know, the captain of the ship can never show fear or indecision, we’ve always gotta have an answer, and so I had to go upstairs, that’s why I walked over Geno like that, I had to collect my thoughts and decide what’s best for our team.’
That’s Nick Saban for you: he’ll win tons of football games (college anyway) but step over convulsing players in the process.
And this got me thinking…
If he could come in from a 3-hour long practice in the scorching heat of south Florida and step right over a player who is convulsing and puking with his eyes rolled back in his head, what wouldn’t Nick Saban step over?
With just a little bit of Internet sleuthing, I was unable to uncover some other curious step-over decisions made by Saban.
Remember when Alabama wide receiver Tyrone Prothro fractured his tibia and fibula? Mike Shula was the coach then, but Saban was there to step right over Prothro (presumably to show leadership and collect his thoughts).
It seems that Saban has a history of stepping over football players who are suffering from terrible injuries.
Remember when Eric LeGrand of Rutgers was paralyzed? There was Saban, showing not one sign of fear nor indecision.
For the record, I felt a little bad including this one, considering the seriousness of LeGrand’s injury, but it does offer me the opportunity to link to this article about how the inspiring LeGrand is fighting every day to walk again. Every time I see LeGrand on TV, with his positive attitude despite these horrific circumstances, I gain more and more admiration for the kid. So yes, I feel bad including this image here; but if it gets one or a few of you to go read up more on this amazing young man, and if it further sensationalizes how big of a jackass Saban is, then I can live with myself.
Moving on now, how about Little Nick Saban jogging right over a helpless young girl who has crashed on her skateboard?
And then there was that time when Saban stepped over Turd Ferguson while walking alone in a field of Bermuda grass.
Of course, later that day, while still walking in the barren field of grass, Saban came upon an old man who had fallen. Did Saban stop to help the old man? Not a chance.
NO FEAR!
And in another example of Saban-style leaderhsip, the Nicktator also encountered infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky with the kid from Up.
Did Saban even consider stopping? Hell no.
He continued on, probably to collect his thoughts and decide what the appropriate course of action would be.
Nick Saban is the captain of the ship folks. Why would he stop?
Like that time the Titantic was sinking. Did Captain Saban stop to offer a helping hand? Nope, he just did what he’s always known he could do: walked on water and got the hell out of there.
And the thing with Saban is that not only will he not stop, you can barely even distract him.
Hell, there can be riots going on and an ironic meme-ready hookup happening right in front of him, but Saban will just step right over and walk on by.
Not even history can stop Nick Saban.
When everyone in the White House was sitting on pins and needles waiting for Osama bin Laden to be brought to justice, Saban leapt up, stepped over the President, and crunched Hilary Clinton’s laptop.
Why? He had to go upstairs. Or something.
Heck, Saban is such a megalomaniacal, football-focused “leader” that he couldn’t even be bothered to help Zack talk Jesse Spano out of taking more uppers.
She may have been “so excited” but Saban wasn’t about to show even the slightest hint of fear or indecision. What would Slater have thought?
Oh, and then there was that one time when Saban stepped over Drew Brees and his injured shoulder…
Oops.
I guess he didn’t take enough time to collect his thoughts on that one.
For the record, as someone who grew up cheering for the Miami Dolphins, and thus suffered through the insufferable Saban Era in Miami, this was a thoroughly satisfying post to write.
Go LSU.
**********
About Jerod Morris
Man that hatred is going to cause you to have a stroke. Of course you are too ignorant to realize the hypocrisy in what you have written. Looking at your picture I can tell it was someone like Coach Saban who took your lunch money every day.
I would expect any kind of educated response from an Alabama fan.
Let's be respectful. There are idiots in every fan base, including my own beloved IU fan base. Let's judge schools by their best examples rather than their worst (though pointing out an particular idiocy is any comment is certainly encouraged…)
I am sure you do not see the hypocrisy. You do not like Saban so spewing venom for the world to read makes you a good person? If it did not sound so envious I could find it humorous. Your first mistake was listening to a barner like Heath Evans.
Not sure I understand. Where did I say that Saban is not a good person? I just said he is not a nice person. It's up to others to decide if not nice = not good. Saban has helped out a players, I'm sure. He's also stepped over players who are convulsing on the ground in front of him. I didn't just listen to Heath Evans. The story was also confirmed by Greg Bedard. And I am not comparing myself to Saban here, except to say that if someone were convulsing in front of me, I'd help them. But I understand that you're going to defend your coach, and that's fine. He used to be my coach too; now that he's not, I'll have a little fun at his expense if I think it will entertain our readers. And I'm sure that's the last thing he would care about.
I'm sure there are many tornado victims in Tuscaloosa who would disagree with you about Saban not being a nice person. Regardless who told you what, it is still second hand information. Amazing how such a horrible incident goes unnoticed by credible sources. Brooks does not know what credible means.
Yes, Saban did do some great work for tornado victims, which he should and has been lauded for. That was not the point of this post, though I'm glad that the comment section will provide a more well-rounded view of Saban, which I did not. I was going to for cheap laughs while I tried to make a specific point about Saban occasionally acting like a complete jackass. I think I succeeded, and his supporters are certainly succeeding in defending him…as you should.
Pretty sure you just made yourself look like a complete jackass. Somthing I gather you have a lot of experience in. Keep it up.
Yeah, Nick reminds me of Bobby Knight.
I understand you are a Dolphin fan. I guess the butthurt has not went away yet. How does spreading venom about Saban for the whole world to read not make you a hypocrite? Your first mistake was listening to a barner like Heath Evans.
I am not "butthurt", though I do find that term hilarious. The definition of hypocrisy is "a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess." In this case, I am simply criticizing Saban for stepping over a convulsing, vomiting player. Because I know that I would not do the same, I don't think it's hypocritical to criticize Saban for it.
You know, on second thought, I probably am still a little butthurt from the Miami thing. You guys got the Good Saban, and he's delivered the Ws. We got a 1-15 season after he lied, lied, lied, and then left. So I suppose our differing views on him are more than reasonably explained.
Maybe if your teams Doctors were not so incompetent Saban would have had Drew Brees and still be the head coach of the Dolphins.
Fair point. It's just more fun to heap all the blame on Saban for that decision.
I am not a Alabama fan so what you did with the picture of Protho was disgusting and repulsive. Why? Why would you use a horrific image of a injured player to garner laughs? That is unacceptable and certainly shows how low society in general has sunk. You're a punk Mama's basement wannbe journalist that makes his living off of Internet website hits. That monthly wage alone is about what some people make in a day of actual hard work. Your little satirical parody is stupid and asinine. People like you wake up each day and think of a way to hate men and women more successful than you are. I can only hope and pray that my own children don't grow up to be faceless moronic cowards that use a computer to spew hatred against other people.
Now this comment actually has some validity, because frankly I was a little uneasy about using the images of Prothro, LeGrand, and Sandusky – anticipating reactions like this. And frankly, it's not totally unjustified.
Why did I use it? For exactly the reason you said: to garner laughs. How did I JUSTIFY using it? Because I think the most disgusting part of this story is the fact that Nick Saban could walk over a convulsing player all as part of some ploy to show leadership and/or collect his thoughts. So while my aim here was to get laughs and create something entertaining, the underlying purpose is also to highlight the fact that though we'll celebrate Nick Saban for winning football games, he doesn't exactly treat people all that nicely along the way. And as someone who grew up cheering for Bobby Knight, and longer is anywhere near as sycophantic a supporter of him as I once was, I find myself getting more and more outraged at coaches who think they are gods and treat people like dirt.
So…I will accept your vitriol. It's actually reasonable and relevant (though I am not a "wannabe journalist". I'm a blogger and "wannabe comedian" is more like it.) I knew a few of the images would be off-putting to some, but I decided to post anyway. I do appreciate you voicing this issue, because I'm sure others will have it, and we appreciate open and honest discussion here, even if it's critical of our work.
If Saban was such a bad person then why has he raised and donated over 2 million dollars through his "Nick's Kids" Foundation given to underprivileged children? Why did he give over 1 million dollars to the Alabama Scholarship Fund to allow kids that were poor to go to Alabama free? Your story is gossip and not validated by anyone except a former Auburn player Heath Evans, two weeks after Alabama beat his school to the tune of 42–14. Why hasn't this story been told 6 years ago, when it was allegedly happened? BTW.. how much money have to raised and gave to a charity that helps underprivileged children? I bet it's ZERO! I admire Saban for all his hard work and devotion to people that are less fortunate than he is. I only wished that he would quit Alabama and be hired at Notre Dame, which would be welcomed in a heartbeat by every ND fan. PSU would hire him in a NY minute. The man knows how to coach and his players love playing for him… Ask anyone of them.
I did not say Saban was a bad person. I said he is not a nice person, and there are plenty more stories than this one to back that up. I am also not insinuating that Saban doesn't have many admirable qualities. He does. You can't become one of the greatest college football coaches in history without having some virtues; this post is merely poking fun at one of his vices, which is not treating people very nicely and occasionally putting his view of "what's good for the team" above a player.
Uh, you mean Jerry Sandusky isn't a bad person because he started a foundation that raised millions of dollars for kids? FAIL!!!
"but not quite sure where you see any hypocrisy. "
lmao…..just look in your mirror for enough hypocrisy to sink the Ark!Then again,your mirrors are probably broken.You are familiar with the phrase "Those who live in glass houses…."
I don't live in a glass house. I put my opinions on the Internet for all to see, and to either agree with, disagree with, or mock. By all means, please disagree and/or mock. Nowhere did I claim to be perfect. I simply wrote the post with the understanding that in this case I wouldn't do the same thing that Saban is reported and confirmed to have done. (Not that, of course, I'd ever be a professional football coach and have that chance…but I'm projecting. If Zach Harbison finished a marathon 3-hour long Sunday fantasy football chat and started convulsing, I'd help him out, not step over him.)
You are a Hypocrite because,
1) You infer that you "suffered through the Saban era" and that you hate him because he left. If the era was so bad I would think you would respect him leaving before making it worse.
2) You go out of your way to make fun of some tragic situations in order to slam Saban based on a story you have not confirmed.
Roll Tide, Go Fins
AS an Ohio State fan I can honestly say that we do not have one obnoxious fan in our entire fan base.
You're right! Because tOSU has no reason to be a voice in college football at this time. You hired a clown as your new Coach and he quit when Saban took his lunch money and ran him out of the SEC.
He's a clown that has gone undefeated at two different school that he has coached and won two National Championships.
Sounds like my kind of clown. tOSU will always have a voice as a college football program because they are one of the most historically successful programs in history.
Every Ohio State fan that uses "THE" in front of the school name is obnoxious, which is about 90% so dream on, Aerosmith!
All you did was read a gossip piece that a former Auburn player alleged happen and that gave you new material to post your vitriol. The Miami fans called the Cavalier fans whiners after LeBron James left Cleveland but the Dolphin fans won't quit hating on Saban 5 years later. Get over it fools! He aint ever coming back! He has a statue, a 3 million dollar home, complete control of the Alabama program, he is worshiped through out the State, his Daughter is a Alabama Student, he is more admired and respected than the Governor. The Auburn fans hate him, for understandable reasons. Jealousy and envy is going to consume you fellow!
I still can't believe a team that didn't even win their division is in the National Championship game.
Show me where the BCS requires a conference champion. In 2003 OU was blown out by KState in their conference championship game but still played for the NC.
Maybe you can't believe a Stanford team that didn't win their division in the PAC 12 got a BCS bid? Maybe you should read the rule book and get back to us. It never states that a team has to win a conference or conference division to play in a bowl game of MNCG. Notre Dame will never win their conference or division either, do they deserve to play in the NCG if they are 12-0? Maybe you want a play-off format now, like the one the SEC and ACC Commissioners proposed in 2008 and was opposed by all the other Commissioners, the same ones crying now.
There are two types of people in this world. Those that build others up and those that try and tear others down. It's pretty clear where you fall. I hope your proud of what you apparently stand for. As for Coach Saban, he doesn't need me or anyone else for that matter to defend him. His legacy has already been cemented based on his accomplishments as a coach, dad, and mentor to countless players. Ask any one of the players that he has helped make it to the NFL what they think of him as a person. Ask any recruit and their family what they think he stands for. Ask any family that has benefited from Nick's Kids foundation where his heart is. I could go on, but I think my point is clear; Coach Saban touches many more lives in a positive way than 99.9% of everyone out there, including you. As for future articles that you choose to write, it would be wise to bring more objectivity and deal in facts when you choose to attack another man's integrity. It would also be wise to not make it so obvious that your hurt feelings fueled the attack on something totally irrelevant based on the current events. In my most politically correct response to your "article". If that's the best you can do, then….Way to go buddy! Way to go!
Jonathan, the thing is I WANTED it known that I was being subjective with this post. My experience with Saban as a Dolphins fan clearly colors my feelings about it him. Why would I not make that clear? I am not here to hide anything. I respect him greatly as a college football coach; heck, just as a coach in general. He's one of the 5-10 best coaches of any sport in my lifetime. And like with my childhood hero Bobby Knight, I know that Saban has done many, many wonderful things despite the many stories of him treating people like crap. So..I agree with many of your points. In this case, I was just trying to creatively lampoon and criticize Saban for this one particular situation that I considered to be a pretty crappy way to treat a a player. I leave it here for everyone else to decide if I did it an entertaining or compelling way, and the majority of the comments suggest I didn't which is fine.
I appreciate the visit and comment, and I'm glad that commenters have come out to provide the more balanced view of Saban I did not. But it would also be nice to see at least one commenter acknowledge that his a pretty egregious example of how Saban treated another human being who he, ostensibly, was supposed to be looking out for. I'm fine with people criticizing my methods in making this point, but at least acknowledge that.
Jerod:
The problem with the blog is that it focuses on one uncorroborated incident, which creates a characature of Saban’s personality rather than a fair portrayal of him. Most characatures resonate with the reader to “confirm” an already biased viewpoint – similar to how propaganda works. Unfortunately, the ability to influence the witless and gullible has only been enhanced by the rise of the “sound bite mentality”, where the greater public reads or hears only the headline but does not pause to digest the story.
The blogger does himself/herself an injustice when making this mistake. Once the public digests the material and figures out an alternate conclusion for itself, the backlash goes against the blogger. A great recent example of this principle is the recent rise and sudden fall of Bachmann, Perry, and Cain among the Republican hopefulls.
Jonathan and Jim,
It is a joke…. and it is pretty damn funny. Saban is the same guy that got a Gatorade bath after winning the National Title and looked miserable. The guy is a piece of dung as a human being, I didn't need this blog to come to that conclusion. Defend him all you want and we unbiased fans will laugh hysterically at the above. But you are right he should have helped Jessie Spano with her drug addiction, he ran right by her, UNBELIEVABLE. She is "SO SCARED"
Relax and you shouldn't be in the the national championship game either. OUCH I bet that comment just made both of you scream. haaaaaa!
Jerrod, you are one sick puppy.
You are a sad, pathetic little man with a keyboard…do everyone a favor and get out into the real world and do what a real journalist do-interview the man yourself. Then come back and write a professional article…who knows? you may even be proud of yourself..
Bill, I am not a journalist. I am a blogger. I comment on sports, attempt to entertain and inform, and try to start discussions about them. Obviously some posts are met with more resistance than others from certain groups, as is this one. Which is fine. I appreciate all of the feedback. But we built this site from zilch starting in 2008 and I am proud of it. So we'll continue doing what we do, and we how that everyone who visits will continue doing what you do: reading our content and giving honest responses, whether positive or negative.
Bill, you mistake Jerod for a real journalist. All he did here was "bottom troll" to see what comments he could reel in. He's was hoping for attacks on his character and journalistic prowess and he got them. Now he thinks he is so much more important than he will ever deserve to be. Too bad. Reality will bite hard when nobody will remember who Jerod Morris is or care if he exists.
I can assure that you I don't think I am any more important than I am…which is not very; except to my dog Rebel, to whom I am the greatest person on earth. And that is fine for me. I don't blog for fame. I blog because I enjoy these dialogues with sports fans, even when they are hyper-critical of my work. I'll admit: I didn't expect this negative of a reaction. And I've second guessed myself a bit after reading this comments, wondering if maybe I crossed a line of good taste in including some of the pictures I did. Perhaps. Frankly, I just thought it was a despicable act by Saban and I was trying to figure out a unique way to express that feeling. This was it, for better or for worse; and clearly the audience the article has pulled in hasn't enjoyed it too much. That's okay, it happens.
But yes: anyone who comes here looking for a "real journalist" is mistaken. We are not journalists, nor did we ever claim to be. We are bloggers, putting our thoughts and feelings about sports out there for others to read and comment on. That was my goal here, and I can understand why some don't like it. I appreciate the feedback though. I'd rather someone tell me exactly what they don't they like and then we discuss it, as we are here.
Andy Warhol factor in play here. Your 15 minutes are up, Jerod. Time to leave the blog.
I will do my best to provide an educated response. I am an Alabama fan. and graduate. and citizen of the state. So there is my disclaimer.
When Coach Saban was chosen to be Alabama's new coach, there was speculation and gossip, the general theme of which was similar to this article – great coach but difficult person with which to work, interview, etc. Examples were given, like in this story, and if true they indeed showed a less favorable side to a complicated man.
However, that has not been the experience of people in Alabama since the Sabans arrived in Tuscaloosa. Coach Saban has provided support and encouragement to many charitable and civic organizations, especially those providing help for children in need. His wife, Terry Saban, is loved in the Tuscaloosa community and is likewise very active in the Saban's own charitable group, Nick's Kids. Coach Saban's interaction with the media has been much more civil and accommodating than in previous positions, and his work with player personal development – academics, character development, etc. – has been both studied and copied by other top tier programs. That doesn't mean that life is perfect, or that some players do not accept the opportunities for self improvement available, etc., but in general terms, this coach has done a superb job in a high pressure environment where expectations are extremely high. And he has done so in a manner for which the University and State of Alabama can be proud.
We are not perfect in Alabama. We have our challenges and periodically need to be guided back into the mainstream. But Coach Saban is not the bad person this story wants so desperately to paint. I am proud he is our coach, and I hope he will be for a very long time.
He has no class for voting Ok State #5 which he did to prop his team up. LOW CLASS!
He's a scumbag!
I can assure you no love lost for Saban from anyone associated with LSU athletics outside of football
@ Gerlach
Glad you expected educated responses from Alabama fans. Hopefully, you received what you expected. Saban took a dysfunctional Bama team and made them into perennial contenders. This is a difficult task, which the vast majority of college coaches cannot replicate. He has a tough streak, but it is related to his unique ability to focus on his goals. I bet he gives more time and money to charity than most of us do, however. Most of his detractors ignore his positive qualities.
As for the University of Alabama, the current Administration also strives for excellence in academics as well as sports. The Law School is in the top quintile, and the Business School is frequently in the top 10 nationally. Although I am not a native Alabamian, I was quite satisfied with the doctorate I received at the University.
Haha what? Making one of the most successful programs into a perennial contender was a difficult task most college coaches couldn't replicate? Alabama has legacy, tons of money, incredible facilities, a massive fan base, and access to the greatest recruiting base in the nation. There is no way you will ever convince me that succeeding with all the resources of Alabama is significantly harder than achieving coaching success at one of the many smaller institutions who preform well on a yearly basis.
And Nick Saban has repeatedly shown he's very emotionally cold, particularly towards those whom provide for his livelihood. Whether this is a desirable quality for a coach is certainly personal opinion, and Saban has definitely earned his reputation as an incredible college football coach and recruiter. However, his actions in this instance are so callous, that it's disgusting. If I witnessed a stranger injured and convulsing, I would do everything within my power to help them. For Saban to disregard one of the players on his team in such a manner is atrocious, regardless of what good deeds he does. (I've heard he did a lot of good after the tornado in Tuscaloosa for what its worth.)
"(Saban) is more admired and respected than the Governor."
And that's why Alabama ranks at or near the bottom in virtually every meaningful statistic in the United States.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/nc…
There is absolutely no excuse for stepping over a collapsed, unconscious, convulsing player.
I am a casual college football fan, but a huge proponent of basic human decency. I thought this was a timely blog that points out how completely reprehensible Saban's act was with the recent death of Fred Thompson of Oregon State or the many other incidents of this nature like Korey Stringer in Minnesota. There are responses to the blog that defend Saban as a coach, dad, and mentor; but how would any of us feel if that was our son, or brother, or anyone we know being stepped over by Nick Saban when needing immediate medical attention? There is some perspective lacking here and this blog did a great job of shedding light on how ludicrous Saban's behavior was in an inane, but entertaining way.
Also, world class rebuttal by StabmasterArson to the notion that having a charitable foundation qualifies you as a good person by pointing out that Jerry Sandusky raised millions of dollars for under privileged kids.
This type of blind allegiance to someone who wins football games is the environment that allowed the Sandusky atrocity to take place. I am not in any way saying that something like that is going on at Alabama, but I am saying we need to have a little better perspective in regards to big time sports. Nick Saban is a great college football coach with at least one completely heinous incident regarding the health and well being of one of his players. Thanks for bringing this to light in an entertaining way.
I am a true Crimson and Red Alabama fan but i do not like the coach. I have never liked Nick Saban and i never will. I just have to wait for him to lose a few high ranking games and he will get fired.
"A Crimson and Red Alabama fan," really? Then perhaps you should learn the schools colors. You don't like Saban, fine, but why make a lie to make it look like you are a Bama fan. My 7 year old knows the school colors and has for about 3-4 years now.
nick satan has been processing recruits as fast as he can sign them..most dont even see the field.except for Trent "RENT" Richardson- who is the proud owner of a 2011 Tahoe with 24" wheels,and if thats not enough cheating just look into his welfare momma who moved to Birmingham into a new house to raise his bastard children ! Is the media eating Nick Satan cake or what…If Bama wins anything they will certainally have to give it back soon as the investigation is over..you Updykes make the state of Alabama look like toothless rednecks from Tuskerlooser !
his daughter was arrested for beating the hell out of one of her roomates…classy!
HE IS WORSHIPPED by the Harvey Updykes of the world and most toothless rednecks in alabama
I worship God not a football coach and most to the toothless rednecks here in Alabama is a Nascar fan!!