Notre Dame radio analyst Allen Pinkett thought a “few bad citizens” could do the Notre Dame football program some good as it pertained to on-the-field success. As it turns out, IMG Notre Dame Radio Network thought a few games away from the broadcast booth would serve Pinkett equally well.
Pinkett’s comments, which you can read HERE, created such a stir last week that he was prohibited from working the Irish game against Navy last Saturday with “[f]urther decisions on this matter... made in the coming days.”
On Tuesday, IMG announced that Pinkett has been suspended for two more games without pay because of his comments. For anyone following the Irish’s schedule, those would be games against Purdue and Michigan State. Pinkett could return for the Sept. 22 game against Michigan.
“I’ve always felt like, to have a successful team, you gotta have a few bad citizens on the team,” Pinkett said during the interview with WSCR-AM of Chicago. “You can’t have a football team full of choir boys. You get your butt kicked if you have a team full of choir boys.”
Pinkett later apologized for his comments, which were lambasted by both the Notre Dame community and beyond as being “out of touch” and “nonsense”, among other things.
Mostly, it was just a weird way to phrase his point. Now he’ll miss three games for, ironically, failing to do what he’s supposed to better than most: communicate his opinion effectively.
(Hat tip: AP)