With USC placing head coach Steve Sarkisian on an indefinite leave of absence Sunday amid rumors of a troubles with alcohol, new information regarding Sarkisian’s past issues with alcohol have been revealed.
In a report from The Los Angeles Times today, one former unnamed Washington player claims he smelled alcohol on Sarkisian during team meetings. The report also gathered documentation to piece together Sarkisian’s past use of alcohol, going so far as to determine Sarkisian’s preferred drinks and locales while the head coach at Washington.
Sarkisian’s recent acts, from his preseason drunken outburst in front of boosters to this latest development have brought out criticisms from those with prior experience with Sarkisian, including current NFL players Danny Shelton and Shaq Thompson. Both former Huskies played for Sarkisian befroe he took the USC job last year. The two took to their Twitter accounts to offer their takes on Sarkisian, although it appears those reactions may have been deleted from each of their social networking profiles.
It is one thing to have a battle with alcohol away form the playing field while out on recruiting trips and booster events. It is another to bring those demons with you onto the practice field, meeting rooms and to the sideline during a game.
USC Athletics Director Pat Haden announced an indefinite leave of absence for Sarkisian on Sunday after Sarkisian allegedly showed up to practice on Sunday “not healthy.” Haden himself has come under fire for the hiring of Sarkisian, a former assistant coach under former Trojans coach Pete Carroll. If there was enough of this evidence lingering about Sarkisian, one has to wonder how much Haden was aware of the troubles before hiring Sarkisian. If Haden was aware, what was the plan to address them as Sarkisian was hired?
Whatever the case, this is an unfortunate and disturbing situation for USC and Sarkisian. First and foremost, Sarkisian needs to address his personal ills by any means neccessary. If that means not coaching for a while, so be it. Sarkisian needs to confront his problems and take care of them before doing anything else, especially with regard to football. As for USC, providing assistance for Sarkisian through this troubling time is admirable, but that should not mean Haden and the university should stand by Sarkisian’s side by keeping him as head coach. Sarkisian brought an unstable environment into the locker room and that should be given a zero tolerance, especially in light of Sarkisian’s booster event comments this summer. USC can still support Sarkisian, but does not have to keep him on as head coach.