I don’t know that I’ve ever done this before -- well, maybe once or twice -- but I’m going to utilize a reader’s comment in a post. Specifically, an unnamed reader’s comment in the post from yesterday on Mark Dantonio‘s reaction to Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller‘s season-ending shoulder injury:
Of course, that was, even for one of our readers, an absurd assumption to make. Head coaches simply don’t and wouldn’t do that, especially publicly. In fact, in my experience, the vast majority of coaches care about players and their well-being whether they’re on their own team or on the opposing sideline.
Case in point? The object of the commenter’s attempted barb, Brady Hoke.
“I feel terrible for Braxton Miller and his family,” the Michigan head coach said during a radio interview Friday morning by way of mlive.com. “He’s been a class act any time I’ve been around him.
“You never want a kid to get hurt.”
In other words, Hoke is a human being and reacted the exact way everyone -- well, most everyone -- thought he would: with class and genuine empathy. One of the greatest rivalries on the field, The Game more times than not gives way to humanity off of it.