Chalk another tally on the ledger for the eternally wantonly offended sports media. There’s another pelt on the wall, that of Tim Beckman.
Last we saw Beckman, he was let go from Illinois after an investigation found him guilty of mistreating players in a variety of ways, most notably regarding the discouraging of some athletes to seek medical help for injures. Illinois thought it was time to part ways, so they parted ways after an investigation.
That process typically is the most iron clad you’re going to get. Normally, when firing a coach, the “investigation” goes about as far as, “so, what was the team’s record last year?” unless prodded.
Beckman then did as most human beings do … phoned a friend (in this case, North Carolina coach Larry Fedora) and asked for a favor should the opportunity ever roll around. What apparently was agreed upon was a role paying approximately as much money as you are getting to read this far into this article to watch a little film but not really interact with players.
Well, apparently in the course of said job, you occasionally come in contact with players, including in this “damning” photo of him seemingly sharing notes with a UNC player.
And remember, Beckman’s not working with players. pic.twitter.com/AD5kctEjXC
— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) August 25, 2016
The above writer termed UNC “tone deaf” for the Beckman hiring.
So here’s what I don’t get … America loves themselves some second chances. Steroids? Using PED’s? Cool, just admit to what you did and there’s nothing to see here. Various criminal acts? Apologize and show remorse and get back on the roster ASAP.
Unless you’re Tim Beckman.
According to the Illinois investigation, yeah, Beckman made bad, bad mistakes. He paid for them, and then because he’s a coach and probably has remorse for those things gone wrong, he decided to take a job not getting paid, to rebuild his character, and maybe learn a little bit along the way that can be parlayed into another opportunity down the road.
I mean, Art Briles is stating he’s going to be coaching next year. We assume that’s going to be in a paid position. Will the rage to the point of a stepping-down be in order there, too? Probably not.
I’d be interested to know what said raging sports media members think of individuals from other walks of life trying to get back in the workforce after making mistakes. For paid positions, we assume, again, because most of us can’t just take a volunteer job to rebuild our images.
The guess is, there wouldn’t be the same outrage.
At any rate, Beckman screwed up, is in the process of paying for it, and will never get back to the place he was five years ago. The punishment is everlasting, really.
But in this case, you have a guy who made mistakes, is in the process of paying the price, and was taking a free gig to try and do that. When you’re trying to right some wrongs, those are the things you tend to do. Take low-level jobs you’re overly qualified for to try and show that you can, in fact, learn from the past and are willing to do it on the cheap.
Now, as Beckman steps down, I’d like to know … what’s the moratorium or list of career incarceration he’s to take before he’s allow to take a gig … paid or otherwise? If he sits out a year, is that good? Two years? Is he allowed to be a greeter at Wal-Mart in the interim? Is he allowed to volunteer to coach his grand kids (if he has any)?
Beckman was trying to get started over again in the most self-deprecating way … for free. Folks weren’t having it. Everyone loves a comeback story where someone learns their lesson and works back from the bottom up. Until they don’t.
