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Any institution of higher learning that calls itself the University of South Florida and is located in Tampa has got to be a little off, at least geographically, to start with, but its handling of the the Jim Leavitt affair is especially goofy.
According to University officials, Leavitt, the only head football coach in the school's 13-year-history of playing the sport, was fired because he allegedly grabbed sophomore Joel Miller by the throat and slapped him in the face twice during the halftime of the USF-Louisville game Nov. 21. Yet, if I read this story correctly, both Miller's father and Miller himself (identified only as "Student A" in the school's report) say it didn't happen. Both of them claim, as does Leavitt himself, that the coach "was trying to lift the spirits of a player who was 'down' when he grabbed the player's shoulder pads."
In a statement that would stun any court of law, the University said hearsay testimony was more reliable that direct testimony. In a letter to Leavitt informing him of his dismissal, Athletic Director Doug Woolard said Miller's statement to university investigators that the incident never happened "are unpersuasive because they were contradicted by the same student athlete in his conversations with credible witnesses made close in time to when that conduct occurred." As My Hero would say: "That's just wrong!"
Here's what I think the deal is. The school is getting pressured by alumni and significant donors because the football team starts the season strong, but finishes it weakly; the school just doesn't have the cajones to admit it. In 2007, USF was ranked No. 2 in the country at one point but slid all the way out of the Top 25 by the end of the year. In the last two years, the team has won its first five games; only to lose more than it won in the second half of the year. USF finished the season just ended at 8-5.
According to University officials, Leavitt, the only head football coach in the school's 13-year-history of playing the sport, was fired because he allegedly grabbed sophomore Joel Miller by the throat and slapped him in the face twice during the halftime of the USF-Louisville game Nov. 21. Yet, if I read this story correctly, both Miller's father and Miller himself (identified only as "Student A" in the school's report) say it didn't happen. Both of them claim, as does Leavitt himself, that the coach "was trying to lift the spirits of a player who was 'down' when he grabbed the player's shoulder pads."
In a statement that would stun any court of law, the University said hearsay testimony was more reliable that direct testimony. In a letter to Leavitt informing him of his dismissal, Athletic Director Doug Woolard said Miller's statement to university investigators that the incident never happened "are unpersuasive because they were contradicted by the same student athlete in his conversations with credible witnesses made close in time to when that conduct occurred." As My Hero would say: "That's just wrong!"
Here's what I think the deal is. The school is getting pressured by alumni and significant donors because the football team starts the season strong, but finishes it weakly; the school just doesn't have the cajones to admit it. In 2007, USF was ranked No. 2 in the country at one point but slid all the way out of the Top 25 by the end of the year. In the last two years, the team has won its first five games; only to lose more than it won in the second half of the year. USF finished the season just ended at 8-5.
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