Alabama head coach Nate Oats should be suspended for latest controversy
Alabama head coach Nate Oats has found himself in the news for many wrong reasons over the last year. Tuesday night added another embarrassing chapter for Oats and the University of Alabama. In the Crimson Tide's 93-75 win over the Missouri Tigers, Oats found himself at the center of controversy. After a whistle and as […]
Alabama head coach Nate Oats has found himself in the news for many wrong reasons over the last year. Tuesday night added another embarrassing chapter for Oats and the University of Alabama.
In the Crimson Tide's 93-75 win over the Missouri Tigers, Oats found himself at the center of controversy. After a whistle and as the game was heading into a timeout, Missouri's Aidan Shaw appeared to be talking to an Alabama player near the Crimson Tide bench after some very brief jawing over a held ball. Oats put his finger into Shaw's chest and gave him a push.
I would go one step further than what CBS Sports' Seth Davis mentions. Oats' actions deserve a suspension.
Getting physical with a player is one of the most egregiously wrong things a coach can do, especially when that player is not one of his own. That's a line that should never be crossed, and Oats jumped across it with two feet.
And it wasn't necessary. Shaw was actually facing an official at the moment, but Oats stepped BETWEEN the two and pushed Shaw. He didn't ask the official to remove the player. He didn't tell the player to leave. He put his hand on him and pushed him. A totally over the top move in that situation.
Oats issued an apology after the game, although Missouri head coach Dennis Gates wondered why a technical foul wasn't given in that situation. And that's an especially fair question given that an official was literally standing three feet in front of it as it all unfolded.
Oats has done his school no favors over the past year. His handling of the Brandon Miller situation last year – Miller is alleged to have driven the gun to the scene of the murder of Jamea Harris – was absolutely baffling at times. Between using the phrase "wrong spot at the wrong time", admitting he sought out the advice of Ray Lewis – who was charged with a double homicide that was later dropped – after the arrest of former player Darius Miles, and allowing Miller to perform a "pat down" introduction before an Alabama home game, Oats was a public relations nightmare for the school. It's also worth noting that Alabama did little to quell the public outrage surrounding the school's handling of Miller and Oats' bumbling leadership after the fact.
As such, it's clear the University of Alabama will do nothing to hold Oats accountable for this latest embarrassment for the program. That's something they apparently just refuse to do. We'll see if the SEC – whose league office is in Birmingham – will do something instead.
It's time someone does.
UPDATE (3:35 pm ET): The SEC issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon announcing it was issuing a public reprimand to Oats for his actions against Missouri.
As such, it appears Oats will avoid any kind of meaningful punishment and will be on the bench when the Crimson Tide and Tennessee Vols meet on Saturday in Knoxville.
