ON THE FIRING OF COACH GROH AT VIRGINIA
I am sorry to hear about the firing of the Virginia football coach, Al Groh. I admire him as a disciplinarian and strong leader. I agree his team had not won many games. But Coach Groh upheld the honor of his alma mater. When I read that Virginia had to raise funds to buy out Groh’s contract (see thisTimes-Dispatch article) I was incensed. This is a bad use of perfectly good money. I guarantee the football or basketball programs won’t suffer because of this fundraising.
Groh’s teams never won the battle of the police blotter – they generally behaved themselves and knew there would be serious consequences for misbehavior. I hope that Coach Groh finds a new coaching job or has enough money to retire in style!
UPDATE: It appears from this article in the Charlottesville Daily Press that I was right: The athletic department will bear the loss. It was unnecessary. Groh upheld the true traditions of the University of Virginia: Integrity, honor and academic excellence. There is more to life than a winning football program. If you doubt that ask one of the many tainted athletic programs around the nation that has hurt the image of the particular school. Pick one. Any one!
