It’s been a mere two days since the news that two NC State football players had been kicked off the team while three others had been suspended for their presence at a July party that involved drugs and alcohol. Dave Doeren is clearly already tired of this crap, given his attitude during a brief Q-and-A session with media members after practice Wednesday. (Video’s in the N&O story there.)
Like snide sarcasm-level over-it. After Joe Giglio asks him about the gap between when NC State learned of the players’ transgressions (Aug. 8) and when the announcement of punishment was made public (Aug. 22), he bristles a bit, though that is a good question. I had been wondering the same myself.
Then he walks away, reminding the reporters that oh by the way, the game is in 10 days and none of the five guys in potential legal trouble are going to play. Which, yeah, Dave, we know.
This is a pet peeve of mine, coaches reacting in a defensive manner once some bad off-the-field news breaks and people have questions about said bad news. It’s their job to face the bad and the good; that’s why they are paid the big bucks. Answering some fair questions about an incident that damages the image of your program should be an understood part of the gig, but too many coaches get antsy when they get taken outside of their comfort level.
And I know it’s no fun to have to face questions like these, especially not this close to the season, but being dismissive in a this-is-a-waste-of-time sort of way is not constructive, and it’s not a good look, either.