Holding coaches to higher standard

Larry Eustachy and Mike Price are the latest examples of the dark and unfortunate underside of college athletics.
We could debate endlessly over their misdeeds -- Price visiting a strip bar and Eustachy drinking at college parties -- and whether or not they are offenses worthy of job termination.
(For the record, we agree with Alabama's decision to fire Price and urge Iowa State to do the same with Eustachy.)
Eustachy's case is an especially touchy one for Iowa State, because alcoholism is classified as a disease. If the university releases him, Eustachy almost certainly will file a lawsuit. One commentator on MSNBC Friday night suggested Eustachy would do so -- if his contract is eventually terminated -- under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Most likely, should Iowa State fire its basketball coach it will do so under a policy that is worded similarly to Alabama's, when it fired its football coach Saturday.
The Price is wrong
Price "failed to live his personal and professional life in a manner consistent with university policies," according to Alabama's president, who announced the firing at a press conference.
It was disclosed earlier this week that Price spent hundreds of dollars at a topless bar and took a woman back to his hotel room. That woman then ordered "one of everything" off the room service menu, running up a $1,000 tab, and charged it to Price's credit card.
One might argue that a lifetime of positive public service should outweigh one indiscretion. And there's a lot of substance to that point.
But, who's to say, in Price's situation, this was the first time he visited such an establishment? Eustachy has been seen at more than one frat party.
You might also argue that visiting a bar featuring nude or semi-nude dancers is a rather harmless offense.
There's problem with that philosophy, however: this wasn't Joe Blow and his buddies from the assembly line, out for a little relaxation after work.
Price is a highly-paid public servant -- at more than $1.2 million per year -- in what could arguably called the most high-profile job in the state of Alabama.
Much money at stake
It's easy for many of us to feel empathy for Price and Eustachy and call for their employers to give them a second chance.
But, put yourself in the shoes of university officials, who must look at the situation from a different perspective -- namely, the alumni and friends of the universities who donate millions of dollars annually.
And consider this -- if I am the head coach at any other Southeastern Conference or Big 12 Conference school, one of the questions I'm asking the parents of a prospective recruit: "Do you feel comfortable putting your son's welfare in the hands of a coach who frequents strip clubs" (or, in Eustachy's case, "goes drinking at frat parties?")
Sure, that kind of recruiting isn't considered very classy, but consider for a moment the millions of dollars that are at stake in big-time college athletics.
All's fair in love and recruiting.
It's mind-boggling that some coaches in such high-profile positions don't understand that they are living under a microscope. For better or worse, everything they say or do in a public setting can be witnessed by someone with the capability to record that action and turning it over to a newspaper or other media.
Whether it's attending a bar of ill repute or succumbing to the temptations of liquor, or lying on a resume, coaches are held to a higher standard.
And as such, the action must be more swift, and more decisive.
XRob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator. Write to him at todor@vindy.com.