Twitter tries former Arizona Football coach Rich Rodriguez after sudden termination

Late Tuesday evening, social media chatter quickly turned from speculation to facts when six-year Arizona Football Coach Rich Rodriguez was fired.

While many fans and those following the Arizona football program knew Coach Rodriguez was on a short leash, few were ready for the accusations which followed the administration’s announcement.

Little did we know, in late October an investigation into sexual harassment allegations had commenced when a previous athletic department employee leveled accusations against him. Oh, yes, those dreaded words–sexual harassment. Ironically, this is about the same time Arizona Football’s stellar success during October started to decline.

According to the statement by Athletic Director Dave Heeke, the investigation concluded on December 28, 2017, which was less than one day after Arizona’s loss to Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl Game. The University determined there was not enough evidence to back the charges by the former employee, but fired Rodriguez for other reasons uncovered in the investigation on and off the field.

The timing is suspect to the Arizona fan. If the firing had occurred the day after losing to Arizona State in November, there would have been a plethora of coaches to seek out for the Arizona job. Now, the athletic department is six weeks behind, and it remains to be seen how many recruits will jump ship while the coaching search continues.

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Arizona fans were more than entertained by ASU’s head football coach “search” and the results that followed. Now we are witnessing our own coaching drama. If there wasn’t evidence backing the Rodriguez accuser, why not give the coach one more season with quarterback Khalil Tate and a more experienced and talented defense? Were the words “sexual harassment” enough of a black mark to warrant a change, whether true or not?

Initially, there was a collective sigh of relief–finally, women can speak up without fear of repercussions. Nobody can argue with that, and we feel for any woman who is still in a situation where she does not feel comfortable expressing the truth. But have these accusations gone too far in some instances?

Gradually, more information came out, and more comes out about every day. Soon we heard Coach Rodriguez was informed of his termination by email. Email? One of the faces of Arizona Athletics gets an email? That in itself warranted some amount of empathy.

At The University of Arizona, the fallout on social media was fast and furious. Every hour another angle to the Rodriguez mystery aired in public. In no time the former coach was hated and vilified.

Of course, Rich Rodriguez haters pulled out all the stops on Twitter. Those are not worth repeating here for reasons I will share later. Some on Twitter took the opportunity to wish the coach well.

According to Michael McCann, Sports Illustrated’s legal analyst, the legal web is just starting for the coach, the University, and the state of Arizona. There will be no happy ending and rest assured Arizona taxpayers are in no mood to foot a huge legal bill. This article by McCann is informative and would be a good practice case for the law students at Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law.

Amidst all the accusations on the night of January 2, 2018, Rodriguez vehemently denied all of them except one, that he had cheated on his wife. Maybe that was enough for the administration to not include a cause in the termination and pay him. Maybe they feel cheating is not a good example for the student-athletes. And maybe there is more than the affair that has been uncovered.

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It’s not a good look for the AD Dave Heeke to start his career at Arizona under a cloud of harassment allegations, just after semi-weathering the beginning of an FBI investigation into the basketball program.

Hollywood’s Golden Globes theme on Sunday night was “Times Up” about giving women equality and not be harassed in the workplace. Everyone wore black. These are very sensitive times, and leaders in public institutions such as universities, have to be cognizant of the public feelings.

After all, the decision makers are paid with tax dollars. Arizona Athletics needs to run a tight ship and rise above all other public institutions where education and safety of their students and employees have to come first above all else.

Soon after the announcement, Coach Rodriguez’s daughter, a University of Arizona student and cheerleader, came to her dad’s defense.

Back to the trial by social media. It’s gone too far in my opinion. It’s easy for all of us to succumb to throwing allegations on a keyboard to a faceless screen and then wait for that like, retweet, or on-line debate which keeps the allegations hanging in the air, whether true or not. Maybe everything Rich Rodriguez is accused of is true. Maybe everything Al Franken is accused of is true. Maybe everything Arizona Congressman Trent Franks is accused of is true. Or maybe not.

And then there was this tweet from his son, quarterback Rhett Rodriguez.

https://twitter.com/rhett_rod/status/949074520261853184

Rich Rodriguez’s children are adults, but they are the reason we have to stop trying celebrities in social media. All of the accused are entitled to the same rights as the rest of us, and that includes the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. Coach Rodriguez is due his day in court–not the court of public opinion, but our legal system. Our society has reverted to throwing stones without realizing the fallout not just for the accused,  but for his or her family.

Whether Mrs. Rita Rodriguez and the kids knew about the affair before or after it came to light, it is their business. If the Rodriguez’s can work through this huge burden and stay together, and we hope they can, more power to them. Some of us would run from the marriage immediately, but the words “for better or for worse” do have meaning for many couples. We hope the Rodriguez’s get the help and support they need to move forward together.

Children normally think highly of their parents, however imperfect they may be. Now Raquel and Rhett are in the middle of the firestorm. Sure, they gave up privacy long ago, but let’s have some respect for them. Those of us who do not have all the facts, which is most of us, don’t need to be adding more harmful words in tweets and posts about their dad. Even adult children take their parents’ problems very hard. We hope they stay strong and we admire their love for their dad.

Yes, public figures who make a lot of money are subject to public scrutiny, I just think that rushing to judgment when you don’t have all the facts hurts innocent people. We should all think twice before lashing out. This has nothing to do with whether or not I think Heeke did the right thing; he has to do what is right for the school and the student-athletes.

Next: Arizona Football Players and Their Coaching Choices

Thanks to the entire Rodriguez family for sharing so much of their lives and talents with The University of Arizona. As always, good luck and Bear Down.