[GigEmAgs]

OSU's Eddie Sutton is hitting the showers for the rest of the season, according to the Dallas Morning Snooze. Not good news for the team. It seems there's some question about whether he'll be back, too.

Here's the skinny: he was in a car wreck Friday. Stuff happens, and fortunately he wasn't severely hurt, but the bad part was that he was cited with a DUI. Poor guy has severe back and neck pain from some old injuries (not uncommon in old athletes and coaches, sadly). He may have taken too much hydrocodone. He's also had problems with alcohol.

So Sutton made the logical and courageous choice to take some time off and take care of his health. Is he addicted to prescription drugs? Maybe, but let's give him time to take care of it. I've been in that kind of pain and I know how easy it would be to become dependent on a good painkiller. He's made the right choice.

If only athletes would make the same sorts of decisions. Of course, Sutton may be pilloried in the press for his problems, real or imagined; but it probably wouldn't happen if he were a millionaire athlete. I think he's done the right thing to leave the team in other hands, even though this isn't the best possible time to do it.

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OT warning!
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Since there's no hunting forum to spout off in, I'll get this off my chest here: how the heck does the VP get off with a warning after hunting without a migratory bird permit and also shooting his buddy in the face? I've done a lot of dove hunting, and it's my understanding that you're supposed to get fined if you don't have a stamp. Guess it's true: some animals are more equal than others. Egad!

[Lefty Noob]

Great post, Ags. I agree completely about Sutton. A lot of people are going to hear about the DUI citation and, without knowing all the facts, demand that he be fired. Granted, it probably was awful irresponsible driving on prescription painkillers. Those things can put a hurtin' on you. But this wasn't a case of a guy getting all liquored up and getting behind the wheel, and its a shame that it basically gets treated the same way according to state law.

[wvuauthor]

Sutton is one of the best college coaches of all time. He has done everything but win a National Title, but like you guys said, he definitely made a bad decision. In my opinion whether or not he returns should be up to him. He made a mistake, but who among us has not?

Hopefully his son can right the ship and get OSU moving in the right direction.

[Lefty Noob]

Uh oh... I guess booze WAS involved, after all. Sutton admitted it this morning. He said the painkillers weren't doing enough, so he picked up some liquor for an added effect. He added that he had a problem and was going to check into rehab.

How much does this change things in your eyes? My gut feeling is that he should be fired. On the one hand, yes, I feel bad that the guy was in so much pain. But it was an incredibly stupid and irresponsible thing to do to mix prescription painkillers with alcohol, and THEN get behind the wheel of a car. Think about what could have happened!

[ThePundit]

Let's not make excuses for Sutton. He's a very good coach and could be the greatest of guys. I can't say because I don't know him.

But driving under the influence is pretty serious. He's lucky he only hurt himself instead of some poor innocent schlub. I'm not saying he shoud be immediately fired but taking the rest of the year off was smart. Because if I'm the AD, I suspend him for the rest of this year at minimum if he doesn't take the year off on his own. Maybe I'm being an idealist here, but isn't it about time we hold our educators to a relatively high standard of behavior?

And as Remo said in the movie CASINO: "That's just how I feel about it"

[wvuauthor]

I agree that it is a very tough spot for OSU. I think that Sutton should be given another chance, but at the same time he is supposed to be a role model for a bunch of 20 year old kids.

At this point I would not be surprised if we have seen that last of Sutton and his son continues as coach next year-which has already been set up.

[GigEmAgs]

Yes, it's a shame that liquor was involved. But as I've said before, he did the right thing -- for himself and the team -- and thank heaven nobody else was hurt. I don't know enough about Sutton's past to know whether he should be given another chance; if this was the first time this happened that's one thing, but if this shows a pattern of behavior it's another. Maybe he should be asked to retire and given the golden handshake, because after all he's, what, 73? On the other hand, you have to keep in mind that he's one of the winningest coaches in college B-ball, and age and physical pain don't mean he isn't still sharp as a tack Not an easy decision for anyone. At least with the remainder of the season off he'll have a chance to regain some ground he lost and think about what's best for him.

[Lefty Noob]

I believe this was the second time he admitted himself into rehab for alcohol abuse. I know that he wants to come back and get that 800th win. The question is, does he deserve that chance? I say no.