I’ve figured out the role ol’ Bert is playing in the 10-second substitution rule fracas. He’s there to make Nick Saban seem like the reasonable one.
He also reiterated his stance that the proposal is safety-based — saying he wants to be proactive and make a change before a fatal injury.
The former Wisconsin coach pointed to the recent death of California football player Ted Agu during a training run, saying the inability to substitute an injured player between plays could lead to injury or death…
… He also offered a direct counter to the claim there’s no hard evidence of increased risk of injury.
“Death certificates,” Bielema said. “There’s no more anything I need than that.”
It’s hard, but take a step past the sanctimonious crocodile tears being shed over the random tragedy of a kid’s death – at a February practice! – and the indirect shot at Agu’s coach, who, by the way, is one of the more outspoken critics of the substitution proposal, and focus on the larger ramifications of Bielema’s position. If a player’s death is all that’s needed to justify changing a rule in the name of player safety, why stop at a 10-second substitution requirement? Indeed, why stop anywhere?
I mean, start with this…
He mentioned that a half a dozen players with the Razorbacks have been diagnosed with sickle cell trait, and that the team’s trainers must constantly watch the players for signs of dehydration or exhaustion.
“I think it’s still safety battle,” Bielema said. “… I know every one of those coaches probably has a player in that same scenario, but it hasn’t happened.
“It’s kind of like, do we have to have this happen before we talk about it?”
… and ask if a rule banning kids who have been diagnosed with sickle-cell trait from playing the sport shouldn’t be considered.
It’s interesting that a guy who gained national attention for his move a few years ago to have his kick return team go offsides on two kickoff attempts to run out the clock in the first half, thereby exposing 22 special teams players to extra risk of contact (remember, there’s been enough concern about player safety on kickoffs that they were moved five yards closer to the opponent’s end zone to limit the chance for contact) to gain a strategic advantage by abusing a rule has suddenly found religion on player safety. Or dickish. Take your pick.
Bielema claims to be confident that the proposal will pass when the NCAA playing rules oversight panel votes on March 6. I’m pretty confident that if he’s running point on the deal, it won’t. I’m also pretty confident he won’t be winning any Mr. Popularity awards from his peers in the near future.
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UPDATE:
He knows he should STFU. He just can’t come up with a good excuse as to why.
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UPDATE #2: Somebody needs to explain the First law of holes to Bert.
“… What if you’re in the middle of the third or fourth quarter and you know that the kid standing 15 yards away from you or on the other side of the field has this trait. He’s got this built-in possibility of something happening. Your doctors have told you about it. Your trainers have told you about it. He looks at you through those eyes or maybe the trainer even says, “Hey coach, you need to get him out of there.” And you can’t. You have no timeouts. He’s not going to fake an injury. He’s not going to fall down…”
If the trainer says a kid needs to get out of a game, how’s the kid faking an injury?
Get The Picture 