Where Does Coaching Responsibility Lie in Smart's Dumb Move?

Today's blog post was written by Kyle McDonald, a junior at the Univeristy of Notre Dame.  Kyle is a math major and is a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching, a course taught by Play Like a Champion Today directors Professor Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan.

On February 8, Oklahoma State University basketball player Marcus Smart made waves across the nation during a game against Texas Tech. It was not for an electric play or stat sheet-decorating performance befitting of a player projected to be a high pick in this year’s NBA draft. Rather, after ending up in some courtside seats after a hustle play, he turned around to confront a fan who allegedly taunted him, and Smart shoved the fan.

With the difference in score being only two points with just seconds remaining in the game, Smart’s push warranted a technical foul from the officials but no ejection. Oklahoma State, ranked 19^th in the nation, went on to lose to an unranked Texas Tech squad. The next day, the Big 12 Conference, the athletic league of both of the schools, handed down a three-game suspension to Smart, effective immediately.

By no means is this incident neither the start nor the end of Marcus Smart’s narrative. Just weeks earlier, he kicked a chair on the bench after receiving a foul. He could have opted not to attend Oklahoma State for his sophomore season and still have been selected relatively high in last year’s draft. He is the most talented player on his team and arguably the most instrumental one to its success.

Amidst the criticism of the player’s actions, however, there also resides the action, or, rather, inaction, of Oklahoma State’s men’s basketball coach, Travis Ford. Even though Smart was not ejected for what little remained in the game, Ford did not speak to his player, instead discussing the merits of the foul with an official. He did not send him to the locker room early. In a press conference regarding the incident, Ford said: “[Smart] made a serious mistake, He's proven to us many times what a great person he is, and we need to help him learn from this. Hopefully we will give him support, because I do truly think he's learned a valuable lesson.”

Ford’s response comes off as soft and over-apologetic to some, avoiding the opportunity to publicly reprimand his player’s actions and instead continuing to make excuses for them. It is a response that has prompted some to call for his firing.  It has prompted discussion on where the morality of coaches lie, and how crises like this can reveal the true nature of a coach, whether he or she generally prioritizes youth development or is instead willing to win at any cost and overlook any internal polemics.

It’s an issue that goes far beyond college athletics, as well. Personalities on a high school or youth team can be just as diverse as any university squad. What happens when a player engages an opposing fan whose primary objective is to instigate? Many coaches would like to say that the solution is to speak with their player about his or her mistake and then to let his or her team, fans, and the public know that this type of behavior has no place on his or her team. Does the decision to park the player for the remainder of a game or for the next few games change at all if it’s a star player whose presence is vital for an upcoming rivalry game, playoff push, or tournament? Or at the youth and high school levels, when a suspension could face resistance from the player’s parents? Coaches would like to say no, but when the situation presents itself like it did in front of Travis Ford, it’s easier to air on the side of inactivity.

Ford’s detractors will criticize him for placing too much of an emphasis on winning, doing the bare minimum to acknowledge the situation while still making sure Marcus Smart was eligible as college basketball advances towards March Madness. His errors as a coach, however, go farther than just having priorities out of order. The general negative PR surrounding his team is a distraction for his players. It endangers the future state of his team, as a black eye such as this incident may give recruits less reason to attend Oklahoma State and more ammunition for their rivals in their pitches. Travis Ford missed his chance to take his stand as a coach and be the leader and catalyst of development that his team needs. Unfortunately, it may just be that missed chance that Oklahoma State’s season, Smart, and Ford are all remembered for.