After much confusion and outrage from the Packer faithful and football fans in general, Colquitt County head coach Rush Propst has arisen unscathed from the threat of a one year suspension.
Back on June 16th, which was over six months after the incident in question, the Professional Standards Commission handed down the hefty suspension for Coach Propst head butting one of his players (that still had his helmet on) in an effort to passionately inspire his players. Now, almost exactly a month later, that decision has been repealed after a meeting between Propst’s attorney and the committee.
It is clear that the Professional Standards Commission’s original verdict was not only too severe, but altogether misplaced. Our issues with the original sentencing have already been well documented (read that article HERE), but it also is worth saying that a differentiating line needs to be drawn:
One of the problems surrounding that original decision is that Propst was being treated as a teacher, not a coach. While yes, coaches are certainly educators, it is not in the traditional classroom sense. If you were to imagine a teacher getting in the face of his or her students, screaming, and making them do up-downs until they vomited, all in the classroom, then there would likely be no public outcry for disciplinary action being taken against that teacher. Academic teachers are only meant to have influence and power over mental development, not physical. Athletic coaches, on the other hand, do not operate in the same environment, or even in the same world, due to the added physical element.
Coaches play an integral, albeit difficult, role in the lives of their players. Their job is to develop, mentor, and inspire growing men and women through the medium of athletics. They are meant to instill values such as discipline, selflessness, hard work, determination, perseverance, commitment, and the passionate pursuit of maximizing potential and achieving goals. It demands both physical rigor and mental toughness, but it is a rewarding experience to the student-athletes because of that fact.
The calling of a coach is not that of passive indifference but zealous refinement. When things are done right, a coach should be a player’s biggest cheerleader. When advice and guidance are needed on or off the field, a coach should be a mentor and helping hand. But when mistakes are inevitably made by players, those errors should not be overlooked; they should be met with firm rebuke. It falls on the shoulders of the coaches to cast the vision for the program, clearly communicate those standards, then compel and enable their followers to meet that criteria.
To get the most out of their players, coaches like Rush Propst must motivate. Athletes, especially young ones, need external motivation to become the best that they can possibly be, and coaches should be one of the primary sources of that motivation.
That is not to say that coaches are impervious to disciplinary action for their wrongdoings; coaches can, have, and will cross the line of what is appropriate in treating young men and women as developing athletes. These men and women should be humbled and honored to have been entrusted with such a great responsibility and should not abuse that trust.
That line between right and wrong is thin, but Rush Propst did not cross it in this instance. The players, coaching staff, administration, fans, and surrounding community all agreed, and now, so does the very organization that brought it back to the spotlight.
In the Game / Web Only
Written by Cole Parker
Photo by Marque Milla Reese
