When sexual misconduct allegations first surrounded three Oregon basketball players nearly a year ago, questions about how the UO athletic department handled the proceedings began to pop up.
Why were the players allowed to compete in the NCAA Tournament, after they had been accused of rape by an Oregon student? Why was one player, a transfer who had been removed from the Providence program for sex-crime allegations, even recruited to Oregon? Most of all, why did head coach Dana Altman tell the media that he didn’t know the reasons why his recruit was dismissed from his former program?
The best case scenario here is that Altman is guilty of botching a recruitment that resulted in the violation of an Oregon student and the ultimate law suit that she would bring against the school. Worst case? Altman didn’t care about what his players did off the court. As long as they helped him win games.
There likely hasn’t been a better coaching job in the Pac-12 this season than what Dana Altman has accomplished with his current group. Sure, the conference has been even worse than many thought it might be, but Oregon is sitting in third-place and a likely birth in the NCAA Tournament. It’s impressive, no doubt.
But being a college basketball coach is about more than just winning games. You must represent a University with integrity. You must help raise young men who may be thousands of miles away from home. You must be a role model.
Altman has undoubtedly succeeded on the court in Eugene. He’s a brilliant basketball mind.
Unfortunately for him, and the University, that has been overshadowed by the cowardice approach taken towards the incidents that happen last season.
