The dangerous tackle was committed at the head coach's instructions. Once this conclusion was reached, there was no option but to mete out a severe punishment.
The Kantoh Collegiate Football Association has decided to expel Masato Uchida, former head coach of Nihon University's American football team, and former assistant coach Tsutomu Inoue. This is the heaviest penalty the association can impose and is, effectively, a lifetime ban from the sport.
The association concluded the illegal tackle on a defenseless Kwansei Gakuin University player was committed at the instruction of the head and assistant coaches. This conclusion was in line with statements made at a press conference by the Nihon University player who made the tackle.
The association decided Uchida and the coaching staff who mentally drove the player into a corner "are disqualified" from being instructors. Looking only at the facts recognized by the association, expelling the coaches was unavoidable.
One noteworthy aspect of this process was that the result was partly based on video footage of the tackle. The association's disciplinary committee closely analyzed the situation on the field at the time when the tackle in question took place. Uchida insisted he "had not seen" the tackle, but the committee says that it confirmed Uchida had been looking at the player who made the hit.
Despite seeing the dangerous tackle, the head coach and assistant coach did not warn the player and had him continue playing. It is easy to presume the coaches tacitly approved of the foul play. The association also blasted the head coach's statement as "false."
Uchida apparently employed a method in which he castigated certain players and pushed them to the brink to spur improvement in their performance.
Sound governance essential
To some degree, strict guidance is needed to keep a sports powerhouse at the top of its game. However, behavior that forces a player to resort to aberrant foul play is the very definition of power harassment. Respecting a player's position is the starting point for any guidance by a coach.
The player who made the dangerous tackle has been banned from playing in any official matches until the end of this academic year's season. While this player deserves sympathy in some respects, he cannot escape his responsibility for injuring a Kwansei Gakuin player with a foul.
The Nihon University American football team also has been punished with a ban on playing until the end of the season. The fact the players themselves have started moving toward reforming the team culture offers some hope for its future.
A joint statement issued by all the players stated they had "blindly obeyed" the instructions of the head coach and assistant coaches. In addition, the players declared their resolve to "seriously reflect" on this incident and "work together to carry out steps to reform the team."
The players should aim, along with their new coaches, to rebuild their prestigious team.
Nihon University had attempted to improve its brand image under a slogan that emphasized sport's importance to the university. The tackle incident will deal a heavy blow to that strategy.
It is very important to establish sound governance in university management. This incident should make all parties consciously reconsider that point.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 31, 2018)
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