By now you have probably heard the story of Penn State parting ways with men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. It was technically a "resignation," but that was Penn State letting him leave with some shred of dignity. If he did not resign, he still would not be the coach today because he would have gotten fired.
Chambers and his program were at the subject of an internal investigation by the school's Affirmative Action and Athletics Integrity offices, and it is clear there were a number of issues that were uncovered.
The one that has gotten the most publicity was an interaction Chambers had with former Nittany Lion Rasir Bolton.
The interaction, as told to The Undefeated by Bolton, had Chambers saying, "I want to be a stress reliever for you. You can talk to me about anything. I need to get some of this pressure off of you. I want to loosen the noose that's around your neck."
Although I kind of see where Chambers was going, the remark was at the very least insensitive and at the very worst straight-up racist. I don't know if it rises to the level of a fireable offense on its own, but a white coach who recruits primarily Black players should probably know the history of lynchings in this country and avoid references to a noose.
There were a number of other incidents, as documented by David Jones of Pennlive.com, that don't shine a positive light on Chambers. The school also was in the midst of investigating an incident separate from the Bolton interaction.
None of it on its own is automatic in terms of what is fireable, even in this climate. All of it together paints the picture of a coach with some anger and control issues who is either ignorant of race issues or just insensitive.
Here is the key that seems to be missed in all of this: Chambers would still be the coach today had he won more and if Penn State valued basketball like many other schools do.
The lesson here isn't "coaches, watch what you say and watch your step." It is "coaches who have produced mediocre results (and that's probably being kind), don't give them a reason to fire you."
What Chambers said to Bolton was stupid and insensitive, but he apologized for it and was probably going to survive it until the subsequent investigations uncovered more dirt. And we have seen examples all over the country of coaches saying they are sorry and then surviving.
Gregg Marshall is still the coach at Wichita State even though he allegedly punched a player. The school is "investigating," but what exactly are they investigating? The player and others who were in the gym have said on the record this incident happened. And hitting a player is (or at least should be) non-negotiable for a coach.
Maybe Marshall will ultimately get fired, but it is clear the school is searching for ways to rationalize keeping him.
There are many more examples of successful coaches who have survived a variety of sins — NCAA trouble, allegations of abusive behavior, etc. — because schools work hard to find reasons to overlook those issues and keep them around.
The difference between those coaches and Chambers is simple: They win, and he does not.
Marshall, for instance, wins a lot. He took Wichita State to the Final Four, has been to the NCAA Tournament 12 times and is regarded as one of the best coaches in college basketball. Chambers was 148-150 at Penn State and a laughable 56-110 in Big Ten games.
In nine seasons, he got to the postseason twice: one trip to the NIT, and last season he likely would have gotten to an NCAA Tournament had the season not been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His team was picked to be one of the worst in the Big Ten this season, so building on last season was not going to happen.
It is amazing to me how much winning and losing seems to play a part in these investigations. I remember Louisville needed Rick Pitino to get to strike No. 4 before the school finally let him go. But again, he is a Hall of Famer who won a national title and gets to the Final Four, so firing him was a much more difficult call.
Chambers obviously made some missteps. He didn't treat people the right way or say the right things. He obviously was wound way too tight at times. He also has a lot to learn about the history of race relations and cultural sensitivity.
All of those things, though, have been overcome by coaches in the past, it's just those coaches did one thing that Chambers did not: win games and get to the NCAA tournament with some degree of regularity.
Had Chambers won more, he would be in some sort of "anger management" and "sensitivity training" classes while "working on becoming a better person" as well as holding on to his job. That's the way of the world in college athletics, and Chambers learned it the hard way.
