Last week, the University of Notre Dame signed George O'Leary to be their new head football coach. Today he resigned, having falsified his playing record at the University of New Hampshire. Oh, and he falsely claimed a master's in education from NYU. Apparently, these entered his resume two decades ago; his subsequent notoriety handcuffed him. He couldn't remove the false information without attracting attention, and they were re-printed over and over in media guides, so he left them there and hoped no one would find out. Boom. Rich Douglas
Here's the story from CBS. http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,320598-412,00.shtml Here's my favorite quote. "I just am surprised and shocked that he had to resign because of something like this," current New Hampshire football coach Sean McDonnell said. "It's awful, awful sad. He's a tremendous football coach. I've followed his career with interest. From the times I've talked to him, I know him as a guy with great integrity." Right, a man of integrity?!!!! I am amazed at how lightly some people regard academic fraud.
Lose one for the Fibber, eh? There are times when I wonder if the iceberg called "Falsely claiming a degree from a real school" is bigger than the one called "Correctly claiming a degree from a fake school"? O'Leary might find a job with Indiana's other professional football team, the Colts, whose longtime owner Robert Irsay, was found to have lied about having Yale degrees.
I'm glad Notre Dame had the integrity to show him the door. I wonder whom they will go after next? I heard that Stanford coach Willingham is a top candidate. This would be ironic because Stanford play O'Leary's former team, Georgia Tech, in the "Seattle Bowl". Would be amusing if both teams were without their head coaches because of Notre Dame.
I was a bit disappointed that Rich had already posted this, I was going to make the headline "Notre Dame Lyin' Irish". Bruce
Notre Dame's athletic director issued this statement: "I understand that these inaccuracies represent a very human failing; nonetheless, they constitute a breach of trust that makes it impossible for us to go forward with our relationship ..." I wish more employers felt this way. We read (especially in this forum) about employers who hire people claiming unearned degrees, and then defend the decision by stating in effect who cares, the degree was not a condition of employment. Maybe the false credentials are not relevant, but the lie sure ought to be.
Of course, this is a special case since a university has to maintain a high standard of academic honesty. My guess is that he will get a job in the NFL with no problem.
Herein lies the ethical dilemma: Should a university maintain a high standard of academic honesty because it "has to," i.e., for fear of getting caught or facing reprisals, or because it is ethically right to do so? And should a university's standard of academic honesty be any more stringent than that of the average person? The issue here is not relative. Claiming credentials one does not have is dishonest, deceptive, fraudulent and blatantly lying--regardless of the context.
Unfortunately, I believe this time bomb has more to do with the alumni not wanting O'Leary as a coach. It is not a hard line to pay someone 1.5million for a weeks work. Academic credentials hardly matter for a football coach, as much as a title. In the immortal words of Barry Switzer "Just win baby".
I believe that quote is attributed to the Oakland Raiders' Managing General Partner, Al Davis. I think the measure of O'Leary should be his entire life, not this lapse of judgment. What he did was wrong, but it within the context of an otherwise-outstanding life. By all accounts, he is a beloved person and coach. I think Notre Dame did the right thing; they had no relationship with this guy, he had no track record with them. But I also think Georgia Tech should take him back. He is not a liar, he is a man who told a lie (or two). He'll pay a very heavy price the rest of his life, a price much more onerous than most who inflate a resume. O'Leary is a good man who did a bad thing a long time ago. Should it matter? Certainly. But should it be the measure of him? Certainly not. That's why I don't like to participate in the "outing" of those who claim publicly degrees from mills or bad schools. I certainly think it appropriate to notify a college that one of their faculty members has a doctorate from a degree mill. But I wouldn't take the additional step of publicizing that person's name, even in this sleepy little corner of cyberspace. A public figure? Certainly, because that person makes his/her alleged credentials a matter of public record (like O'Leary). But the names of every podunk police officer or college teacher? Who (besides the employer) cares? Rich Douglas
In the case of a police officer (which I am, for those who don't know), I receive a substantial salary increase (25%) for having a Master's degree, and educational incentives are becoming more popular with police departments every year. I would say that the taxpayers of my city & state (who number in the millions and foot the bill for this program) would very much care if I had a degree from Columbia State or Trinity C&U. In the case of podunk college teacher, I would say the parents of the teacher's students (who are most likely paying the tutition) would very much care if podunk teacher had a bogus degree. I know I would if it was one of my kid's teachers. Bruce
