Embarrassment outweighs compassion

Eustachy's illness saddening, but ISU's decision inevitable

On Monday, he was a national punch line, a 47-year-old married coach caught on camera at a college party, drinking Nattie Light and kissing undergrads.

By Wednesday, he had painted himself as a courageous soul, admitting a personal problem to the public, seeking help and throwing himself on the mercy of a forgiving public.

However, the reason Larry Eustachy probably won't be Iowa State's coach this time next week is that in an industry where perception is reality, embarrassment is a more powerful motivator than compassion.

"Regardless of the reason, we have the right to expect better from such a prominent member of the Iowa State community," Iowa State athletic airector Bruce Van de Velde said Wednesday when he recommended that Eustachy be fired.

Eustachy has five days to appeal the recommendation, but the university's action appeared inevitable from the moment those images of the coach's indiscretion surfaced Monday. How could the school keep Eustachy after he turned its program into a national embarrassment? How could he walk into a recruit's home and be taken seriously by the parents? How could he walk into an opposing gym next season without the fans treating him as a one-man sideshow?

But then Eustachy gave us reason for pause Wednesday when he sat in front of the television cameras next to his wife, Stacy, and uttered three words many Americans would be afraid to say to their own family, much less the entire country: "I'm an alcoholic."

He revealed he's been seeing a counselor. He said his grandparents died of the same disease. He offered a glimpse into his troubling drinking pattern.

"What I would do is when the day was over, whatever time that was, I would drink," said Eustachy. "When my obligations were done to the team in a working manner, I would drink. I can’t have two or three beers. I’ve got to have 10 or 12. When I do that, you see a side of me that is well-documented. That’s not who I am or who I want to be."

How could you throw a guy out on the street after that?

Normally, you couldn't. Not in a country enlightened enough to know how crippling alcoholism can be.

"The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water," according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. "An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems."

But the reason Iowa State simply can’t afford Eustachy the normal leeway is summed up in the six words that have appeared next to his name in most of the stories written about him this week: the state's highest-paid public employee.

Coaches, no matter how forthcoming about their personal problems, are held to a high standard -- as Alabama’s Mike Price is finding out the hard way this week -- and they're compensated as such.

In return, they're expected to be winners, educators, public speakers, PR men, salesmen, television personalities and, of course, role models for young men.

"No question, when you're hired you understand that what happens on the court is just a small part of what you're going to be judged on," said former Air Force coach Reggie Minton, the National Association of Basketball Coaches' associate executive director. "You're in a position of responsibility, you're going to be looked at as a role model, you're going to represent your university to alumni groups, community events. You've got to have credibility when you do it."

Coaches are, in many cases, the single most visible symbol of their university.

The problem is, these symbols are only human. Schools are investing a lot of money in someone who could at any moment put his hand around a player's throat (Bob Knight), get in an altercation with a bar patron (Bob Huggins) or lie on national TV about his graduation rates (Jim Harrick).

Or party with college-age women on an opposing team's campus after a loss.

Iowa State's investment in Eustachy is $1.1 million a year -- about the going rate for a coach at his level. What it's gotten in return is two Big 12 titles, one Elite Eight appearance, one other NCAA appearance and one NIT.

And its name in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, from assistant Randy Brown's arrest for possession of child pornography (he has pleaded innocent) to player Jared Homan's public intoxication arrest (he pleaded guilty).

Suddenly the school finds itself with a basketball program that is essentially a very expensive laughingstock. And, whether or not you think hanging out with co-eds after hours is a capital offense, Iowa State has no choice but to dismiss Eustachy in order to restore its credibility.

Iowa State's players and many of its fans want Eustachy to get a second chance. If he stays true to his word and remains on the road to recovery, he could transform this nightmare into the ultimate feel-good story, right?

“After all he’s achieved in his life and at Iowa State in his five years,” said Stacy Eustachy, “can you imagine what he’d be capable of doing after attacking this condition?”

Maybe he’d kick the habit. Maybe he’d become an advocate for alcohol awareness. Maybe he’d take Iowa State to the Final Four.

Unfortunately, the school is not in a position to wait and find out.

Every day Eustachy remains in the fold, an opposing coach can disparage him to a recruit, a potential donor can send his money elsewhere and, God forbid, another photo can surface.

So, just as Eustachy is dealing with his problem, the school must deal with its own.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.

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