Ex-Notre Dame RB Pinkett: “You can’t have a football team full of choirboys.”
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
Former Irish great and current Notre Dame radio color analyst Allen Pinkett’s comments on a Chicago radio station early Wednesday have certainly ‘awakened the echoes,’ you might say.
The two-time All-American running back, who has worked as Notre Dame’s radio analyst since 2001, didn’t hold back when talking about what he thinks the Irish need to be more successful on the gridiron.
I’ve always felt like to have a successful team you’ve got to have a few bad citizens on the team, Pinkett told The McNeil and Spiegel Show on WSCR-AM (670) earlier today. That’s how Ohio State used to win all the time. They would have two or three guys that were criminals and that just adds to the chemistry of the team. I think Notre Dame is growing because maybe they have some guys that are doing something worthy of a suspension, which creates edge on the football team.
You can’t have a football team full of choirboys. You get your butt kicked if you’ve got a team full of choirboys so you’ve got to have a little bit of edge. But the coach has to be the dictator and ultimate ruler. Here’s my opinion: You don’t hand out suspensions unless you know you’ve got somebody behind that guy that can make plays.
Pinkett is referencing Irish coach Brian Kelly recently suspending running back Cierre Wood and reserve defensive end Justin Utupo for two games each for violating team rules. Earlier in fall camp, quarterback Tommy Rees and linebacker Carlos Calabrese were given one-game suspensions for their actions at an off-campus party in May.
Since Pinkett’s comments, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick issued the following statement: Allen Pinkett’s suggestion that Notre Dame needs more ˜bad guys’ on its football team is nonsense. Of course, Allen does not speak for the University, but we could not disagree more with this observation.
It will be interesting to see if Pinkett’s comments lead to any kind of disciplinary action from the school when it comes to its radio broadcast. Stay tuned.
