Nutt, an Arkansas native, was once a widely respected coach known for his close family, his strong Christian values (hence the "Right Reverend" tag) and his loyalty to his home state...
Something changed, however, after enduring consecutive losing seasons in 2004 and '05. It's not hard to pinpoint the moment when Nutt went to the dark side.
The piece is prompted by the following set of facts:
1. Jeremiah Masoli has been involved in three* petty crimes.
2. These crimes, and his attempt to cover them up, got him booted off the team at Oregon with a year of eligibility remaining.
3. In complete accordance with NCAA rules, Coach Nutt has encouraged Masoli to join the Rebels as a walk-on for his final year.
From this set of facts Mr. Mandel concludes that Coach Nutt is a "dirty coach" who "went to the dark side". His crime? "[O]penly welcoming other coaches' castoffs". Apparently Mandel believes that decency demands that the letter of NCAA rule be ignored, and that young Mr. Masoli be shunned, forever.
Which is fine; whatever. But it seems like there was this other guy who "welcom[ed]...castoffs", once. A long time ago? Ah, my mind is all fuzzy. But something tells me that, for some reason, "welcoming castoffs" is not, in the strictest sense, a violation of "strong Christian values." You dig?
*Or two, depending on how you count. Masoli's lawyer claims that the third incident, a marijuana possession charge, is not technically a "crime" in Oregon. It would be a misdemeanor crime here in Mississippi, so I counted it. This is all sort of beside the point.
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