Analysis: It’s time for ASU coach Todd Graham to be held accountable

PULLMAN – Let’s dispel once and for all the notion that Arizona State coach Todd Graham did not know what he was doing when he told Washington State coach Mike Leach his comments the previous week were “chicken….” and “bull….” after Washington State’s 37-32 win over the Sun Devils on Saturday.

This was not a hot mic moment. Few times in coaches’ lives come under more scrutiny than those postgame handshakes, particularly when there are reasons to think the attendees may be on less-than-friendly terms. Cameras and microphones are everywhere.

Leach had already paid a $10,000 fine for the comments Graham was referencing. But when does the ASU coach get his own slap on the wallet?

The powers granted to Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott to enforce the conference’s standards of conduct are broad to the point of making him omnipotent.

According the Pac-12’s 2016-17 Handbook, “The Commissioner may issue any penalty that he/she believes appropriate to any personnel or student-athlete he/she finds has violated the regulations pertaining to misconduct when the commissioner concludes that immediate action is required.”

Let us hope that Scott remains judicious about applying the death penalty.

During Scott’s term as commissioner, coaches who have stepped outside their lanes have been slapped with monetary fines. These fines are generally just sizable enough for millionaire coaches to feel, but probably are not causing anybody to downsize their offseason vacations.

According to a Pac-12 spokesperson, the money goes to a postgraduate scholarship fund for the same university.

Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre was dinged $10,000 by the conference in 2014 when he chased the officiating crew off the field following a loss to Oregon State.

Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller coughed up $25,000 in 2013 after postgame confrontations with officials and a staff member. Former Oregon assistant Nick Aliotti, USC athletic director Pat Haden and Trojans coach Lane Kiffin have all had to pay for comments or actions.

And just last week, Leach had to pay his own $10,000 penance for strongly hinting that Graham has turned the common practice of deciphering opponents’ signals into an illegal art form.

And it’s true, Leach’s comments were contrary to the etiquette standards the Pac-12 holds its coaches to. But what about Graham publicly dropping (excrement) bombs like a flock of seagulls?

Here are some excerpts from the Pac-12’s Standards of Conduct:

“Each coach and institutional employee must remember at all times, even in the midst of an emotional contest, that he or she is a representative of a nationally prominent institution of higher education … Accordingly, he or she will be expect to conduct himself or herself in a manner which will reflect credit on the institution and the conference and create a collegiate atmosphere in which to conduct competition.”

“Each coach must be aware that he or she is an example to the student-athletes and other students, and, consistent with his or her influence and visibility, must meet a particularly high standard. The coach’s conduct will be judged by that standard.”

It does make sense for Scott’s ears to prick up more at Leach’s comments than Graham’s. The conference is especially sensitive to criticism of officials by coaches for two reasons.

The first is that it undermines the credibility of the contests the conference is selling (not more than the Pac-12’s officials undermine it through poor officiating, but the point stands). The second is that it is seen as an attempt by coaches to influence officials in future games to officiate in a manner more favorable to their team.

While Leach’s comments were not about officiating, per se, one can see how accusing a coach of unchecked cheating casts doubt on the legitimacy of Pac-12 football games and the conference race.

But if the Pac-12 is going to enforce the letter of the law in Leach’s case, then it seems fitting for the ASU post-graduate scholarship fund to also get a donation, courtesy of Coach Graham.

Graham’s handshake remarks do just as much to discredit the conference and the spirit of collegial play it tries to promote. They were calculated and intentional, and he should be held to them.