🏈 Nick Saban, Paul Finebaum have heated exchange over Cam Robinson discipline

[Michael Casagrande |]

Things got heated on the SEC Network stage Wednesday morning in Hoover.

Nick Saban and Paul Finebaum sparred over the decision to not suspend Cam Robinson or Hootie Jones following their May 17 arrest. The exchange continued into the commercial break in a ballroom full of reporters covering SEC Media Days.

Within earshot of media, Saban launched into a four-letter tirade directed at Finebaum. In it, he used his fingers to note the small amount of marijuana found in the car and insinuated the arresting officers were disgruntled LSU fans. Finebaum later confirmed the account on his national radio/television show.

It ended with a few laughs from everyone on set as Saban exited. See video of the moment above.

On air, Saban started by saying he didn't care about critics offering views.

"If they really did something wrong, they would have been charged with something," Saban said.

Finebaum called that "debatable."

"Do we condone the behavior? No," Saban said to Finebaum. "But you're innocent until you're proven guilty in this country regardless if you get convicted in the media or not, which is what you're doing."

Finebaum responded by asking why he was not suspending either player.

"Because I'm not going to convict him in public," Saban said. "I was going to get criticized by you and the public and the media because I'm not going to suspend him and I don't really care about that. That's the end of the conversation."

The full exchange on air is below

Scroll down for the video...

 

[sean]

i have to wonder if paul left to go to.....wherever the hell he is now.....because he knew with Nick Saban in the state on ALABAMA that he'd no longer be the most powerful man in sports in the state. i just have to wonder if he saw the writing on the wall and then when he had the chance, he bolted for another state so he wouldn't have to face him more often than he does.

paul is a smart guy (about kills me to say that), he really is. but Nick Saban is an absolute genius. and i wonder if paul knew he was outmatched when Nick Saban stepped off that plane back in 2007.

Nick Saban, one of the most powerful people in sports, runs the most powerful college football program in the Nation. and no one, especially someone like paul finebaum, is gonna tell him how he should discipline his players.




oh, and i LOVED when Coach Saban said the line "but you're innocent until you're proven guilty in this country regardless if you get convicted in the media or not, which is what you're doing." too many times media people forget that little part and when a story breaks, they're immediately and automatically guilty simply because they were arrested.

 

[planomateo]

I think the elephant in the room should have been addressed sooner. I think both Saban and Finebaum did what they should have done.

 

[TheChief]

Finebaum could have worded his question differently. He could have acknowledged that Saban has suspended players for games in the past and then asked him to explain how this case might have been a little different. But really, what can you suspend these guys for? Making the university look bad? If you get falsely arrested, can you be suspended because the police made a mistake?

At this point, personally, I think you give Saban some benefit of the doubt. He has suspended players. It seems, he's trying to do what's right for the University of Alabama and his players. As far as what everyone else thinks, they don't pay his paycheck.

 

[musso]

Being a resident outside the state of Alabama and only somewhat familiar with Finebaum before his arrival at ESPN, you guys can correct me, but I have never really seen Finebaum as an X's and O's kind of guy. Rather I've seen him as a skilled agitator in a highly polarized football state. He has never impressed me with what little game analysis I've ever seen from him. Seems to me that he's there to stir emotions, stoke flames, and be provocative. That's all. I don't know that we should ever take him seriously.

 

[ericd]

Being a resident outside the state of Alabama and only somewhat familiar with Finebaum before his arrival at ESPN, you guys can correct me, but I have never really seen Finebaum as an X's and O's kind of guy. Rather I've seen him as a skilled agitator in a highly polarized football state. He has never impressed me with what little game analysis I've ever seen from him. Seems to me that he's there to stir emotions, stoke flames, and be provocative. That's all. I don't know that we should ever take him seriously.

Nailed it.

 

[JoshB]

Yeah hes clueless if you try to get him to talk about and actually analyze or breakdown a game. He has no clue what he is watching. He just knows exactly what buttons to push on what fanbase.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

He's simply a skilled merchant of chaos.

 

[musso]

:agree: Succinctly put.

 

[bama alum]

Finebaum recently tweeted that CNS will join him on the air Thursday.

 

[bamascw]

Finebaum is a member of the media and as such you should expect him to ask such questions especially during such a high profile event such as SEC media days. The media always hides behind "we have a moral obligation to seek out the truth" but basically they seek out topics that are controversial so that the masses will pay attention to them. Ratings ratings ratings.........

Did Coach Saban over-react....not necessarily, particularly for him but in my opinion the entire things boils down to Finebaum trying to get some spotlight and Coach Saban defending himself and his program.

As for the "incident" I think all of us (Bama fans) are concerned that one of our players (whether star or not) was in such a precarious situation, I know that concerns me. However, if you play the part of defense attorney, Coach Saban brings up some valid points about the case, such as why were the players singled out? Technically, no gun law was violated. I am sure that both players caught the full brunt of Coach Saban's wrath and that both were punished. Do I wish the punishment was announced? Yes, it just looks bad otherwise but with the current rules that are in place, they did everything according to the book.

Such is the college football life in the NCAA

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

Yeah hes clueless if you try to get him to talk about and actually analyze or breakdown a game. He has no clue what he is watching. He just knows exactly what buttons to push on what fanbase.

Exactly.

 

[bamatommy]

Kevin Scarbinsky and Duane Rankin wrote excellent articles about the situation. I think it is ridiculous that athletes get coddled like this. Bear Bryant benched Joe Namath for a bowl game because he violated team rules. Broadway Joe didn't take one snap in that game. Lax discipline policies are part of the reason these guys keep getting arrested. They frequently get away with a slap on the wrist. Saban is not infallible or inerrant.

 

[JoshB]

Kevin Scarbinsky and Duane Rankin wrote excellent articles about the situation. I think it is ridiculous that athletes get coddled like this. Bear Bryant benched Joe Namath for a bowl game because he violated team rules. Broadway Joe didn't take one snap in that game. Lax discipline policies are part of the reason these guys keep getting arrested. They frequently get away with a slap on the wrist. Saban is not infallible or inerrant.

I think Scarbinsky and "excellent article" is an oxymoron... This is the kind of notion that gets on my nerves. So we are going to just pretend like Saban hasn't suspended (or even kicked off) players in the last damn near ten years? And do we ALWAYS have to bring up "But Bear Bryant did it this way"? Its not 1978 anymore. Luckily Saban hasnt HAD to bench or suspend big time QBs (like Namath or Snake). Can you name anytimes you've heard of AJ or G-Mac or Blake Sims sneaking off in the middle of the night to go get drunk with some chick and then driving (drunk) home (like Snake)?

As far as Cam and Hootie goes. They were smoking weed (likely) which is dumb and they had a gun in the car which also dumb but we have no idea whos gun it was and as far as we know weed was the only thing they did wrong. They weren't charged with anything. He is handling it in house with some of the stuff they've had to do been made public (but we have no clue what else). What does suspending them accomplish? How many games? Do you suspend them for one game? Two? Ten?

 

[UAgrad93]

Scabs and excellent article DEFINITELY DON'T go together! With the case being thrown out, why should the players lose a game or two? He has already dished out the punishment or corrective discipline measures for both. I would bet the house that IF one or both get in to anymore trouble, then they would be suspended or be booted from the team. Saban has said before that he would rather correct the problem by changing their behavior rather than just suspending them or kicking them off.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Kevin Scarbinsky and Duane Rankin wrote excellent articles about the situation. I think it is ridiculous that athletes get coddled like this. Bear Bryant benched Joe Namath for a bowl game because he violated team rules. Broadway Joe didn't take one snap in that game. Lax discipline policies are part of the reason these guys keep getting arrested. They frequently get away with a slap on the wrist. Saban is not infallible or inerrant.

I'm not trying to define the ultimate right or wrong here, but I am saying coach Bryant practiced discipline in a culture gone with the wind. Tough love that was heartily embraced once upon a time by coaches and parents alike would be considered harsh and unreasonable today. Kids today are coming out of entirely different social backgrounds. So smart coaches have to figure out how to be disciplined and fair and tough and keep recruits interested in their programs. And frankly, there are a lot of head coaches who are a product of today's culture that wouldn't even understand what I just said.

 

[psychojoe]

Many in the mid nineties were screaming for Stallings to boot David Palmeraftr his second alcohol involved incident. Stallings said he did not do so because he was trying to help the player. Just as CNS was doing. Just as Bryant did. Second chances. I am very grateful for the ones I received.

Finebaum has always been a pot stirrer, in a calculated way. He is n dummy, and I amS sure he expected something like the reaction he got from CNS, as well as from the Alabama fan base.

 

[mhardiman]

These are only questions I have; not exactly how I fill, nor am I claiming anyone was right or wrong and this is being handled poorly. One thing I was thinking about is if they were found with marijuana in there possession would the police not have administered a drug test? If so, and they were found positive how does that not earn them a six game suspension per NCAA rules? Does a drug test given by law enforcement not count, and only test given by the University or the NCAA? Next is why didn't the law enforcement do DNA testing on the gun and bullets; I would think the owner of the weapon is the one who would have loaded it, but there we go with assumptions? It seems though that this should go a long ways in finding out who this gun belong to. Does this fall under the whole thing of being an unlawful search, and the law enforcement does not want to open a huge can of worms?

 

[TUSKtimes]

These are only questions I have; not exactly how I fill, nor am I claiming anyone was right or wrong and this is being handled poorly. One thing I was thinking about is if they were found with marijuana in there possession would the police not have administered a drug test? If so, and they were found positive how does that not earn them a six game suspension per NCAA rules? Does a drug test given by law enforcement not count, and only test given by the University or the NCAA? Next is why didn't the law enforcement do DNA testing on the gun and bullets; I would think the owner of the weapon is the one who would have loaded it, but there we go with assumptions? It seems though that this should go a long ways in finding out who this gun belong to. Does this fall under the whole thing of being an unlawful search, and the law enforcement does not want to open a huge can of worms?

It would take a court of law to begin to sort it out and that ain't happening. It seems some of the evidence falls under the fruit of the search. In the affidavit, it stated that the gun under the seat was identified as belonging to Cam from one of the dudes in the back. The second police who actually spoke to that person contradicted this saying the young man interviewed didn't know who it belonged to. If the police were still building a case for constructive possession and the police take the cuffs off 50% of the possible possessors and turn them loose, that too may be problematic in a court of law.

 

[TerryP]

One thing I was thinking about is if they were found with marijuana in there possession would the police not have administered a drug test?

No. You'd have to be looking at some pretty serious charges for any tests along those lines would be considered; then requiring some court order, I'm sure.