I’ve been left with more respect for a football coach than could ever be earned with just wins and losses.
Have you ever listened to a Les Miles postgame interview? I’m sure you have, and I’m also sure many of you are just like me. Sometimes I ask myself, “What in the world is that guy talking about?”. He speaks code at times. His speech is sometimes as questionable as his play calling. “The Mad Hatter” is a nickname that fits him perfectly.
However, after the tragedies that have taken place in Baton Rouge, I’ve been left with more respect for a football coach than could ever be earned with just wins and losses. The sense of sincerity in his voice, and the heartfelt emotion that comes with every word he speaks in relation to the recent turmoil that has overrun the Baton Rouge community has reached me in a way that I didn’t think possible.
Nobody would blame Les Miles for saying his peace in regards to the tragedies that have taken place in Baton Rouge, and then disappearing back into his football safe haven. There’s recruits out there that he needs to meet with as soon as possible. There is the task of retooling his offense. There is a demand for wins at LSU that Les Miles must deliver.
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Instead, Les Miles has been vocal about the need for change, he’s turned down other opportunities to simply be there for his players, and quite frankly, he’s been the coach that every parent wants their student athlete to have while in college.
“The community is heartsick over the loss of three fine civil servants, and I wanted to be around my players,” Miles said during an interview with Lindsay Czarniak. “We have several players who have law enforcement fathers. I wanted them to see me in the weight room and in what’s basically our study area and on campus. And it also put me in position, if I can come be a part of whatever issues the police department and those agencies are having, I’d like to be a part of that too, if possible.”
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Understanding the power of his role in the community, Les Miles has stepped up to the plate. After the Alton Sterling shooting, he held meetings to discuss the issue at length with both players and coaches. A man that cared less would simply hold a team meeting and delegate his assistant coaches to make sure his players don’t get involved with anything that they shouldn’t be involved with as he hit the recruiting trail.
But Les Miles, he gets it, and the community knows he gets it.