Sports coaches handle situations differently. Last night, Vanderbilt beat Tennessee 73-65, a great win for Vanderbilt. During the handshake line, Wade Baldwin, a Vanderbilt player, allegedly was clapping in the face of Tennessee forward Armani More. Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings learned of the incident from one of his staff members. He pulled Baldwin from the line, upset about the poor sportsmanship shown by his player. With the ESPN cameras rolling Stallings said, “I’m going to f—ing kill you.” Baldwin has had issues with trash-talking to opponents this season. Was this the best way to handle the circumstance?
Players should show opponents, in a positive manner, “good game.” All Baldwin had to do was to shake the Tennessee player’s hand. There was no need for Baldwin to clap in front of the face of the Tennessee player. That was wrong. Stallings had every right to be upset, but players and fans now see a negative side to him.
The situation should have been dealt with in a different way. Stallings could have waited until they were in the locker room to talk to Baldwin. There is no doubt that Baldwin needed to be spoken to. Coach Stallings went about it in the wrong way.
Stallings apologized for his actions after the game. At least he didn’t put a hand on Baldwin. That would have been worse. Stallings did admit that he made a very inappropriate comment after the game. Hopefully, he will learn from this and move on.
What disciplinary action should the university place on Coach Stallings?
Didn’t the Vanderbilt coach realize that everything now get recorded and sent out ? What poor adult judgement for the person who should be the role model.
He didn’t think about it. He wanted to deal with it right then and there. This kid has been in trouble before.