Tuskegee, Comegy should be ashamed

But the school that is home to the winningest football program in black college football history and the home of Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Chappie James, and Benjamin O. Davis, as well as Tom Joyner and Lionel Richie and the Commodores, didn't do itself proud recently when it rehired Rick Comegy as football coach.

Comegy left Tuskegee for what he believed to be the greener pastures of Norfolk State after leading the Golden Tigers to a 64-17 record in seven seasons, which included four SIAC championships, four Pioneer Bowl victories, an undefeated season and a black college national championship.

But at some point during the 27 days following his introduction as Norfolk State's coach, Comegy discovered that sometimes the grass on the other side of the fence, which appears to be greener, is actually artificial turf and decided he'd rather be at Tuskegee.

Comegy pulled a similar stunt last year when he agreed to coach at Morgan State but failed to sign the contract when it was mailed to him. Instead of going with Morgan State, he used that offer as leverage for a better deal at Tuskegee.

Comegy says his most recent decision was based on family considerations. His family, which includes an eight-year-old son, Rick Jr., who is home schooled, his wife and his elderly father, just felt too comfortable in Tuskegee to pick up and move. And of course Tuskegee killed a fatted calf and welcomed back their prodigal son.

And why not?

This is the man who led the Golden Tigers to heights they have not known since coach Cleve Abbott's teams of the 1920s ran roughshod over opponents and were 70-2-9 from 1923-30, and coaches change their minds about taking jobs all the time.

Here's why not.

The road that Comegy traveled to get back was all wrong. He never gave Norfolk State any inkling that he had changed his mind even though he contacted Tuskegee President Benjamin Payton about returning a week before he was scheduled to report to his new job.

That's not right.

At the very least, he could have ­ no, he should have informed Norfolk State Athletic Director Orby Moss, the man who hired him, that he was having second thoughts.

Instead, when rumors began circulating that Comegy had contacted Jackson State about its coaching vacancy, Comegy and his wife told Moss that they were committed to coming to Norfolk State, that their word was their bond. They even had picked out a condo in the Tidewater Virginia area.

"He told us his goal was to coach in the NFL," Moss says, "that he would build our program up and hopefully move on to the next level. I don't know what to believe about the man."

In hindsight, Moss says he should have known some stuff was in the game when Emmett Taylor, interim athletic director at Tuskegee and head of the search committee charged with finding a replacement for Comegy, called him three days before Comegy was to start work at Norfolk State.

Taylor said that Joe Redmond, the former coach at Texas Southern and Morris Brown who Comegy had promised a job at Norfolk State, called Tuskegee looking for Comegy.

"I didn't know what to make of that call," Moss says. "That should have been my warning. I try to operate with integrity, and expect it from others."

As unseemly as Comegy's failure to be forthcoming with Norfolk State is, that's not the worst of this sordid affair. Comegy had promised four new assistant coaches jobs. Two of them, Redmond and Jack Bush, reported for work on Jan. 6 only to discover that their new boss was in Tuskegee meeting with Payton to get his old job back.

Redmond, who quit his high school job in Deerfield Beach, Fla., drove 16 hours with his wife and daughter based on Comegy's word that he would be there.

Redmond was fortunate. He got his job at Deerfield Beach High back. Bush, however, is still in Norfolk living with a friend and hoping that the next person who takes the Norfolk State job will actually show up and keep him around. But there are no guarantees.

Comegy has no compassion for his would-be assistants' plight.

"They'll be all right," he said at the press conference announcing his return to Tuskegee. "They didn't have jobs anyway."

And as for Norfolk State, he said, "I don't think it's a major situation. There are going to be some rough words and rocky roads, but they'll get a coach and one day they'll let this go."

Comegy is probably correct. Norfolk State will find a coach, and over time no one will remember that he shunned the Spartans. But his cavalier attitude is still troubling.

How can he in good conscience talk to his players about character and responsibility and doing the right thing in light of his behavior?

Equally as troubling is Payton's attitude. The ethical thing for him to have done would have been to call Norfolk State President Marie McDemmond the minute Comegy contacted him and made her aware of the situation.

If placing such a call is beneath Payton's dignity, he could have had Taylor call Moss.

Taylor says he didn't see the necessity of informing Norfolk State of Tuskegee's renewed interest in Comegy once it was determined he had not signed a contract.

"Coach Comegy was just as free to come to us as he was to go to anyone," Taylor says. "If he had signed a contract, we would have asked permission to talk to him if we were interested."

Payton was all smiles at the news conference announcing Comegy's return ­ without a raise in pay.

"Now it's time for business as usual, and our business is winning," he said.

Payton seems to have forgotten the 15 seasons before Comegy arrived in 1996. During that time, Tuskegee had just seven winning seasons and a less-than-sparkling 74-77-2 record.

Or maybe he hasn't forgotten, and he figures Comegy's end run on Norfolk State will ensure that the Golden Tigers won't be haunted by losing any time soon.

What kind of message does this episode send? It says, 'We'll do anything to win a few football games.' That's the same thing so many presidents and other administrators at historically black colleges and universities accuse major college football programs of doing.

Perhaps winning is so intoxicating that Payton is willing to set aside ethics in its pursuit. Could it be the thrill of victory has made him forget the principle that should guide us all: do unto others, as you would have them do unto you?

It's a safe bet he wouldn't be so smug if Comegy had stiffed him the way he stiffed Norfolk State.

Don't say that Comegy stiffed Tuskegee when he said he was going to Norfolk State. That's what coaches do. They move on for better pay or better opportunities, and they let it be known that they are leaving.

This entire episode isn't becoming of a school of Tuskegee's reputation for excellence. It undoubtedly has Booker T. Washington kicking in his grave.

"I have a lot of respect for Tuskegee," Moss says. "I know many people from Tuskegee. But I do have some concerns about how they run their athletic program."

Comegy says Tuskegee is where his career began and it's where he wants it to end. He's likely to get his wish because no other school will probably ever give him the time of day, let alone a job ­ which they shouldn't.

© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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