Don’t Make Kevin White Angry

Kevin White, who retired as Duke’s A.D. not too long ago, has always struck us as an even-tempered man. He never publicly blew up or got angry in any way that we can remember.

Well that streak is over now: After Auburn forced out their A.D., Allen Greene, who was White’s Notre Dame protege (White was in South Bend before taking the Duke job), White went off. Here is his statement, slightly modified by the Montgomery Adviser:

“For what it’s worth, the announcement via Auburn University today is terribly disturbing to say the very least, perhaps closer to utterly shameful! The apparent political dysfunction within Auburn is truly legendary. More specifically, this particular leadership transition unequivocally ascends Auburn to the ‘cat bird’ seat, in terms of being tone deaf, nationally. Of course, Allen and Christy Greene and their beautiful family will undoubtedly take the high road, for Allen is among the classiest and most talented individuals in terms of emotional, intellectual and decency competence, who drips with integrity while standing on a non-negotiable, high moral and ethical platform. Allen is clearly a rockstar leader within the broader college athletics landscape! Therefore, this is clearly a death blow moment, as the greater enterprise of college athletics swirls via unprecedented chaos!”

This didn’t go over well with the Adviser, which, more used to the sort of nonsense traditionally associated with and tolerated by the Situational Ethics Conference, called “bizarre.”

Not everyone likes White, we’re sure, but this is the first time we’ve ever heard him called bizarre and frankly, for anyone associated with the SEC to call someone that for standing on principle and honor just shows what foreign concepts those are in the deep, dark recesses of the American sporting id.

Ethical behavior is generally considered a harmless eccentricity by Auburn and most of the SEC, but it can’t hurt to listen to what an outsider has to say once in a while.