It was not a typical Monday for head coach Nick Saban.
After all, there was no weekly press conference with the local media. Then, Monday afternoon there was not the usual practice.
But in the meantime, Saban, athletic officials and senior leaders of the Tigers football team came to an important decision on Monday. Free safety Damien James was dismissed from the team for good.
The decision ends an episode where James — for unknown reasons — went AWOL following LSU’s victory over South Carolina. Saban then, after talking with James just days before the Auburn game, allowed the senior from Carencro to return to the team. However, Saban suspended him indefinitely for violation of team rules and policies.
Apparently, that opening has been permanently closed.
“From a program standpoint and for the overall discipline of the players, you have to have accountability,” Saban told the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. “What’s right — the principles and values of a program and doing what’s right or looking the other way on an individual so you can win a game? What’s more important?”
Saban and his associates made the right decision. No matter how talented a player — James could have been a first-team All-Southeastern Conference member and is one of the best safeties in the country — the standard must be set.
That is, if you are a player on one of the up-and-coming programs in the country and you show a lack of commitment, don’t care to be a team player or member and you let your teammates down, you shouldn’t be a part of the success of the team.
If James was having a personal problem, why did he not contact Saban when the problem arose? Without a doubt, Saban and his teammates would have rallied around James and supported him.
Something made James run, though. I don’t necessarily believe he lost the passion to play the game.
Suppose Saban allowed James to come back on the team and fully participate. What message does that send to the other players? If this were the case, other players might lose their commitment and the goal the team is shooting for may also be lost.
Linebacker and senior captain Bradie James let his feelings be known.
“I feel like Damien was given a lot of chances,” Bradie James told The Advocate. “A lot of people stuck their neck out for him. Damien pretty much made the decision for himself. When you make a decision like he made, you not only affect yourself, you affect all your teammates, the program and your family.”
When Damien James gets into the real world, he’ll know you can’t miss meetings or leave your employer without notice for a week. Sure he made a bad mistake, but he’s paying for it.
The fact that Saban disciplined him speaks volumes. It’s the reason why Saban will have much more success than Gerry “Dinardeaux.” It also may be the reason why Saban, in only his second year, led the Tigers to become SEC Champions.
Let’s just hope Saban doesn’t have another Monday quite like this one for a long time.