Doing the Honorable Thing?

At the University of Minnesota?

Hey, It's Not Illegal*?

Why should we expect any behavior by our Athletic Director and the President of the University of Minnesota than we do from the Medical School Dean and Head of the Academic Health Center?

See: 

"We're Not Violating a Legal Statute"

From San Diego we get called out for praematurus interviewus by the local sports guru:

Minnesota courting Hoke during season stinks

It had everything to do with Brady Hoke, State’s head coach, and whether he’ll be working next year for Minnesota or some other BCS robber baron that sneaks into homes in the dark of night and rips off your success stories.

What Minnesota has done stinks. It’s unethical. It’s immoral. Maybe there isn’t a written code, but there should be. Not even the NFL, whose pirates slash throats as if they’re playing Port Royal, allows itself to secrete this kind of dishonorable discharge.

Early last week, when the Aztecs still had a regular season game to play — which turned out to be their Saturday night 48-14 thrashing of UNLV here — Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi met with Hoke to see whether the second-year coach might be interested in taking over a pathetic Big Ten program.

But I do have a problem with ADs talking to prospective coaches while their season is in progress. Just because Minnesota’s is lost doesn’t mean a guy like Maturi has the right to interrupt a successful season somewhere else.

And, in this case, Maturi didn’t even take the honorable course by asking State AD Jim Sterk’s permission to speak to Hoke.

“Normally, they’ll call you out of respect, and I’ll say wait until the season ends,” Sterk was saying. “That didn’t happen this time.”

On top of it all, we don’t know whether he’s been offered the job, although if he has, we’re going to know real soon. And, if he has and accepts, he won’t be coaching the Aztecs in the Poinsettia or any other bowl.

“I hope to be,” he said.

All well and good. This just sits like five pounds of pasta in the stomach. It hasn’t been done right. No class. I don’t know why Hoke, who seems every bit a man of honor, would want to go work for a guy who crawled into town to interview him.

“He’s a proven winner and there always will be people interested in talking to him,” Sterk said of Hoke. “I don’t think something’s going to happen.

Tailback Ronnie Hillman runs for 152 yards, quarterback Ryan Lindley throws for 338, the Aztecs gain 588 yards, have 30 first downs, are about to begin practicing for a bowl and all anyone wants to talk about is this stuff.

Jim Sterk should send Joel Maturi a thank you punch to the nose.

*Note added later:  A commenter on this piece points out that the actions taken here fall within the category of tort - a wrongful civil act - because the intention was to discuss employment with a coach who is currently under contract.  The writer asks further whether the Athletic Director consulted with the General Counsel prior to meeting with the prospective coach in San Diego?