A profanity-laced rant from Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini following a 2011 game against Ohio State was released by Deadspin.com on Monday. In the tape, the sixth-year head coach is heard cursing out Husker fans for being “fair-weather.”
Pelini, who has 51 wins in his five-plus years as Nebraska’s head coach, addressed the incident Monday night in a statement.
“I was venting following a series of emotional events which led to this moment. That being said, these comments are in no way indicative of my true feelings,” Pelini said. “I love it here in Nebraska and feel fortunate to be associated with such a great university and fan base. I again apologize to anyone whom I have offended.”
Pelini admitted to believing the conversation was private and that he was unaware he was being recorded.
The source’s decision to release the recording two years after it occurred has drawn harsh criticism and backlash from numerous media outlets. The person who gave Deadspin the recording has yet to be identified.
Coming off a demoralizing 41-21 loss against UCLA in which the Huskers were outscored 31-0 in the second half, Pelini addressed his uncertain future with the team.
“You just proceed with the info you have,” Pelini told the Lincoln Journal Star Tuesday night. “I’m the head coach until someone says different.”
Badgers attempt to recuperate after botched call
The end of the Wisconsin-Arizona State game on Sept. 14 caused plenty of buzz in the college football world.
In the closing moments of the bout, Wisconsin trailed the Sun Devils by 2 points and was in the midst of a potential game-winning drive.
Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave took a snap with 18 seconds remaining at the Arizona State 13-yard line. Stave ran to the left, attempting to center the ball for a potential go-ahead field goal.
Instead, a Sun Devil player lay on the ball after Stave took a knee. Time continued to run while officials attempted to spot the ball. And before Stave could receive the following snap to spike it, time had expired.
“It is hard when the kids didn’t get to decide the game on the field,” Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen said during the Big Ten teleconference Tuesday. “And they never will be able to. To me, it’s the game that never ended. And I don’t care what anybody says about that. That’s how I feel.”
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott released a statement on Monday that revealed the conference’s decision to reprimand and hand down additional sanctions to the officials of the game for “failing to properly administer the end of the game.”
“This was an unusual situation to end the game,” Scott said in a release. “After a thorough review, we have determined that the officials fell short of the high standard in which Pac-12 games should be managed. We will continue to work with all our officials to ensure this type of situation never occurs again.”
Recuperating after a loss in such a manner poses an interesting challenge to the Badgers. Andersen said the team addressed the incident in a team meeting, but hopefully, he said, the issue will be put to rest before the team kicks off Big Ten play this week against Purdue.
“I can deal with bad calls by coaches or poor decisions by myself or even officials, but this was different,” Andersen said. “Because of that it makes it a little bit more difficult for me.
“The kids have moved on; they’ve done a tremendous job. Kids always seem to recover faster than coaches. And that’s a credit to them.”
