Of course you can’t believe everything you read or hear on TV.
Sometimes the tripe is easy to flush out. Like when Saddam Hussein masquerades hostages as “guests.” Feel free to gag on that one.
I can’t be as helpful in sifting through this Notre Dame flap. As long as it is just one disgruntled former player getting paid to spill allegations of the Golden Dome pumped up with steroids, the school’s well-orchestrated denials have to get the benefit of the doubt. Likewise, it is too soon to discern the truth concerning accusations of Lou Holtz paying players while coach of Minnesota.
Say this much: Holtz will merit a statue in South Bend if he responds as above board to the turmoil that seems destined to dog him this season as his counterpart at Colorado, Bill McCartney, did last year under more trying circumstances.
Preparing for Sunday’s Disneyland Pigskin Classic against Tennessee, McCartney had to suspend tailback Eric Bieniemy, who faces charges of interfering with firefighters. The Colorado coach must be thinking, is that all?
A year ago, the Buffaloes were beginning the season under the pall of quarterback Sal Aunese’s struggle with terminal stomach cancer. This stranger- than-fiction odyssey, which culminated in a loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, had more bizarre twists than the average soap opera.
FACING THE FIRE
At Aunese’s funeral in late September, McCartney made the astonishing public disclosure that the deceased quarterback was the father of the baby the coach’s daughter, Kristy, had given birth to a few months before.
The human drama behind Colorado’s near-miss of a national championship is the essence of McCartney’s book, From Ashes to Glory, due out this weekend. As remarkable for candor as for the events it addresses.
How did McCartney and his wife resolve feelings about their daughter’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy? How did the family cope with Kristy being portrayed as a slut in a sensational magazine article? How did the coach confront his own insecurities, inner rage and criticism of his football program?
In each case head-on, in the context of his unflappable Christian faith.
That is par for McCartney. I recall media day before the Orange Bowl when reporters who didn’t know him gingerly broached those sensitive subjects. He looked each questioner in the eyes and responded with more openness than most coaches exhibit in assessing their team’s performance after a game.
“This book is an opportunity to tell my story to the world without any fear or any worry. It’s an opportunity for me to be a witness for Jesus Christ, to tell others that he is Lord of my life and what he has meant to me and my family,” McCartney says.
TRUE TO HIS FAITH
There is a tendency to be skeptical of such pronouncements. Sudden religious conversion is the popular haven of the scoundrel. Even revered figures, such as Holtz, often cause us to wonder, can we believe this guy?
McCartney found his faith before adversity became his shadow. His actions ring as sincere as his words.
His stand against abortion has sparked outcry from the American Civil Liberties Union and uneasiness among university officials who employ him. He says he was reluctant to make a controversial speech at an anti-abortion rally, but was compelled to do so through prayer.
McCartney doesn’t claim to be a saint. He clearly is not a phony.
“It’s not a jock book and it’s not a book about some Jesus freak. I’m not certain I’ve ever met a more honest Christian than Bill McCartney,” says co- author Dave Diles. “He is a deep-feeling man dealing with indelicate times and provocative issues and he does it with absolute, sometimes brutal, frankness.”
It is one thing to pray for deliverance on the football field, to praise the Lord after a big victory. How does the devout coach react when his daughter reveals she is carrying the quarterback’s baby?
McCartney called Aunese into his office and told him: “There is no animosity, only forgiveness in our hearts… Kristy has told me that she loves you — but that isn’t any reason to marry her. Not unless you love her. But I want you to know your position on this football team is not threatened.”
When Aunese’s cancer was diagnosed, McCartney stood by him to the end. He continues to regard his grandson as “a gift from God.”
In a world of deceit, McCartney stands out as a man of his word.
