For the next few weeks, my Wednesday posts will look at the topic of leadership. Some recent events caught my attention and prompted me to think about what leadership is and what a good leader does. As I discuss my thoughts on leadership, I’ll give my readers three examples of poor leadership and two examples of exemplary leadership. The final post will consider the future of leadership as I see it.
The event that prompted me to take up this discussion of leadership occurred during a football game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets. For those who were watching the game on Sunday, December 12, 2010, you know I’m referring to a member of the Jets coaching staff tripping a Miami Dolphin player who was running down the sideline. The Dolphins had just punted the ball to the Jets and CB Nolan Carroll was running to cover the play. As he passed the Jets bench, Sal Alosi, the Jets strength and conditioning coach, stuck his left knee out and made contact with Carroll’s right thigh, sending the player to the ground.
Role Model or Not?
Much of the commentary about this event has focused on the coach’s actions as a form of cheating. While I agree his actions were an attempt to cheat, I’m more interested in what this event says about leadership, or the lack of it, in the NFL. Mr. Alosi is a member of the Jets coaching staff and therefore, by definition, a team leader. Some may disagree with me, saying he’s only the strength and conditioning coach, which limits his influence on the team. Others might say that professional athletes don’t look at coaches as leaders and role models, in the way that college and high school players do.
Whether or not NFL players look at their coaches as leaders and role models is beside the point. Mr. Alosi is paid to advise the Jets players on ways to build strength and stay in better playing condition. That role makes him a team leader, someone who makes decisions about the team’s activities and influences the players’ behaviors. By extension, his actions in tripping an opposing player suggest the Jets, as an organization, are willing to violate the game’s ethics and the governing rules of sportsmanship to gain an edge over their opponents. His action in tripping an opposing player is cheating. But, it also indicates a fundamental flaw in the moral and ethical practices of the Jets as an organization.
Following the game, Mr. Alosi admitted to tripping Mr. Carroll and said he had apologized to the player and the opposing head coach. He also said his actions “does not reflect what this organization stands for.” Mr. Alosi also says he accepted full responsibility for his actions and any punishment as a result of those actions. I commend him for making this statement. But, I’m skeptical that he actually means what he says. Like politicians and celebrities, this coach has clearly learned the punishment will be reduced if he acts contrite.
Who's in Charge Here?
Watching replays of the tripping incident, both during the game and while writing this post, showed me that Mr. Carroll’s momentum took him well past Mr. Alosi. He eventually landed and lay on the field near the core members of the Jets coaching staff. That is, I believe he was lying, injured, near where Jets head coach Rex Ryan was standing. I presume the play was replayed on the large screens in the stadium, which suggests Coach Ryan may have had a chance to see the replay. If I’m right about that, then I don’t understand why Coach Ryan didn’t immediately have Mr. Alosi removed from the sidelines. A good head coach, as the team’s on-the-field leader, would take immediate action and demonstrate to his players, the opposing team, the fans and the league that he does not condone that kind of behavior and will not stand by while people under his supervision violate the game’s protocols. If he saw a replay, he should have sent that coach off the field.
If he didn’t see a replay while on the field, that might explain why Mr. Alosi was allowed to remain on the field. However, Coach Ryan still has not spoken about the event or taken action to discipline Mr. Alosi. If he were a true leader, Coach Ryan would have already made his decision. He has had plenty of time since the game ended to fire Mr. Alosi and make a statement about the incident. But, Coach Ryan is clearly not a leader. Leadership means taking responsibility when someone under your supervision makes an error. True leaders would have already done something about this incident, something that befits its severity.
According to published reports the day after the incident, the Jets were looking into punishing Mr. Alosi and the NFL is also investigating the incident (since this post was drafted, the Jets suspended Alosi without pay for the duration of the 2010 season and fined him $25,000). Since Coach Ryan lacks leadership skills, I’m certain he is hiding behind the GM, waiting for the Jets and NFL to decide a course of action. Once that happens, he may find the courage to make a statement about the event. Or, he may simply write it off as “the Jets front office and the league have taken action and nothing more needs to be said about that incident.”
But, more does need to be said. Clearly, the Jets lack leadership, at all levels of the organization. From the lowest levels of the coaching staff to the front office, the team is playing hot potato with this incident. No one is taking immediate action. Instead, they’re “reviewing the incident and deciding on appropriate action.” They are “playing politics” with this, trying to find a way to spin the tripping incident that doesn’t lose Mr. Alosi his job but punishes him enough that the NFL doesn’t add additional penalties. They aren’t willing to take the bold stand that this is a failure of leadership and the person should be terminated. Instead, they’re trying to avoid making any major changes. This “duck and cover” response is expected from the team that punished a player’s DUI arrest by not letting him start a game. But, it shows a lack of leadership ability and an enormous dearth of ethics.
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