Wiedmer: Slive may be saving Pearl job

Maybe Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive really had no agenda other than simply to punish Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl when he suspended him Friday for the Volunteers' first eight conference games this winter.

Given Pearl's false statements to the NCAA regarding a barbecue he wrongly held at his home for recruits, that suspension - though undeniably harsh - seems somewhat justifiable if Slive's goal is to deter such behavior.

After all, lying to the NCAA is a pretty big deal. What's worse, Pearl not only lied but he encouraged his staff and the parents of the young men he was recruiting to lie.

And before you say, "Everybody lies now and then," ask yourself this: If your child came home from school and said his teacher told him to lie, what would you think? What would you do?

Exactly. You'd be mad as heck. So that indeed may be Slive's only motivation for suspending the SEC's third longest-tenured current hoops coach behind Florida's Billy Donovan and Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings.

But what if the Commish also is attempting to save Pearl's suddenly shaky career? What if he's wisely determined that the NCAA may justifiably order the coach suspended for an entire season, or even ask for his resignation?

Before Slive got into the conference commissioner business, he helped run a law firm that defended schools against the NCAA. He knows how college athletics' governing body thinks. He knows that as much as the Big Orange Nation would love to sweep what should have been a series of secondary violations under the rug, the NCAA might be itching to sweep Pearl out the door, given he had previously been cited for at least one of these charges when he coached at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The NCAA isn't about to be seen as being fooled by Pearl again.

Yes, the timing certainly is odd. Especially in light of the Vols' trip to the preseason NIT's final four next week in New York City. It's as if Slive decided to serve up Pearl as an early Thanksgiving feast for the piranha who make up the Big Apple media.

Then again, what better way for Pearl to promote his contrition than to sit down for all matter of national interviews? Who knows, he might even reprise his tearful news conference from September.

At the very least, he's sure to repeat the savvy statement he made during another news conference Friday, when he said of the ruling: "I have been a very public advocate for playing by the rules. When you don't play by the rules, these are the things that can happen. So while these penalties we've self-imposed ($1.5 million salary reduction over five years) and the commissioner's imposing are unprecentedly strong, it sets a very high standard and a high standard that I agreed to."

And just to prove he's always thinking ahead, Slive ended the penalty at the halfway point, just before the Vols were to travel to Kentucky to face John Calipari's Wildkittens.

Because as bad as Pearl has behaved, it just wouldn't seem right for him to be suspended for a game against the only coach in college basketball history to have Final Four appearances at two schools erased for breaking NCAA rules.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273.

Upcoming Events