Former Notre Dame star running back Allen Pinkett thinks his alma mater’s lack of recent success on the gridiron is a bad apples issue. As in the Irish don’t have enough of them.
“I’ve always felt like, to have a successful team, you gotta have a few bad citizens on the team,” Pinkett said about the high number of recent Irish off-the-field problems during a Tuesday interview with The McNeil and Spiegel Show on Chicago’s 670 The Score.
“I mean, that’s how Ohio State used to win all the time. They would have two or three guys that were criminals. That just adds to the chemistry of the team. I think Notre Dame is growing because maybe they have some guys that are doing something worthy of a suspension, which creates edge on the football team. You can’t have a football team full of choir boys. You get your butt kicked if you have a team full of choir boys. You gotta have a little bit of edge, but the coach has to be the dictator and ultimate ruler.”
Asked to clarify, Pinkett provided this gem: “I don’t want any mass murderers or rapists. I want guys that maybe get caught drinking that are underage, or guys that maybe got arrested because they got in a fight at a bar, or guys that are willing to cuss in public and don’t mind the repercussions of it.”
Former Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung got in hot water in 2004 for saying the Irish should lower its academic standards to “get the black athlete” if it wanted to return to glory and Pinkett’s comments appear headed for equal infamy.
Pinkett, who left South Bend in 1986 as Notre Dame’s all-time leading rusher (4,131 yards), is currently the color commentator for Notre Dame games on ISP Sports. Emphasis on “currently.” Allen Pinkett profile
