One thing people are bound to find out about me is that I have little to no tolerance for those that drive intoxicated or even slightly so. You're putting lives at risk outside of your own by doing it, and there is no good justification for that kind of recklessness.
It has been argued to me that I am being too judgmental and that for some, drinking a bit and then driving home is just a fact of life. They don't have the option to not drive after they've been drinking. That they can simply choose not to drink at all doesn't seem to enter into the equation. Drunk driving is unavoidable, or so the argument goes.*
*This is a terrible argument and not at all persuasive.
Even if that is true, and there are some people that simply must drink and simply must drive after having done so, Gary Pinkel is not one of those people. In 2008, he signed a new contract that guarantees him $2.3 million per season in salary alone. He makes $262.56 for every hour that he is alive every single year in salary. I know that taxes take a big ol' bite and that $2.3 million doesn't go as far as it used to, thankyouverymuch inflation, but he can afford to pay for a car and driver to take him wherever he wants to go whenever he wants to go there. I would actually venture to guess that if he asked for it in his next contractual negotiations, Missouri would give it to him as a non-salary benefit. They might already!
That's part of what makes the fact that Pinkel was arrested last night on suspicion of drunken driving so stupid. This is something that is easily avoidable for all but even more easily avoidable for someone with his kind of resources.
I'm not saying that Pinkel is a bad person or that his crime is unforgiveable. The AP article mentions that it was his first such offense and that he has apparently already publicly apologized for what happened. He seems sincere when he says that he takes total responsibility for his actions. I'm glad that nobody got hurt and that the police got to him before he could do any damage.
Still, because it happened, people might have been hurt, and the entire situation was completely and easily avoidable, Gary Pinkel is ODB's CFB Idiot of the Week. At least until I find something I think is even more stupid than this.
UPDATE: According to Dave Matter of the Columbia Tribune, Pinkel will not coach this Saturday against Texas Tech and will also sit out next week in Missouri's last game against Kansas. That would mean he received the same two-game punishment as players in similar situations. Matter says that it has not been decided who will coach in his stead Saturday. I applaud Missouri for doing this; I don't think Pinkel should be fired for making a mistake, even if it is a really, really stupid one.