Alabama defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand was arrested for DUI and, in many programs around the college football world, that would be enough to garner a suspension. However, head coach Nick Saban stopped short of assigning that punishment to the (very) talented defender, instead requiring Hand to attend a 48-hour treatment program, complete community service and be included in a police ride-a-long in order to return to the good graces of his program and coaching staff.
As you may imagine, the decision not to suspend Hand has not gone over well everywhere and former ESPN analyst Danny Kanell has joined the chorus in criticizing Saban for his decision.
Kanell's chosen vehicle was the ride-a-long and his sarcastic tone is biting in this response. As his tweet indicates, Kanell saw this coming and he was not alone in that, but that does not fully shelter Saban and the Alabama program from the disappointment with how this was handled.
Beyond the reaction in general, there is a simultaneous subplot as to whether Saban would have made this decision if not for the challenging season opener on the agenda in the form of a match-up with Florida State in Atlanta. That combination of factors won't remove this from the news cycle anytime soon but, this time, Kanell was clear in what he thought about Saban's actions.
