Nick Saban says he's just a football coach, but when push comes to shove his opinion does hold some weight.
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Not only is he a football coach, but he's arguably one of the greatest coaches of all-time. Some may forget this, but he's also a former NFL coach. His stint in the league was nowhere near as successful as his time at LSU and certainly nowhere near the dynasty he's built at Alabama, but it does make him qualified to speak on the NFL's widespread protest against President Donald Trump.
It had to be like pulling teeth, but reporters did get Saban to comment on the matter. Here's what he had to say, according to Marq Burnett of SEC Country:
"To me, some of the things that we do in our country ? when I grew up ? they were unifying events, and it's a little painful to see that those things are not so right now," Saban said. "But I also respect everyone's rights not to be censored in terms of the way they express their beliefs. I'm just a coach."
One of the core principles of being an American is that you have the right to free speech, and that's something Saban obviously believes in. As a hard-nosed, old-school football coach he obviously believes in discipline and order as well, but one of the basic facts we seem to have lost in this country is that both freedoms of speech and law and order can exist in the same scenario.
Saban admitted that he doesn't necessarily know how to fix the problems we're facing as a country, but he does believe in the power of love:
"I don't have the answers to all the questions," he said. "I know that most good things come out of love and respect and compassion and unifying people. Most bad things come out of hate and dislike and deceit. Hopefully we can focus on the above and not the below."
When you woke up this morning you probably didn't expect to read about Nick Saban espousing the values of love and compassion, but this is the timeline we're in folks.
Crazier things will likely happen, and very soon.
