The contentious Senate race in Alabama between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones reached its apex on Tuesday, as Alabamans took to the polls and appear to have voted for Jones to take the spot in Washington over Moore.
Moore's controversial past with regards to several alleged relationships with underage girls became the biggest issue during the race, as Moore became heavily scrutinized across the country as the accusations were made public. Oddly enough, Alabama head coach Nick Saban has now been caught in the crossfire of the Moore controversy, as New York Daily News columnist Chuck Modiano called Saban a "clueless, gutless, selfish coward" for now condemning Moore in the race.
By remaining silent on the numerous allegations that Moore was a pedophile, Saban showed he does not care about the plight or protection of young women and girls.
Modiano's piece makes several criticisms of Saban, but this was the main point that he was going off of: because Saban — perhaps the highest-profile figure in the state of Alabama — didn't speak out on the race, he was a "clueless, gutless, selfish coward".
The attack is a bit bizarre, and perhaps even illogical with some of the drastic statements that Modiano makes about Saban and his salary. Modiano makes several references to Saban being paid by the tax payers, which is a bit inaccurate since Saban's salary is driven from Alabama athletics revenue. Alabama football alone was responsible for over $100,000,000 in revenue in 2016.
The other weird thing is criticizing a public figure for actually maintaining some silence on politics. Yes, Saban could have made statements that would have had major influence in the race, but why is that his cross to bear? He rarely talks about politics to start with, and Saban clearly doesn't want to open that Pandora's Box by starting now.
Saban and Alabama are currently preparing for the Sugar Bowl game against No. 1 Clemson as part of the College Football Playoff.
