K-State's Martin: Climate Has Changed for College Coaches

It was almost immediately that Kansas State men's basketball coach Frank Martin knew he had made a potentially grave mistake Saturday when he flicked senior Chris Merriewether on the arm with the back of his hand during a timeout.

Maybe it was the reality of seeing contemporaries in football -- Kansas' Mark Mangino, Mike Leach at Texas Tech and South Florida coach Jim Leavitt – jettisoned in the past month because of concerns about how they deal with student-athletes. It also might have been the stunned reaction of the crowd near the Kansas State bench at the Mizzou Arena.

Whatever the case, the first thing Martin did during his postgame press conference was discuss the incident and then apologize for his actions. The second-year Wildcats' coach again took responsibilities for actions during Monday's Big 12 men's basketball media conference call.

"I believe our sports information department put out a release about how I felt about it after the game," said Martin, whose 13th-ranked Wildcats saw their 10-game winning streak snapped against Missouri. "I felt about it on the bus on the way home, I felt about it yesterday morning when I got up and the way I still feel about it, I was wrong and what I did has no place in the game."

But Martin also questioned the climate that has seemed to make it open season on coaches who deal with their players harshly, whether in public or in private. Mangino, Leach and Leavitt all came under fire for the mistreatment of student-athletes within a team environment. All three were shown the door.

On the surface, Martin's flick of the hand at Merriewether, even in apparent frustration does not seem to rival a punch by Mangino, the grabbing of a player's throat by Leavitt or the banishing of a player to a dark equipment room as Leach is said to have done.

But in this current environment, Martin seems keenly aware of how his actions might be perceived.

"It's sensitive times across the country, not because a couple of coaches have gotten into trouble for whatever the perception is out there right now. It's sensitive times," said Martin, who has become known around the Big 12 for his passion on the sidelines. "It's a different era that we live in now than what we lived in 10 years ago or 20 years ago.

"There is a lot of phoniness, everyone is a politician these days where you're supposed to act a certain way in front of the public eye and be completely different than what reality is every day behind closed doors. That's what I meant by sensitive. It's a different era right now than the era I grew up in or the era my generation is used to.

"With all that said, what I did still has no place in basketball."

Perhaps his candor and the fact Merriewether still seems to support his coach will allow this to blow over. Martin was apparently frustrated with Merriewether after a turnover led to points on the other end in a tight ball game.

During a timeout with 1:17 remaining and KSU trailing 65-63, the colorful Martin began screaming at Merriewether and then flicked the back of his hand at the player and ended up touching his arm.

"He hit me in the arm. It wasn't really that serious," Merriewether said following the Wildcats' 74-68 loss to Missouri that dropped them to 13-2, 0-1 Big 12. "Jacob Pullen [one of Merriewether's teammates] came back right after and hit me in the arm, too. It really wasn't too much. I trust Frank and Frank trusts me, and, you know like I said, just a heated moment type deal. It's all right.

"It's not a big deal at all. He came up to me after the game, we talked about it. We talked about some other things as well. We've just gotta come back Tuesday and get a win. I trust Frank, Frank trusts me. He's had my back since day one. I'll always have his back."

But clearly, in this current climate, trust between a player and coach may not be enough and that is what concerns Martin.

"It's causing me to act in public in a different way," Martin said. "My players and me have a big time relationship. It's been like that for 26 years because I am consistently honest with them. I don't change my personality because there is a news camera in my practice or in the game.

"Kids appreciate, like I do, consistency and honesty and loyalty. That's what I'm about, that's what I stand for, that's what I've been about for 26 years in this business. Unfortunately coaching, whether it be men's basketball or football, has become more of a politician job where you have to dress a certain way, act a certain way. If you do anything other than what's put in front, you are considered to be out of line. Unfortunately, those are the times we live in.

"But I don't think the change in times affects the players unless it affects the people who are dealing with the players and that's the coaches, administrators and everyone that's a part of your program."

So far the Kansas State administration seems comfortable putting the whole incident in the review mirror. First-year athletic director John Currie came out immediately Saturday and called the situation unfortunate and vowed it would never be repeated again -- but ultimately supported his coach.

Martin, who is the middle of contract negotiations, understands his in-your-face style of coaching may be more scrutinized now more than ever, although he says he's not deterred.

"I'm living it, it's not a tough one. It is what it is," Martin said. "I guess I've got to learn to be more of a politician and smile on-camera and act like I'm happy rather than be real and honest."