For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story of Larry Eustachy, the Colorado State men’s basketball coach is a recovering alcoholic. In 2003, Eustachy was fired from Iowa State after photos surfaced of him appearing drunk at a party with undergraduates. He later told Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis the embarrassment from that incident helped motivate him to take control of his life and fight against alcoholism.
As is often the case with college basketball, Eustachy has been unable to completely escape his reputation. According to Ben Frederickson of the Casper Star Tribune, a small group of Wyoming fans chanted “alcoholic” at Eustachy during their game against Colorado State on Wednesday night.
Wyoming student section now chanting “Alcoholic” at Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy.
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) March 7, 2013
Does that cross the line? Assuming he is telling the truth, Esutachy has been doing well with his addiction. He says this April will mark 10 years of sobriety, which dates back to the incident at Iowa State. Since all indications are that Eustachy has been able to get his addiction under control, some feel that it reflects poorly on Wyoming’s student section that a group of students were heckling him about it.
That being said, this isn’t the first time a school’s student section has crossed the line with its harassment of an opposing coach or player. And it certainly won’t be the last. If the Wyoming students wanted to make fun of Eustachy for something, they should have mentioned how he had no idea who this Syracuse player was last season.
H/T Game On!
