Steve Sarkisian has taken a leave of absence from USC football to enter an alcohol treatment program, and it sounds like very few people are surprised by the development.
The first most of us heard about Sarkisian’s alleged drinking habits was when we saw that video of him acting inappropriately at a team event prior to the season. But that was hardly the first time Sarkisian had too much to drink in public, and a feature from the Los Angeles Times has provided details that indicate it was not an isolated incident.
On Sunday, players reportedly noticed that Sarkisian was “not sober” during a special teams meeting. One former Washington player told the LA Times that Sarkisian sometimes arrived at morning team meetings “smelling like booze and [with] eyes all red, like he’s been on a bender” when he was coaching the Huskies. Another player said he smelled alcohol on Sarkisian “one or two” times and that Sark’s eyes seemed bloodshot and he was “unusually confrontational” on other occasions.
Other former Washington players who spoke with the Times recalled Sarkisian and some assistant coaches regularly drinking in the team offices. One player said Sark usually had an 18-pack of Coors Light stashed near his desk and seemed loud and unsteady on some team flights.
The Times feature goes on to describe other incidents during which Sarkisian ran up massive bar tabs, including more than $1,600 at the Renaissance Indian Wells Resort and Spa’s pool bar in 2013. Sarkisian frequently ran up bar tabs in excess of $100 on one-night trips. A few months ago, we showed you the receipt of one enormous bar tab that Sarkisian and others were responsible for back in 2012.
It should be noted that there were people around the Washington program who told the Times that they saw Sarkisian drink but that he never acted inappropriately or consumed alcohol in an inappropriate setting. Still, there are enough accounts from former players to raise an alarm, especially when you hear some of the details from Sunday’s incident when Sarkisian was removed from the USC facility. Here’s hoping he gets the help he needs.
H/T Chris Bennett
