PDS Personal Clinic: Answering the Call: Student-Athlete Misconduct, Considerations for Coaches, and the Meaning of “Culture” with David Peet

Unlike other types of university employees and administrators, coaches often occupy unique and challenging territory while balancing their obligations to their employers and the student-athletes they are charged with molding, mentoring, and educating outside the classroom.  This balance is never more pronounced than when confronted with unfortunate situations in which a student-athlete on a coach’s team has engaged in conduct that allegedly violates team, department, or university rules, or local, state, or federal law.  This session will frame this issue by outlining the various authorities governing student-athlete conduct, the array of parties affected by misconduct of student-athletes, and identifying recent examples of such misconduct.  The session will then remind attendees of certain legal, administrative, and ethical obligations that they should keep in mind while serving as leaders in their respective programs.  The session will also provide a set of best practices for coaches to consider in order to prevent future misconduct and to adequately and decisively respond when confronted with situations involving such misconduct.  Finally, the session will provide a forum for attendees to share their experiences—both successes and challenges—when confronted with such situations.