They Say I Did Something Bad

You could say the last two weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for fans of Arizona basketball, and that would be quite an understatement. Friday before last I hosted a movie night for some friends as a much needed break heading into a tough week of midterms. As I settled down on the couch and the movie started, I decided to check the scores of various games happening that night around the country. To my dismay, the very first headline I read stated that Sean Miller, the head coach at U of A, had been caught on an FBI wiretap arranging a payment of $100,000 for one of our star players to attend Arizona. Yikes. Welp, that was the end of Arizona basketball as we knew it! I didn’t watch the rest of my movie as I diligently sat by my phone to read an endless flow of articles that came pouring in. It was a dark night in Tucson, to say the least. In particular, I felt a little betrayed by the whole thing. I had been watching coach Miller for months during games and press conferences, and I even reveled in the opportunity to go to a little Zona Zoo pizza party where I got to see him up close. He reminded me of the many great coaches and mentors I’ve had in my own life, and I saw him as an example of integrity, hard work, and success. I know well as anyone that someone can live a double life and be a completely different person behind closed doors, but this news just didn’t seem to add up with who I understand Coach Miller to be as a person.

The next day was strange. I felt a pit in my stomach all day. My friend Chris stated it well when he said “this feels like a bad breakup.” I waited all day to finally hear the news that Coach Miller had been fired and our star player suspended, virtually ending any hopes we had of making a run in the NCAA tournament in my senior year. He and the school together released a statement that he would not coach in that night’s game at Oregon, but that he was confident he would be “vindicated.” That seemed like a stretch, I mean ESPN, the biggest sports network there is, had reported that the FBI had him on wiretap. That seemed pretty damning to me. ESPN wasn’t just going to just throw something out there without knowing for sure that it had happened, right? No, of course not. Then later that night, an ESPN broadcaster inadvertently announced during the ASU game that coach miller had been fired, which they later corrected. That seemed pretty sloppy on ESPN’s part, but still, there was probably no hope that they had completely screwed this up. Then, on Monday, ESPN issued a change in the timeline to their story, and then another one that same day. Originally they said that the conversation happened in 2017, which didn’t make much sense since the player had officially signed in 2016. They then changed it to 2016, which also didn’t make sense because the FBI wasn’t wiretapping the phone calls back then. I had to ask myself, ”what is going on?” The next day another news source reported they had a source that believed Sean Miller would be exonerated by the tapes if they were released. Twinges of hope were beginning to be felt here in Tucson. It was becoming clear that no one had any real facts in this story, and that none of this was coming from the mouths of the FBI or the NCAA directly.

When Thursday rolled around, Sean Miller held a press conference where he emphatically denied everything and announced that he would be coaching that night against Stanford. I literally jumped up and ran around the LDS institute where I was watching the press conference. Later in the day, the president of the university and the Arizona Board of Regents expressed their support for the coach as well. Here is an excerpt from what President Robbins had to say:

“Earlier this week, we met with Coach Miller at length and asked him direct and pointed questions. He was eager to speak with us and answered every question we asked. At this time we have no reason to believe that Coach Miller violated NCAA rules or any laws regarding the allegation reported in the media. Additionally, he has a record of compliance with NCAA rules, and he has been cooperative with this process.

While some might be tempted to rush to judgment when there is intense public pressure, due process is the bedrock of fair treatment and acting with integrity. With that in mind, we will continue to pursue every avenue of inquiry available to us during an active federal investigation to fully understand the facts. We recognize that investigation is ongoing, and we will continue to be respectful and cooperative through its conclusion. Steptoe & Johnson continues its investigation into our athletics compliance, and we will carefully review and act on its conclusions. We anticipate this report will be thorough and based on facts.

We want to thank our student athletes for the strength they have exhibited during this challenging situation. We are confident that they will continue to respond with commitment, integrity and excellence. Deandre Ayton, who has been subjected to false, public reports that impugned his reputation, has our full support. We ask that the Wildcat Family rally behind these young men and our coaching staff tonight and throughout the rest of our season.”

That was pretty amazing to hear. I believe a number of universities would have fired him as soon as possible, whether it was true or not. Reading this statement from President Robbins made me very proud to be a Wildcat. To top it off, Thursday night in McKale Center, which was my last home game as a student, was spectacular. Sean Miller walked out about twenty minutes before halftime, and all 14,000 people in the arena gave him a standing ovation that won’t soon be forgotten. It was so cool to be a part of something like that, and it told me that Arizona basketball is special. No matter what happens over the next few months or years, this program isn’t going anywhere.

As Thursday’s events still simmered in my mind, I headed over to the institute on Friday morning for our weekly devotional. We watched my favorite talk, “Trial of Your Faith” by Elder Neil L. Anderson, Which I thought was fitting. Here’s an excerpt from it:

“Here is another trial. There have always been a few who want to discredit the Church and to destroy faith. Today they use the Internet.

Some of the information about the Church, no matter how convincing, is just not true. In 1985, I remember a colleague walking into my business office in Florida. He had a Time magazine article entitled “Challenging Mormonism’s Roots.” It spoke of a recently discovered letter, supposedly written by Martin Harris, that conflicted with Joseph Smith’s account of finding the Book of Mormon plates.¹⁹

My colleague asked if this new information would destroy the Mormon Church. The article quoted a man who said he was leaving the Church over the document. Later, others reportedly left the Church.²⁰ I’m sure it was a trial of their faith.

A few months later, experts discovered (and the forger confessed) that the letter was a complete fraud. I remember really hoping that those who had left the Church because of this deception would find their way back.

A few question their faith when they find a statement made by a Church leader decades ago that seems incongruent with our doctrine. There is an important principle that governs the doctrine of the Church. The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk. True principles are taught frequently and by many. Our doctrine is not difficult to find.”

Can we see, from this example and that of Sean Miller, how damaging and misleading the media can be? Here is what I jotted down in my journal during the talk:

“When you’ve made a commitment, you don’t let things sway that. Wait for real facts to make a decision.”

In Arizona’s case, they have a contract with Sean Miller and he is their head basketball coach. If they want to act with integrity, they can’t just terminate that agreement because someone said that someone told them that they heard some tapes of him. They have to wait for real facts, otherwise they are allowing themselves to be controlled by outside sources. They would be empowering more media in the future to report whatever they want because they know it would have the power to completely destroy people and organizations, whether their information is good or not.

In the question of Faith (and I hope that even those who aren’t Mormon can draw parallels from this into their own lives and belief systems), we have made a covenant with Heavenly Father that we would serve Him and His Church. That’s not a commitment we can just break because we read something unflattering. We have the obligation to do thorough research and look for facts. Real facts. People can be unbelievably and shamelessly deceptive, and that should motivate us to get our own answers.

To be completely fair and honest, there ARE things in church history that you aren’t going to be taught at church on Sunday and they will probably make you uncomfortable. Actually, if they didn’t make you uncomfortable I’d probably be a little uncomfortable with you. Just sayin’. I believe, however, that even those uncomfortable things, when viewed in the light of unbiased truth, can serve to strengthen one’s testimony that God can accomplish his work even through very imperfect people.

What makes things especially hard is that sometimes fact and fiction are almost impossible to differentiate with the current information available. Sometimes misinformation is presented as absolute fact (i.e. FBI wiretap, forged letter from Martin Harris). Usually, the bad info is mixed with good info. For example, there most likely is a wire tap of Sean Miller, it just most likely says something different than what was initially reported. Likewise, there are real letters written by Martin Harris, but the forger mixed them in with his fake ones. It would be understandable to be deceived or confused by this. When we are faced with situations like this, that is when we must cherish our past experiences, have faith in what the spirit has already taught us, and wait for more information.

At the end of the day, God’s plan is very simple. It’s so simple that in many cases people don’t think it can possibly be enough. Akin to those in Moses’ day who perished because they would not look upon the serpent that Moses raised in the wilderness. They would not look because of the “easiness of the way.” They were looking for something sophisticated and complex, not something as simple as looking at a snake on a stick. Ladies and gentleman, the gospel is simple. Faith in Jesus Christ, Repenting of our sins, Being baptized by proper authority and partaking of other ordinances, and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost will lead us to Eternal Life. We have wonderful tools to help us endure to the end, such as prayer, scriptures, temples, family home evening, church callings, and much more. Let us take full advantage of what we have in front of us, and not be swayed by the distracting reports of others or by the simplicity of the way. May God bless you on your journey to find truth. I know he continues to bless me on mine.

Oh, and don’t forget to Bear Down 😉