Sunday, January 13, 2002
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Sunday, January 13, 2002 |
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O'Leary's downfall should make us leery of lying By DR. DAVID L.
CHANCEY A new expression is making its way into our vernacular. When somebody states an obvious exaggeration, such as, "I have a million dollars in the bank," we used to respond, "yeah, and if you expect me to believe that, then I'll sell you some swamp land in Florida." Now, we just respond to a stretch-of-the-truth remark with, "yeah, and George O'Leary is coach at Notre Dame!" Notre Dame was his dream job. When George O'Leary, the Irish Catholic coach from Long Island, was introduced in South Bend Dec. 9, he said guiding the Fighting Irish was one of the two best coaching jobs in the country. The other one was manager of the New York Yankees. He left Georgia Tech after seven seasons, a 52-33 record, and invitations to five straight bowl games. His charge was to bring new life to the storied program that found itself less than legendary in recent seasons. Notre Dame officials were excited about the match and the potential. He lasted five days. Lying about his past caught up with him. On his official resume, O'Leary exaggerated his college football career by stating that he played three seasons for New Hampshire. He never was awarded varsity letters he said he had. He also claimed to have earned a master's degree from New York University. In reality, O'Leary only attended New Hampshire two years and never played a down. And, even though he earned credits towards his master's, he never completed his degree. His padded resume started to unravel after a Manchester, N.H., reporter began to write a "former student does good" feature for the local paper. As the reporter began interviewing, no former players could remember O'Leary playing there. As one said, "he was never in the huddle with me." Then the paper took the next logical step and checked on his academic record. He attended New York University, but never finished his graduate degree. After being confronted with the inaccuracies, O'Leary originally said that someone must have printed inaccuracies and they were passed down in media guides through the years. Eventually he admitted that "many years ago, as a young married father, I sought to pursue my dream as a football coach. In seeking employment, I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master's degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater." As the snowball of exposure started rolling over a span of about 30 hours, O'Leary resigned Dec. 14, leaving him jobless and Notre Dame embarrassed. Eventually, O'Leary accepted responsibility on his ESPN interview with Mike Tirico. He said, "It's something I should've cleaned up." This is a sad story. O'Leary lost his job. His family is hurt. Notre Dame is humiliated. However, the saddest parts to me are O'Leary's loss of credibility and the blemish to his integrity. In all probability, no major college will touch him any time soon. Georgia Tech made it clear early on that they wouldn't take him back. Where he goes from here remains to be seen. This is also a painful reminder that lying is serious business. God takes lying seriously. Proverbs 12:22 reads, "lying lips are an abomination to the Lord." The ninth commandment is "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." This commandment prohibits telling an outright lie, as O'Leary did, and spreading a lie through rumor, innuendo, gossip or slander. The commandment also prohibits living a lie. It's hard to overcome a tainted credibility. "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" (Proverbs 22:1). There's not a one of us who hasn't stretched the truth. Even preachers have to watch their "ministerial estimates" of attendance figures, and sometimes get accused of telling "preacher stories." But in order to honor God and to avoid any tarnish to one's credibility, it's better simply to tell the truth. Don't stretch the truth, misrepresent the truth, or share less than the truth. Just tell the whole truth completely, consistently, and honestly. As Jesus said, "Let your yes be yes, and your no, no" (Matt. 5:37). Honesty is the best policy. When we're truthful, we never have to worry about a skeleton in our closet. If nothing else, this O'Leary disaster should make us leery of lying. (Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor of McDonough Road Baptist Church, 352 McDonough Road in Fayetteville. Join them Sunday for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m.)
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