Give Sal Alosi A Chance

He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

– John 8:7

When I read Bill Plaschke’s January 11 column in the Los Angeles Times, in which he voiced concerns about new UCLA football coach Jim L. Mora’s hiring of Sal Alosi as the Bruins’ new strength and conditioning coach due to a well-known incident in 2010, when Alosi – then a coach with the New York Jets -tripped the Miami Dolphins’ Nolan Carroll as he ran by on a punt return, ultimately losing his job over it, this biblical quote came to mind.

I’m sure that Plaschke isn’t the only one concerned about this; being a Bruin alum and a member of the UCLA community, I suspect that quite a few of my fellow alumni and fans are probably scratching their heads over Mora hiring someone who did something so heinous, not only blatantly cheating to help his team win but potentially hurting someone in the process.

“I understand the criticism…it’s completely warranted,” Mora said. “But (having had Alosi on his staff with the Atlanta Falcons in 2006) I know the fiber of this man.”

“You can rip me if you want for this hiring, but it’s not fair to rip Sal,” continued Mora. “This is a good man who made a poor decision, took responsibility for it, paid a dear price, and has fought his way back.”

I couldn’t have agreed more with that statement.

If everyone who has messed up weren’t given a second chance, there would hardly be anyone left in any profession.

I should know – the mistakes that I’ve made in my life can fill a very large book, and I’m sure I can say the same for roughly 99% of the people on this planet.

Heck, even hardened criminals in prison can get paroled.

So who is anyone to throw stones at anybody? Whatever happened to “We all make mistakes”?

While it is the right of folks to criticize and offer their opinions, I truly feel that the UCLA community and Bruin Nation needs to give Alosi a chance; let him show that he has repented and prove that he is worthy of keeping the Bruin football players and other athletes healthy and injury-free.

Who knows? He could be the best strength and conditioning to come to Westwood in years.

The UCLA athletes under him could well end up in the best condition of any previous Bruin athlete.

In other words, to paraphrase John Lennon, “All I will say is give Alosi a chance.”

I don’t know about everybody else, but I, for one, as sure as I’m sitting here typing this, will certainly give him a chance.

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