This is the harsh reality for Temple head basketball coach John Chaney:  32 years on the sidelines, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2001, two-time National Division I Coach of the Year, 721 career victories, 23 NCAA Tournament game victories, numerous lives impacted, and now, one defining moment.

Temple coach John Chaney directs his team in a losing effort against Saint Joseph's Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/George Widman)

It's a moment that will override all of the glory that the 73-year old coach has brought to Temple over the years; a moment that will change the perception of the man from a fearless competitor and brilliant tactician on the sidelines to that of a reprehensible thug wanting to win at all costs.

In the past, Chaney's idiosyncrasies could be tempered through the sheer force of his personality.  After all, Chaney was principled.   After all, Chaney preached tough love.  After all, Chaney preached the truth.  Through it all, Chaney won – he got results from his team – on and off the court.  This was John Chaney being John Chaney.

In the past, Chaney could just smile, loosen his black tie, and give his best Rodney Dangerfield look of sorrow and self-pity while apologizing to the camera.

Not this time.

Apologizing won't heal John Bryant's broken arm.

Apologizing won't heal the psyche of Nehemiah Ingram.

Apologizing won't heal the reputation of Temple's basketball program.

For those not familiar with the incident, On Feb 22, Chaney's Temple Owls were playing cross-town rival Saint Joseph's.  Upset by what he thought were illegal screens by Saint Joseph's that were not being called by the officials, Chaney turned to seldom-used 6-foot-8, 250-pound Ingram to ``send a message.''

Chaney said after the game he was going to send in a ``goon.''

Ingram fouled out in 4 minutes, his average playing time for a game this season. He has played in 14 games, averaging 0.4 points and 0.9 rebounds.

Ingram started throwing his arms around and tossing elbows, once connecting hard to the chin of Hawks center Dwayne Jones, and had a hard foul on John Bryant that left him sprawled on the court for several minutes with a broken arm.

In the post-game press conference, Chaney defended his actions, telling the media "that's what happens. I'm a mean, ornery, son of a bitch. You understand? When I see something wrong, I try to right it."

The following day, upon discovering that Bryant's arm had been broken, Chaney gave himself a one-game suspension.  The school added three more games.  The latest word from Chaney now is that he will not coach in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament.

The punishment should have been far harsher.  Chaney's actions were nothing short of a disgrace to the game of basketball.  When he saw that things were not happening as he would have liked, he turned to vigilante justice.  In doing this, Chaney violated not only the rules of basketball, but also the spirit of intercollegiate sportsmanship.  Basketball may be a rough sport at times, but promoting dirty play is a much different thing.

He violated everything fair play is about, ignoring sportsmanship in favor of payback.

If this was an isolated incident, this suspension might have been enough.  Chaney has had other public outbursts over the years, which have gone mostly unnoticed.  In 1984, Chaney put his hands around the neck of George Washington coach Gerry Gimmelstob in an attempt to choke him because he didn't like the undisciplined play of the GW team. In 1994, Chaney was caught on videotape threatening to kill Massachusetts' coach John Calipari.

Charisma and a successful program helped him through those incidents.  It shouldn't happen again this time.

"In 1997, the NCAA's member schools and conferences established a Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, representing educational institutions from all three Divisions. The committee's mission is to improve the condition of sportsmanship and ethical conduct in all aspects of intercollegiate athletics by developing and implementing strategies that foster greater acceptance of the value of respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility. To accomplish this mission, the Committee formulated a five-year plan. Elements of this plan include:

• Educational programs to reach coaches, administrators, fans and student-athletes;
• Establishing the NCAA Sportsmanship Award to recognize and reinforce positive behavior;
• Encouraging media and corporations with which the NCAA and related organizations have relationships to communicate sportsmanship messages and recognize commendable behavior; and
• Building constituent relationships with groups such as the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CTSA).

NCAA Bylaw 22.2.4.4 – Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. It is a principle of the Association that student-athletes, coaches and all others associated with intercollegiate athletics adhere to such fundamental values as respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility. Consistent with this principle, the institution shall:

(a) Demonstrate that in the area of intercollegiate athletics, it is committed to these fundamental values of sportsmanship and ethical conduct;
(b) Have established a set of written policies and procedures in this area ;
(c) Demonstrate that educational activities related to sportsmanship and ethical conduct exist for individuals and groups associated with the intercollegiate athletics experience;
and
(d) Provide evidence that the effectiveness of activities in this area are monitored, evaluated and addressed on a continuing basis."