Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban spoke at the Alabama Football Coaches Association (ALFCA) convention this week about leadership on and off the field.
During his speech at the convention, Saban cited the lack of leadership by friends of former Alabama star and NFL wide receiver Henry Ruggs III.
“People are more apprehensive about being leaders than ever before,” Saban told the crowd.
“Well, if there was a player in Las Vegas, who was drinking at three o’clock in the morning with his buddies, and his girlfriend, and someone would have taken his keys away...it probably would have pissed him off. It probably would have made him mad. He probably wouldn’t have thought much of you for doing that. But would he be better off now? Or is he better off where he was, going 156 miles per hour running his ass into somebody and killing them? And he’s in jail. And he doesn’t have a career anymore. And he’s a good kid. And he never had one problem on our team at Alabama. So what kind of friend were you? What kind of leader were you when you allowed the guy to do it? But nobody wants to do that, because they’re afraid of what somebody’s gonna think of them,” Saban added passionately.
Ruggs III is currently awaiting trial after being charged with driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless driving following a crash that killed a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman last November.
Ruggs’s vehicle was traveling at a speed of 156 miles per hour and his blood alcohol content was over twice the legal limit at the time of the incident.
