USC's Steve Sarkisian Seeking Help, Deserves Respect for Owning Up to His Issues

Admitting you fouled up a game plan in a football game is easy. Saying you didn't prepare your team well enough during the week is easy. 

What USC head coach Steve Sarkisian did Tuesday wasn't easy at all. 

Standing before reporters, Sarkisian opened the door to his personal life. He didn't elaborate on the details, and he didn't need to. That's not for anyone else to know or judge. But he did admit he's seeking treatment for alcohol. And that's enough. 

He also admitted what everyone already knew: that he was intoxicated at the recent "Salute to Troy" rally. But then he revealed something else: Before taking the stage at the school-sponsored event, he had mixed alcohol with medications. Everybody knows that's a bad combination. 

The result, as you've likely seen, was a slurred, embarrassing speech that reportedly required athletic director Pat Haden to remove Sarkisian from the stage, as SB Nation's Avinash Kunnath reported:

It wasn't Sarkisian's finest moment, and an apology was later issued through USC. The head coach also addressed his team before answering questions from the media. Undoubtedly, there will be more questions directed toward him and USC. This is the hard part: answering for your actions, over and over again, as a result of your personal choices. 

But he is giving answers, and that's worth something. As the head coach of a prominent college football program, Sarkisian is going to be subject to a different level of exposure and criticism. That's an unfortunate part of the territory when one makes a mistake, but a part of the territory nonetheless. 

This isn't a full-fledged defense of Sarkisian. Part of his job is to solicit money from donors. Making a fool of yourself in front of people who are likely to open their checkbooks for you isn't on the list of great ideas. Still, it's not the worst thing anyone's ever done, nor is it the first time it's ever happened. It's forgivable, especially when you own up to it.  

What matters now is how Sarkisian plans to deal with this going forward. Speaking with reporters, the 41-year-old coach said he will begin receiving treatment:  

Good for him. That's the only thing that can, and should, be said. 

The context clues were there following the incident. On Monday, Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News reported that alcohol had been banned from USC's locker room. That only ignited further questions. Was alcohol actually allowed in the locker room before? Was there alcohol before? 

The head coach himself clarified that alcohol was permitted in the coaches' locker room, but not the players', via Michael Lev of the Orange County Register. Obviously, that's not the case anymore. 

All the same, this is Sarkisian's issue now, and it became abundantly clear he needed help dealing with it. There's no shame in that. There never is. What kind of help Sarkisian will receive remains to be seen, but the important part is he's doing something about it. 

This isn't the time to crush USC for its previous laissez-faire attitude toward alcohol. The policy has changed; it's over. Still, others will take the opportunity to focus on Sarkisian's history with alcohol, as Danny O'Neil of 710 ESPN Seattle did: 

At some point, we just need to be human beings about this whole thing and recognize that this is a man's life.  

We know Sarkisian went through a divorce this year. We don't know if that's what drove him to mix alcohol and medication at a school event. We don't know if that's what drove him to drink before. Maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever it was, or wasn't, we don't have the right to know, either. Whatever it is Sarkisian is dealing with, here's hoping he gets the help he needs. 

Sarkisian owned up to his mistake and took it a step further by conceding that he can't do this by himself. That's a huge step, one that will only benefit him and USC. Instead of sidestepping the issue or trying to bury it, the man took responsibility for what occurred and is now trying to fix it. 

There may have been some initial jokes at his expense, but the feeling now should be that Sarkisian is doing what many people don't have the guts to do. 

So amid all the columns about what USC or Sarkisian should do, maybe the best course of action is to stop talking altogether. Maybe the best thing we can do is listen, for a change.

Because the last thing Sarkisian, or anyone in that type of situation, needs is for someone to laugh at him. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.