Notre Dame Pulls Allen Pinkett from Radio Broadcast After Controversial Comments

Allen Pinkett will not be on Notre Dame’s radio broadcast for its game against Navy due to his recent controversial comments.

On Wednesday, Pinkett told WSCR—a CBS radio station in Chicago—that Notre Dame needed “bad citizens” to be “a successful team,” via Chicago.CBSLocal.com. Here is an excerpt from the interview, with the full comment available via the previous link.

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I’ve always felt like, to have a successful team, you gotta have a few bad citizens on the team. I mean, that’s how Ohio State used to win all the time. They would have two or three guys that were criminals. That just adds to the chemistry of the team. I think Notre Dame is growing because maybe they have some guys that are doing something worthy of a suspension, which creates edge on the football team. You can’t have a football team full of choir boys.

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Today, CBS Sports’ Bryan Fischer reported via Twitter that Pinkett was pulled from coverage of the Irish’s season opener on Saturday.

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IMG says Allen Pinkett will not broadcast the ND game in Ireland this weekend. He is in Dublin however, after traveling with team today.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) August 30, 2012"

IMG owns the Notre Dame Radio Network and has not yet revealed if it will take disciplinary action beyond this weekend.

Pinkett has since apologized for his remarks and said the following, via Chicago.CBSLocal.com:

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In reviewing my remarks from a radio interview Wednesday, it’s clear that I chose my words poorly and that an apology is in order for these inappropriate comments. My words do not reflect the strong pride and passion I have for the Notre Dame football program.

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Pinkett is a Notre Dame alum, and he was a two-time All-American running back with the Irish.