College coach arrested

Clemson University's soccer coach, Trevor Adair, was arrested over the weekend. While the arrest was not for what UF usually covers a coach's arrest, it was for a crime paradoxically better and worse than groping a trusting underaged team member. While Assault and Battery may not initially seem as bad as molesting kids, the story twists a bit when it allegedly involves Adair beating up on his own daughters.

Yeah, that's not so good.

Adair has been head coach at Clemson since 1994. He replaced the founder of the program, Dr. I. M. Ibrahim, who first coached the team in 1967. Ibrahim resigned his position, and at the time there were rumors flying that it as not his idea but the university's insistence. Now, the second coach in the program's 41-year history may be forced to do the same.

As first reported by the Anderson Independent-Mail on Saturday, Adair was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning on two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. The article says as well that the charges stem from an argument with his two daughters that occurred on the front lawn of Adair's home around 2.30 AM.

As best as I can surmise, these two daughters are Adair's only children. One of them is a senior in high school, while the other has a much lesser online profile. My assumption is that the second girl is younger, but I have no proof. Therefore, my initial reaction was that Adair, who was born and raised in Belfast, was simply letting his curfew-busting kids have it verbally for coming home at such a late hour. Unfortunately, now that the battery charges have been revealed (initially, the articles listed only an assault charge), I can't help but think that what has transpired since is in the university's best interest.

As of Saturday night, Adair has been placed on a leave of absence by the university. The AD has stated that Adair has been given the time in order to get his affairs straightened out. If the charges do in fact move forward, Adair will surely be fired, ahem, resign his position.

This is kind of tough for me to process. Adair is well-known in the local sports community. He has a weekly slot on the Clemson sports radio station. You can often see him out and about in Clemson, and even where I live, which is about an hour's drive away. He has never, to me at least, been seen as an overly aggressive guy, but instead as a jovial (Northern) Irish man. Although I guess that his daughters have a different tale to tell.

I'm reticent to put his picture up on the site, but will link to Adair's mugshot here. Doesn't look so jovial there, I guess. If you really want to see what schadenfreude looks like, then you can go to a massage board of Clemson's main rival. Unlike me, they assume the worst from the start. Of course, they forget that Adair's first post-collegiate job was as a Gamecock assistant, but what can you expect from mouthbreathers?