Do you by any chance remember George O’Leary? He was the head football coach at Georgia Tech before he was hired to coach the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He coached Notre Dame for five days back in 2001. FIVE DAYS…
He was fired after such a short period of time because he had some things that were “inaccuarate” on his resume. These “deceptions” were that he had obtained a Master’s degree from New York University and that he had received three athletic letters in football from a university in New Hampshire. You can read the article about him from ESPN by clicking here.
The truth was that he never obtained a Master’s degree from NYU (Or any other university for that matter) nor did he receive even one athletic letter for playing football at New Hampshire… much less three (He never got on the field to play in even one game.)!
O’Leary wasn’t deceptive… he lied. He didn’t have inaccuracies on his resume… he lied on it.
Why did O’Leary lie? Here’s a quote from the ESPN article… “Many years ago, as a young married father, I sought to pursue my dream as a football coach. In seeking employment I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master’s degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater. These misstatement were never stricken from my resume or biographical sketch in later years.”
Oh… since he was young… had a dream to be a football coach… and had to have a resume that would help attain that dream it was acceptable to lie. After all, he had to put food on the table for his family didn’t he? So I guess lying, decpetion, and inaccuracies can and should be overlooked. After all… he was a successful coach at Georgia Tech! Right?!
Hardley. I’ve tell my kids that a person is never more like Satan than when they lie (See John 8:44). Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. That would mean that for decades Mr. O’Leary was imitating the chief of all lairs… Satan himself.
I doubt that back in the 1970s when Mr. O’Leary was putting lies on his resume he ever thought that one day he would be humiliated so publicly 31 years later. I wonder if while applying for advancment in his coaching career there were moments of hesitation about the lies his resume contained before he sent it?
There’s a little verse of Scripture we should never forget… “Be sure your sin will find you out!” (Numbers 32:23b).