Greg Byrne addresses challenge of overcoming recent scandals

The start to 2023 hasn’t been the most positive stretch for Alabama athletics. The Crimson Tide have still seen a very high rate of success but, even so, scandals and misconduct within several of their programs has spoiled it in a sense.

Still, AD Greg Byrne says that the athletic department is still more than equipped to handle the various problems and concerns. He said has the faith that he and his people are going to do their jobs well in those moments, especially considering they feel responsible for the success of their coaches and student-athletes.

“I think the good Lord doesn’t give us anything more than we can handle. And we all are going to have stress and challenges in our life. Whether it’s ourselves, our family,” Byrne said in an interview with ‘The Next Round’. “I really drive in in the morning going, ‘Who did I fool?’. The fact that I get to come and be in the building? And work with these incredible coaches and kids at the highest level? You feel a sense of responsibility.”

Football, men’s basketball, and baseball have all seen their share of negative headlines over the first five months of the year. A court recently sentenced Tony Mitchell, a freshman safety in Nick Saban’s program, to three years probation and 100 hours of community service. That came after he evaded police and was found in possession of a gun and a felony amount of marijuana.

Nate Oats’ program, though, had the most high-profile issue. Theirs was in relation to the capital murder case of Jamea Harris. That tragedy saw a court indict Darius Miles and had other players, including Brandon Miller, named throughout the investigation. In a separate incident, they also had to dismiss Jaykwon Walton, a transfer from Wichita State, after Tuscaloosa police arrested him for having marijuana and ‘multiple’ firearms.

Then, finally, Alabama had to fire Brad Bohannon, their head baseball coach, earlier this month. That decision came after he was involved in a betting scandal that involved the Crimson Tide’s games.

However, even after all that, Byrne hasn’t lost any of his resolve over the past few months. He still feels more than fit to be the leader down in Tuscaloosa. He once again referenced his faith as well as ‘Bama’s fanbase as reasons why they fully expect to be better moving forward.

“I feel like I’m wired for this,” Byrne said. “And I also feel like when a challenge comes along? The good lord is not going to give you more than you can handle.”

“Now, it’s been a lot. But, at the same time too, I still completely believe in who we are, what we’re about,” said Byrne. “And we’ve got great fans that love this university. We want to do everything we can to support them and make them feel good about it.”