Nick Saban delivers strong message in aftermath of Henry Ruggs III-involved tragedy

Alabama head coach Nick Saban had a strong message on Thursday about his team holding each other accountable. The comments come days after former Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was arrested for a DUI resulting in death after a fatal accident earlier in the week. Saban indirectly referred to the incident, saying that holding each other accountable is very important.

“When you’re in the competitive sports business and probably any competitive business, it probably is important that you pay attention to detail and you have accountability every day for everyone in your organization,” Saban said. “It’s kind of interesting. I actually talked to our players about this, the thing that people fear the most is getting up and speaking in front of a group publicly. Everybody’s worried about what everybody’s going to think about them.

“So, what I asked our players today was, are you being a good friend when you don’t tell one of your teammates or one of your friends what you should tell them so that they can do the right thing and create value for themselves because you’re afraid to tell them because you’re afraid of what they might think of you for saying whatever said. And I think this is an issue when people don’t hold each other accountable. The stronger team you have, the more people on the team hold each other accountable. So, they’re not afraid to say, ‘You’re not doing the right thing, you’re missing class or you’re doing the wrong thing over here. You’re not finishing plays like you need to.'”

Saban on holding each other accountable: ‘It’s like fourth and one every day’

Saban made sure to point out that holding people accountable goes beyond football. While he wants it to happen on a football field and in a locker room, he also notes the importance of accountability amongst friends outside of football.

“I think that kind of goes back to, that if you’re holding everybody in the organization accountable, it’s like fourth and one every day,” Saban said. “And then how many times do we say what if or if what. I mean what if I’d have done this and what would have happened if I would have done that. There’s a lot that we all kind of go through. We kind of look back and say, ‘Well if I’d had just done this it would have worked out so much better.’ Or ‘If I’d had just said this to my friend.'”

Ruggs was reportedly driving 156 miles per hour through a suburban area. He was going 127 mph when the accident occurred. Ruggs’ blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit. Saban all but referred to the incident, saying that holding friends accountable can save someone’s life.

“I’m sure there’s somebody that actually had an issue this week that if they would have had a friend that would have actually said no, you can’t do that. You can’t drive this car, you can’t do this. How much better would they have been off today if that would have happened? If what, what if.

“All those things are things that come when you’re not accountable and you don’t tell people that you love and care about actually what’s best in their best interest. But you don’t want to say it because you don’t want them to get mad at you. You don’t want to hurt their feelings. You don’t want them to think poorly of you for saying it. I’ve had my friends before that have told me something and I said, ‘Well why didn’t you say that to me before?’ And I wish they would’ve because I would’ve changed so much sooner to do things better if I had known exactly what I could have gotten better at.”