Decision on Hardman Was Right One--If . . .

When it comes to protecting the vulnerable minds and bodies of children from the evils of society, nobody does it better or more passionately than a parent.

Just try sneaking a 10-year-old AIDS victim into class at your local elementary school. You’ll never see a protest rally formed so fast in your life.

In Tennessee recently, a judge ruled that parents in the state have the right to deem what is suitable reading material for their children in school.

This, after conservative Christian groups objected to selections from such works as “Cinderella,” “Macbeth” and “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Many parents felt that portions of the books did not represent the ideals of fundamentalist beliefs.

Yes, parents have been known to go to extremes when it comes to protecting their own.

Which is why it was refreshing to see the recent action taken by the Laguna Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education involving Cedrick Hardman, Laguna Beach High School’s football coach.

Now Hardman, a former All-Pro NFL defensive end, was arrested Sept. 20 for possession of 5.5 grams of cocaine and resisting arrest a few hours after his team’s 21-14 victory over La Serna.

It’s not exactly the type of thing you easily slip into a coach’s personnel file.

In some school districts, of course, Hardman is a goner. Parents storm the halls of the high school wearing sandwich boards and carrying picket signs. They don’t leave until Hardman does.

But while the debate over Hardman’s future at the school has been emotional and divided, the school board, with considerable community support, voted this week to suspend Hardman without pay yet allowing him to attend football practices and assist coaches on a voluntary basis. And though he was barred from coaching in games and communicating with his players on the field, Hardman is allowed to attend games as a spectator.

Hardman has entered a drug rehabilitation program with the assurance that felony possession charges against him will be dropped if he completes the program.

At that point, Hardman may even be reinstated as the Artists’ coach. This, at the height of a drug hysteria in a country that has seen two top athletes drop dead in the past year because of cocaine abuse.

Yes, offering Hardman a second chance was a noble gesture by the parents and educators of Laguna Beach. Allowing him contact again with their children so soon after a drug arrest was the progressive, compassionate, liberal thing to do.

If, that is, it was done for all the right reasons.

If, that is, the school board shows the same compassion toward an English or wood shop teacher who is arrested on the same charges.

Remember, Hardman had been in trouble before, having been arrested in March, 1985, for driving with a suspended license and possessing a small amount of marijuana.

It was right if board members could say in all honesty that it did not allow Hardman’s success as a football coach to enter its decision.

If, that is, it did not buckle under from pressure from boosters and community members and students who have been touched by Hardman’s ability to take bad players and make them good ones.

If, that is, it hadn’t really noticed that in the past year Laguna Beach’s record in football had turned upside down, from 3-7 in 1985 to 7-1 this season.

If, that is, the board had not really decided again that athletic programs work under a separate set of rules than the rest of society.

It was a good decision if the board had indeed wiped clear the memories of 1985, when Hardman was allowed to bypass traditional hiring procedures and be hired at Laguna Beach on the strength of a petition signed by 200 parents and boosters.

If the school board made this decision on Hardman with a clear conscience, it should be applauded. If it was made with the expressed intent of helping one man, not one coach, through a personal problem, it was right.

If not, Laguna Beach should be ashamed.