Miller guilty ... of being a distraction

UA basketball coach Sean Miller says he will be vindicated.

I’m not sure that is true.

What is true, however, is that it does not matter.

He’s done at Arizona. He’s probably done as a basketball coach, period. But definitely at UA.

Sean Miller is guilty … of being a distraction.

Maybe more.

But in today’s world, being a distraction is enough.

ESPN reported that the FBI had taped calls in which Miller speaks of big money payments to make sure that Deandre Ayton (now a star with the team) signs with the Wildcats.

Aynton and his family and an attorney hired by UA say the player has done nothing wrong.

The ESPN story didn’t implicate him and he and his family vehemently deny demanding or taking money.

The attorney, Paul Kelly, released a statement that read in part:

“Over the past several months, Mr. Ayton has voluntarily submitted to several interviews, by federal prosecutors and the FBI (and others)… In each of these interviews, Mr. Ayton has credibly and consistently maintained that neither he or nor any member of his family, nor any representative thereof, received any money or extra benefit to influence his decision to attend the University of Arizona. Not a shred of evidence has been adduced suggesting otherwise, which federal investigators and NCAA officials have acknowledged.”

Last year, Miller’s assistant coach, Emanuel “Book” Richardson, was arrested as part of the FBI’s investigation into the long suspected pay-to-play underworld of college sports.

It’s an ugly business. And it will not fade away. It should not fade away, until the federal probe — and subsequent prosecutions — play themselves out.

Given that, it doesn’t matter whether Miller ultimately is vindicated. He’s done as a coach.

As long as he is around the program, the first and second and third (and so on) questions in any press conference would — correctly — have to do with the allegations and investigation. This isn’t unique to college athletics. We’ve seen lately that the credible appearance of wrongdoing, of impropriety, can have disastrous results on a person’s career. It happens in big business. In entertainment. In politics.

Meanwhile, given the news about Miller, there are probably a bunch of coaches, players and others connected with college sports who are sweating what the feds might have on them.

But, for now, Miller is the poster boy.

And, like it or not, it’s a wanted poster.

And, fair or not, being implicated in such a sleazy business makes him guilty — at the very least — of being a distraction.

And in today’s world, that’s enough to lose your job.