Another reason to not like Jim Harbaugh

In an attempt at full disclosure, I'm a diehard Seahawks fan.  Everything that I'm about to write will be colored by my lifelong devotion to my hometown team.  Nevertheless, I think most people will agree with my thoughts unless they live, or have lived, in the greater Bay Area.  

Jim Harbaugh is a jerk.  We are all well aware of his over the top intensity, general surliness, and the annoying way that he wears his glasses at the tip of his nose like a stereotypical librarian.  His propensity for going ballistic on the sidelines at the first hint of anything going against his team reminds me of a toddler throwing a tantrum on the kitchen floor when his mom won't give him a third lollipop.  He's more hated in Detroit than Matt Millen thanks to the back slap heard around the world.  He's known in Seattle as simply Douchebag Harbaugh.  Hell, I don't think his own brother even likes him.  People have been blowing smoke up his butt for so long that he truly believes that he is the smartest football coach to ever prowl a college or NFL sideline.  When he is your head coach, you grudgingly support him despite all of the condescension, curt answers, and disgusting antics.  However, the minute that he switches to an opposing team he becomes Public Enemy #1.  

In my opinion, it's okay if he wants to play the villain.  I think the fact that he really doesn't like Pete Carroll adds a distinctive layer of animosity that most NFL rivalries lack.  However, Harbaugh took it too far when he began to pontificate about the Seahawks' recent problems with performance enhancing drug related suspensions.  Back in June, he told reporters that he had definitely noticed the PEDs issues up in Seattle.  He went on to say the following: "Play by the rules, and you will always be above reproach.  Especially when you're good, because you don't want people to come back and say they're winning because they're cheating. ... So we want to be above reproach in everything and do everything by the rules. Because if you cheat to win, then you've already lost, according to Bo Schembechler. And Bo Schembechler is about next to the word of God as you can get in my mind. It's not the word of God, but it's close."  With these comments, Harbaugh was attempting to separate the way that the 49ers do business from the way that the Seahawks operate.  It was clear from his comments that he intended to have his team on a higher moral ground.  No cheating and playing by the rules was how things were going to get done in the Bay Area.

Apparently, someone forgot to tell Aldon Smith.  On top of an earlier alcohol-related issue in Miami and a pending lawsuit for allegedly shooting a party guest, Smith was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of DUI.  Smith was involved in a single-car accident that left him wedged up against a tree with his foot still pressed down on the accelerator causing the car's tires to burn rubber.  Smith was released on bail and was promptly on the practice field with his teammates by the afternoon.  Harbaugh's comments to the media indicated that Smith would play on Sunday and that any consequences would be handed down by the NFL and not the 49ers.  Hold on a bloody second!  I thought that Harbaugh's 49ers were going to above reproach.  I guess Harbaugh was only referring to the use of PEDs rather than putting the community in danger by driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.  This moment was his opportunity to put his foot down in the name of "playing by the rules" and suspend Smith for making a poor decision.  Unfortunately, Harbaugh is a phony and an opportunist, which means that benching one of his best players would be a little too inconvenient.  How can we expect him to continue being a genius of a coach if he suspends his players for any minor indiscretion that they commit?  It is a lot easier to plug Smith into the line-up and pass the buck to Commissioner Roger Goodell.  I didn't think that I could find more reasons to not like Harbaugh, but he just keeps upping the ante.  If he wants to be like a 1,000 other coaches that have turned a blind eye to star players misbehaving for the benefit of their won-loss records, then so be it but don't throw stones at others when apparently you have a sinner or two on  your own team.