Moglia chastises Saban for claiming he didn’t know the date of the presidential election

Joe Moglia had a message for Alabama football coach Nick Saban on Tuesday.

A week after the Coastal Carolina head football coach had arranged for his entire team of more than 100 players to vote on election day or beforehand, he called Saban’s proclamation during a press conference last Wednesday that he was unaware Nov. 8 was the date of the presidential election “disrespectful.”

At the press conference, Saban said: “To be honest with you, I didn’t even know yesterday was election day. So it was so important to me that I didn’t even know it was happening. We're focused on other things here.”

Saban, who has made multiple visits to the White House to be honored with his teams after winning national championships, went on to further explain his view on politics.

“I hope whoever our leader is will certainly do all that he can do to make our country safe and improve the quality of life for a lot of the people we have in our country, and I don't think I am qualified to determine who that should be,” Saban said.

Saban attempted to clarify his comments by claiming following his team’s win Saturday against Mississippi State that he voted in advance via absentee ballot, even though he was at the college and his home the day of the election. “Tuesday's our biggest workday and game plan day, and I forgot it was Election Day until I got home at 11 o'clock at night,” Saban said Saturday.

The way Moglia sees it, as an influential figure who has an impact on his players and their maturation, Saban should set a better example and show more interest in such an important domestic and world event.

“The reason I’m disappointed, No. 1, he’s the highest-paid public employee that exists in the United States, but it’s far greater than that for me,” Moglia said following his weekly press conference. “The threat of terrorism is probably going to be with us for the next couple generations. So it’s the military that has to protect us, and I don’t think ever before in the history of mankind has the world needed the economic and military leadership of the United States.

“… In a democracy we get a chance to pick those leaders. So to pick the leader of the free world last Tuesday was the most important thing going on in the world that day, and to not realize that and not to be aware of that frankly is disrespectful to his team, to his school, to his state, to the country. There’s still a piece of me that can’t believe he even said that.”

Moglia said he would entertain Saban contacting him to discuss the matter.

Mr. Moglia, the politically apathetic five-time national champion on Line 2.

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Moglia chastises Saban for claiming he didn’t know the date of the presidential election."