Eddie Sutton was cited with driving under the influence after he was injured in a car accident, and the Oklahoma State basketball coach will take a medical leave for the rest of the season.
The injuries to the 69-year-old coach, along with chronic back pain, prompted the decision, the school said Monday. Sean Sutton, his son and head-coach designate, will finish this season as coach. The university added that no decision has been made on who will coach next season.
Sutton was hospitalized overnight for a head injury and released Saturday. The occupant of the other SUV received minor injuries and was released at the scene, officers said.
In a statement released by the university, Sutton said that “with my deteriorating physical condition and other issues, I have been under a tremendous amount of stress.”
The coach said he had been close to taking a medical leave after a Feb. 4 trip to Kansas State “because the pain in my back was making it very difficult to coach.”
(afternoon addendum : The Sports Network reported the following earlier today :
According to police reports, a witness told police that Sutton was unable to give the date, time or his current location after the accident and was only able to provide his name and that he was in Stillwater.
The witness also described Sutton of having “a slight fruity odor to breath with confusion and sometimes loud, angry verbal remarks towards questions.” In addition, the same witness saw a prescription bottle of hydrocodone in Sutton’s car.)
sutton’s drinking problem been tacitly public knowledge since the uk days.
A few years ago when Eddie came to Norman, the OU fans broke out in a “Eddie’s Drunk, Eddie’d Drunk..” chant. I am hoping my fellow Sooner fans show a little class this time and remember that Eddie also likes pills. I feel that sometimes the stress of coaching a sub par team makes coaches watt to hit the bottle and the hydrocodone. Toni
Craig crutchfield loves men