As the face of MU football and a public figure representative of our entire institution, MU football coach Gary Pinkel has failed to meet the professional standards set by the Athletics Department, standards that he himself has lauded.

The former spokesman for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s anti-drunk driving organization, “Arrive Alive,” was pulled over around 10 p.m. Wednesday for driving while intoxicated.

We applaud Athletics Director Mike Alden and other university officials for their quick decisions to uphold those standards by taking proper action to address the issue.

During his time on the MU sidelines, Pinkel has been the representative this university has needed. For the past 11 years, he has had an unblemished off-the-field record and a penchant for relaying values of academics and discipline on to his players. It is for these reasons we feel let down by Pinkel’s recent actions.

With three football players and one assistant coach caught in alcohol-related incidents in the past two years, it will be very difficult for Pinkel to redeem himself for the seriously negative mark on his otherwise respectable career. It will be even more difficult for him to redeem the embarrassment he has caused our athletics program, university and community.

This incident is an especially bad impression to make on our future conference, the Southeastern Conference, and we are surprised neither Pinkel nor Alden made a specific apology to those member institutions.

We applaud that disciplinary actions were taken against Pinkel, including a one-game suspension without pay and requiring community service and a public apology. We do, however, question the reasoning behind these decisions.

Alden and the Athletics Department should have been more transparent when answering questions such as why Pinkel was suspended from only one game although his players caught with similar infractions were suspended from two, and why the final installment of the Border Showdown is the game in which he can return. Though we think the actions taken on Pinkel’s salary are fair, we don’t think a price can be put on the damage to MU’s image and the possible consequences of drunk driving, which at worst could include death.

People will disagree whether Pinkel’s punishments are severe enough given his public spotlight. More specificity behind the reasoning of the punishments is vital to redressing this issue.

Drunk driving is a serious epidemic plaguing this country. As a public figure, Pinkel maintains a responsibility to serve as a good example for the football team, the athletics program, the university and the community. Alden and the Athletics Department need to be as transparent as possible in explaining the reasoning behind Pinkel’s punishments so we can move beyond speculation over a controversy to progression from an unfortunate but redeemable issue.

We just wish Pinkel would have kept his head in the game.