Terry Bowden wrong for trashing brother

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Nothing Terry Bowden wrote in his Yahoo.com column about his brother, Tommy, being forced out last week as the Clemson football coach was the least bit inaccurate.To the contrary, it was dead-on.And boldly honest.For example:-- "So, did Tommy Bowden deserve what happened to him Monday? Unfortunately, yes. He deserved it because he, of all people, knew what to expect when he got into this business. We grew up in it.-- "He knew what to expect when he went to Clemson. He knew that, no matter where you go, there is an expectation of success that must be met. After nine years at Clemson, he knew exactly what those expectations were and he knew they had not been met."-- "Clemson expects to win the conference championship every once in a while, and they should. After 10 years of falling short, they deserve the right to try and find a coach they believe can get them there."Those words were no different, really, than those used by other college football commentators in discussing Tommy's troubles at Clemson.Except in one very conspicuous way.They came from his brother.And that changes everything.That makes it wrong.Truth is, Tommy had been getting beat up by his critics for weeks, since Clemson's season-opening, blowout loss to Alabama.No surprise there: The Tigers, ranked among the top 10 in most preseason polls and favored to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title, also lost to Maryland and Wake Forest and were a disappointing 3-3 when Tommy "resigned."And, frankly, there was no way Terry could've defended his brother without jeopardizing his own credibility as a radio show host, college football analyst and columnist, though it would've been understandable if he had tried.But there was no need to pile on, either.Maybe Terry couldn't cover his brother's back, professionally, but why stick a knife in it? Aren't brothers supposed to stand by each other, especially when adversity hits? Why didn't Terry say, simply, that he's too close to the situation and write about something else? Terry, who coached at Auburn before resigning under pressure in midseason 10 years ago, admitted in the column that it was "difficult" to write about his brother's failings. But that's not how it came out.It came across as cold, harsh, un-Bowden-like.And, perhaps, that's the most surprising thing of all about Terry's decision to kick his brother when he was down and out.The Bowdens are a close, God-fearing family. Closer than most. So the next family get-together in Tallahassee ought to be interesting.I can only wonder what Tommy thinks of Terry's column. And I'm guessing that Bobby -- their daddy and the longtime coach at Florida State -- is puzzled by it. But I'm fairly sure that the Bowden matriarch, Bobby's wife, Ann, wasn't pleased.Not one bit.And justifiably so.Because that's not how the Bowdens conduct themselves.The Bowdens pull together in trying times. They lean on each other. They offer consolation, understanding and encouragement.They prop each other up. They don't kick each other when they're down. Certainly, they don't rip each other publicly.So I don't get it.Why did Terry do it? What was he thinking? What was gained, other than a national headline? And at what expense? Look, Terry's analysis of his brother's situation at Clemson was dead-on accurate. And boldly honest.It was also wrong.(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)