Friday column: Nothing like a visual to spur the conscience

Why do people lie?

Let’s ask Bruce Pearl.

“There’s no reasonable excuse,” the University of Tennessee men’s basketball coach said. “When you get asked a question, you panic.”

Pearl knows whereof he speaks as he recently admitted to … uh … misleading — that’s the word Pearl used — NCAA investigators probing infractions in Pearl’s program.

So far, the results of the lie and other ethical boo-boos are an eight-game suspension for Pearl and a $1.5 million pay cut over five years. Pearl also won’t be allowed to recruit off campus for a year. Those penalties were imposed by the Southeastern Conference and the university, respectively. The NCAA is yet to be heard from, but even the penalties thus far imposed could have been worse.

If he had stuck with his lie, Pearl could have lost his job.

To me, that help explains Pearl’s decision to ’fess up to his athletic director.

Pearl’s lie apparently involved a recruit being in his home in violation of NCAA rules. Reportedly, there was a photo of the visit. It doesn’t take a Mensa-caliber intellect to see a continued denial of the truth in this situation was foolhardy.

An image — or images — also played a role in another confession — that of Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini, who was accused of pushing a video camera held by a reporter for a Texas A&M fan website following the Cornhuskers’ Saturday loss to the Aggies.

Carl Pelini’s first response?

The incident never happened.

The response of his brother, head coach Bo Pelini? Well, it happened, but it was accidental. You see, Carl was trying to help a Nebraska player off the field and the photographer got in the way.

Unfortunately for the Pelinis, video to the contrary surfaced, leading to Carl’s Tuesday mea culpa.

“It was a very emotional situation and the mob scene on the field after the game amplified that,” he said. “Having been involved in a similar situation in 2003 at Missouri, and in witnessing the situation on the field, I made a poor decision in trying to prevent a reporter from recording the scene.”

Ah, yes, the dreaded “poor decision.”

And the false story peddled by his brother? Was that another “poor decision”?

“Unfortunately, Bo did not have all the facts prior to (Monday’s) press conference and wasn’t fully prepared for the question,” Carl Pelini said.

I hate when that happens.

Why do people lie? Often, I guess, because they know they’ve done something wrong and don’t want to own up to it. Or perhaps a close relative has done something wrong, and they don’t want them to have to own up to it.

Why do people who first lie later tell the truth? That’s often a bit easier to figure out.

Two words.

Visual evidence.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.