COLUMN: Haden was right in putting health first

Athletic Director Pat Haden does an excellent job taking care of USC’s 550 or so student-athletes on a daily basis.

“Can’t emphasize enough how great our lives as student-athletes are because of Pat Haden,” redshirt junior wide receiver Robby Kolanz said.

During his tenure, he has advocated for and followed through with guaranteed four-year scholarships and additional food stipends for USC student-athletes.

“We will do as much as we possibly can for our student-athletes,” Haden said in an interview with the Daily Trojan last month.

While the well being of student-athletes has been his number one priority over the past five years, I’m glad to see he’s taking measures to address his own health concerns moving forward as well.

He took a step in doing so when resigning from the College Football Playoff selection committee last Friday, citing the advisement of his doctor to reduce his traveling. The 62-year-old Haden would have traveled to Dallas, Texas, earlier this week to deliberate with his fellow committee members to produce the first edition of this year’s playoff rankings. It would have been the first of multiple weekly trips to the Lone Star state for Haden.

“It takes up a lot of time,” Haden said.

Haden did the right thing in stepping down not only in the best interest of the CFP and USC, but also for himself.

I was about 50 feet away from Haden on the sidelines of Notre Dame Stadium in the minutes before USC took on the Irish on a cold and brisk night. A friend and I were taking in the Trojans warmups when we looked over and saw Haden on one knee.

Initially, it appeared to me as if he was simply engaging in a pregame prayer like many of the players do — seemingly appropriate after the events that had transpired earlier that week, though, that was unfortunately not the case.

We continued to look on, however, and medical personnel rushed to Haden’s side because it later became known that he was feeling lightheaded. Haden later checked out fine and tweeted the next day that he was feeling great but not before he scared the living crap out of me.

That same night, after USC’s 10-point loss to the Irish, I went before Touchdown Jesus and said a prayer for him.

Since that night in South Bend, Haden has not been present at either of USC’s last two games — both resulting in wins for the Trojans.

His health, however, hasn’t stopped others from calling for Haden’s job for different reasons.

Some have called for Haden’s resignation for his handling of the hiring and termination of former head coach Steve Sarkisian.

With all that he’s accomplished and done for this Athletics Department, he doesn’t deserve to have to step down — nor do I want him to step down — however, the current state of his health raises concerns.Remember that Haden, who has a pacemaker, was hospitizalized in August 2014.

While he continues to deal with his own health issues, they seemingly haven’t stopped him from being able to be involved in so many different facets.

An L.A. Times article published last month communicated that Haden holds more than a dozen other roles, a number of those coming in corporate and nonprofit board capacities.

As a senior student whose been juggling different positions and obligations for his entire college career, I honestly understand where Haden is coming from.

Haden’s been a multitasker his entire life so why would he stop now?

The famous Mark Twain put it all into perspective when he said, “age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

Haden’s been able to balance his commitments more than three times longer than I have in my life, but even I feel that I’m invincible at times. I’m sure he’s felt the same way.

It’s a mindset -— one that is derived, based on my personal experiences, from juggling multiple roles for so many years.

But at some point, being so versatile might cause all of the wear that eventually takes its toll on our bodies, regardless of how well adapted we are.

The toughest thing to do sometimes is to start putting our feet on the brakes.

Darian Nourian is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “Persian Persuasion,” runs Fridays.

Darian Nourian is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “Persian Persuasion,” runs Fridays.