Fox News reported that- Steve Sarkisian sued the University of Southern California on Monday, alleging the school breached the football coach’s contract and discriminated against him on the basis of a disability — namely alcoholism — when it fired him this fall. According to Fox News, Sarkisian claims he should have been allowed to seek treatment for alcoholism while keeping his job. The lawsuit describes Sarkisian’s descent into alcohol dependency in steady detail, citing the extraordinary stress of the USC job combined with his wife’s decision to file for divorce earlier this year.
Sarkisian was an assistant coach at USC under coach Pete Carroll during the 2000s, and he returned to the school as head coach in December 2013 after five years at Washington. Sarkisian’s behavior was first scrutinized last August when he slurred his words and used profanity in a speech at a preseason pep rally. He claims he was affected by two light beers and two prescription medications for anxiety.
What is Alcoholism?
The term “alcoholism” is commonly used, but poorly defined. The WHO calls alcoholism “a term of long-standing use and variable meaning”, and use of the term was disfavored by a 1979 WHO Expert Committee. The Big Book (from Alcoholics Anonymous) states that once a person is an alcoholic, they are always an alcoholic, but does not define what is meant by the term “alcoholic” in this context. In 1960, Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), said:
We have never called alcoholism a disease because, technically speaking, it is not a disease entity. For example, there is no such thing as heart disease. Instead there are many separate heart ailments, or combinations of them. It is something like that with alcoholism. Therefore we did not wish to get in wrong with the medical profession by pronouncing alcoholism a disease entity. Therefore we always called it an illness, or a malady—a far safer term for us to use.
In professional and research contexts, the term “alcoholism” sometimes encompasses both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, and sometimes is considered equivalent to alcohol dependence. Talbot (1989) observes that alcoholism in the classical disease model follows a progressive course: if a person continues to drink, their condition will worsen. This will lead to harmful consequences in their life, physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.
If you or someone you know is showing signs of alcoholism, please call English Mountain Recovery today: 1-877-615-8569
References: Wikipedia, Fox News
