Allen Pinkett, a former Notre Dame running back who is currently on the Irish radio team, is in hot water with his employer for these comments he made earlier this week:

“I’ve always felt like, to have a successful team, you have to have a few bad citizens on the team,” Pinkett said. “That’s how Ohio State used to win all the time. They would have two or three guys that were criminals and that just adds to the chemistry of the team. So I think Notre Dame is growing because maybe they have some guys that are doing something worthy of a suspension, which creates edge on the football team.

“You can’t have a football team full of choirboys, you know? You get your butt kicked if you have a team full of choirboys. So you have to have a little bit of edge.”

Pinkett’s not wrong, but he’s not entirely right, either. The Irish, obviously, are not happy. Pinkett flew with the team to Dublin, Ireland for the season opener against Navy Saturday, but it is not clear whether or not he’ll be part of the radio broadcast. [UPDATE: Pinkett will not be on game coverage this weekend.] Pinkett quickly released a statement of apology once the media got wrapped up in the story during one of the slowest weeks of the year:

“In reviewing my remarks … it’s clear that I chose my words poorly and that an apology is in order for these inappropriate comments,” Pinkett, a two-time All-American for the Irish who spent six seasons in the NFL, said in a statement. “I am deeply sorry. … I understand that there may be consequences to my actions and accept whatever discipline is imposed.”

If you’re unaware of Pinkett’s history, he grew up about 30 minutes away from me in Northern Virginia. Sterling to be exact. Not many bad citizens there. Safe, fairly wealthy suburban enclave dotted with golf courses located a long field goal away from the Potomac River. The guess here is Pinkett simply forgot he was talking to a radio show instead of friend at a watering hole. Pinkett simply misspoke in a national spot. Who hasn’t had that discussion in the last decade?

Pinkett gave a speech to the graduating class of 2012 at Park View High School, where he graduated from in 1982: (that paper spelled his name wrong)

Pinkett had a warning about the media “Watch the news, but don’t internalize it.”

Bad news sells, he added, so you’re going to get a steady diet of it.

And we’ll all be getting a steady diet of Pinkett until the game Saturday morning. [Trib]