Coach Larry Eustachy deserves a second chance. Despite the coach’s confession to a live television audience that he was an alcoholic, ISU Athletics Director Bruce Van De Velde announced that he was recommending Eustachy be fired because he had caused severe embarrassment for the university.

“I cannot, and I do not, condone coach Eustachy’s behavior,” Van De Velde said. “Regardless of the reason, we have a right to expect better from such a prominent member of the Iowa State community.”

Although Eustachy’s inappropriate behavior has brought Iowa State bad press, his revelation on Wednesday told us there was more to learn about his actions that were fully documented in a Monday article in The Des Moines Register.

His comments were justification that the university should help him seek counseling and treatment for his disease, not kick him to the curb. Eustachy came clean about his condition to ISU President Gregory Geoffroy Monday, yet Van De Velde still decided to let Eustachy go.

Stacy Eustachy, the coach’s wife, put it best at the conference when she said that although his actions made her angry, she loves him and he deserves to be given a second chance.

He has received enough punishment. Anyone who watched his conference on television or has seen press photos knows that he didn’t look like the same man who was always dressed in a snappy black mock turtleneck, putting on a wild show on the sidelines of every men’s basketball game. Here was a man who was coming to terms very publicly with a disease he had been unknowingly battling for more than 20 years.

Eustachy has not only hurt Iowa State’s reputation, he has also put a dent in his relationship with a family he truly cares about. The damage has been done. Now it’s time to start the healing process — and we can’t do that without Eustachy.

Eustachy should appeal his case to the ISU administration, and he should win. He should continue to seek treatment and counseling to stay sober. He shouldn’t continue to see the raises he’s gotten to make him the highest-paid state official. If he slips up again, there will be a sufficient amount of evidence to send him on his way.

With this, the university is poised to lose millions of dollars if Eustachy is fired and is paid out of his contract. And we may lose some of our best players — Tim Barnes and Jackson Vroman, who may soon be hearing from recruiters at competing universities.

The athletics office slipped up on this one. Eustachy bit the bullet and admitted he’s been a hypocrite. How much more groveling does the ISU community want to see before a sick man’s life is ruined?

Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone.

Editorial Board: Cavan Reagan, Amber Billings, Ayrel Clark, Charlie Weaver, Katie List