OPINION & EDITORIAL
Wake up and smell the coffee
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Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:
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- $$FC (December 6, 2007)
- In a bind (December 5, 2007)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
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- Sexual violence not just female issue (April 6, 2006)
- Drinking culture tolerates abuse (February 23, 2007)
- Bye Bye Barry (November 10, 2005)
- What happens in Madison stays in Madison (October 29, 2004)
by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Thursday, March 4, 2004
Tragically scandalous stories concerning the University of Colorado-Boulder football program have dominated the news lately. The current count of women alleging sexual assaults since 1997 has ballooned to seven. While new stories of strippers and wild recruiting parties have come to the forefront, so has a larger issue.
Events at CU-Boulder are not exclusive to it. Across the country, athletic programs have disciplinary problems. The fact is that few of these programs have received nearly as much publicity.
It is quite easy to point a finger at CU-Boulder, its coaches, players and athletic department. It is also easy to urge them to clean up their acts, but that is simply ignoring what is festering under the surface.
While the situation at CU-Boulder is horrible and seemingly out of control, perhaps some good can come of it in the sense of raising awareness to a new level.
Maybe it will wake up the rest of the country by demonstrating how easily things can spin out of control.
St. John’s is another example of a school spotlighted in the press because of an incident involving athletes. Several players on the basketball team allegedly broke curfew and went to a strip club. Miami has come under fire for the behavior of one of their recruits who allegedly ran into trouble on an official campus visit. A quick glance at the headlines of the past few months and readers will see example after example of questionable behavior by college athletes.
Moreover, UW athletes are not without their own ugly transgressions. More than 15 separate alleged incidents of athletes violating the law in the past few years have become public. Now is no better time for the athletic department to take control and ensure these problems become few and extremely far between.
Take a look at the list: Al Johnson — arrested for drunk driving; Lee Evans — pled no contest to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge; Nick Davis — pled guilty to stealing a $4,000 TV from Best Buy; Boo Wade — arrested on misdemeanor assault charges; Dwayne Smith — arrested on charges of sexual assault; Brad Winchester — arrested after a fight; Ernest Mason — arrested on charges of disorderly conduct; Rob Tucker — arrested on five misdemeanor charges; Byron Brown — charged with substantial battery and disorderly conduct; UW recruit Marcetteaus McGee — charged with sexual assault; Russ Kuhns — pled guilty to misdemeanor charges of battery and disorderly conduct in an attack involving a pizza delivery driver; Anthony Davis — pled guilty to punching his girlfriend in the face during a fight; Brett Bell — charged with disorderly conduct after being involved in a fight; Darius Jones — ticketed for drunk driving; Eric Bickerstaff — charged with battery and disorderly conduct.
It is time for the Athletic Department to draw a line in the sand and say: “We will not tolerate behavior like this out of our student athletes, and we expect more out of students who should act as role models to thousands.”
We call on the UW Athletic Department to be proactive in encouraging and demanding good behavior from its athletes. Set the bar high, let athletes know punishments exist if they violate the law.
The incidents at CU-Boulder should perk the ears of Barry Alvarez, who will step into the role athletic director this April. Make sure recruiting practices at UW are no less than stellar. Avoid and do not tolerate having bad behavior blow up in the faces of all of the other athletes who work relentlessly to represent this University positively.
UW has worked hard to create a nationally respected athletic department. It must not wait until the dam breaks wide open to stop the rushing water. It must inspect early and often to find even the smallest leaks so that the cracks will not turn into a flood like the one at CU-Boulder.
