Spring Break
Spoiled athletes need reality check
Michael Daly
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: Opinion
And that's where the real problem lies. The guilty party usually isn't the typical student-athlete. It's really not even the few who misbehave or accept preferential treatment. The villains are the "adults" - the coaches and administrators - who send the message it's acceptable to behave how you want because you can run fast or jump high.
I've been associated with the Royal Purple for almost two years, and in that time, I've been directly involved with, or caught wind of, people within the athletic department objecting to certain stories the paper has run.
There are no complaints when the front page displays the latest WIAC championship. No one whines when there's a story about a Warhawk athlete winning player of the year honors, or a state-of-the-art athletic facility opening. Some athletes even send complaints to the paper about a lack of coverage.
But when the same individuals bend the rules, they instantly want nothing to do with the spotlight. And their coaches and the administration are quick to defend them and explain why the negative attention is unjustified.
Sadly, the adults don't realize they aren't doing the athlete-students any favors. They'll leave UW-Whitewater thinking they can always behave how they want and be bailed out. That would probably be true, unfortunately, if they could jump high enough and run fast enough to play professionally. But this is UW-Whitewater, and excluding rare exceptions like Derek Stanley or Matt Turk, pro sports are not an option for graduates.
Then again, sometimes exceptional talent still isn't enough to bail out someone who thinks he's above the rules. Ask Clarett. You can reach him at the Toledo Correctional Institution.
I've been associated with the Royal Purple for almost two years, and in that time, I've been directly involved with, or caught wind of, people within the athletic department objecting to certain stories the paper has run.
There are no complaints when the front page displays the latest WIAC championship. No one whines when there's a story about a Warhawk athlete winning player of the year honors, or a state-of-the-art athletic facility opening. Some athletes even send complaints to the paper about a lack of coverage.
But when the same individuals bend the rules, they instantly want nothing to do with the spotlight. And their coaches and the administration are quick to defend them and explain why the negative attention is unjustified.
Sadly, the adults don't realize they aren't doing the athlete-students any favors. They'll leave UW-Whitewater thinking they can always behave how they want and be bailed out. That would probably be true, unfortunately, if they could jump high enough and run fast enough to play professionally. But this is UW-Whitewater, and excluding rare exceptions like Derek Stanley or Matt Turk, pro sports are not an option for graduates.
Then again, sometimes exceptional talent still isn't enough to bail out someone who thinks he's above the rules. Ask Clarett. You can reach him at the Toledo Correctional Institution.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 84
whitewater_11
Great Article
posted 4/22/09 @ 12:18 AM CST
Let's face the facts, it's D3 football we're playing here at Whitewater. You guys aren't going to make an NFL team, and many of you would be lucky to make it on an AF2 team (Yes, that is a lower division than the AFL). (Continued…)
John
posted 4/22/09 @ 12:21 AM CST
Mike "Maverick" Daly takin' on the man...I like it.
football players are special
posted 4/22/09 @ 12:22 AM CST
pretty ridiculous that they had call in the po-pos for one whiny football player. i wish i knew who it was.
this writer is also by far the best one the rp has, every time he writes a column it's either really funny or thought provoking, i really wish he would do them more often
siyavash motamedi
posted 4/22/09 @ 12:39 AM CST
I agree totally. If you cannot count on the administration (adults) in this situation to teach these guys a lesson on what I call common respect, down the road that lack of respect towards authority (or anyone for that matter) can eventually lead to bigger consequences. (Continued…)
Ryan
posted 4/22/09 @ 12:44 AM CST
In response to some of the comments, how can you be so sure it was a football player? The author just said they were athletes. Although I guess it is not that far of a leap to make. (Continued…)
Paul
posted 4/22/09 @ 8:20 AM CST
Right on the money with some of these guys - I bet this article won't make you popular with the football team. I would love to know which fool refused to pull out his id. (Continued…)
mary b
posted 4/22/09 @ 11:08 AM CST
unfortunately it goes beyond the world of sports - young people today are bailled out by parents/adults in all kinds of settings and are not required to follow the rules. (Continued…)
Shawn
posted 4/22/09 @ 11:09 AM CST
I don't know if you can blame these athletes...maybe they're still bitter that they weren't offered any scholarships out of high school and had to settle for a ton of free apparel instead. (Continued…)
Humberto Fuente
posted 4/22/09 @ 12:48 PM CST
Although I tend to agree with the people posting here and the article ... Not handing over an ID seems pretty trivial. Maybe if they got free parking or meals or something it would be more outrageous. (Continued…)
I wouldn't have integerity if I got free underarmer
posted 4/22/09 @ 1:44 PM CST
Majority of athletes (but mostly just one sport) are enjoying UWW with such a high power trip, incidents like the one of the weight room, probably have no effect. (Continued…)
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