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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Guest editorial - Time to speak up for athletes
As a kid, when I got mad — really hopping mad — I would go out in the backyard, find a big stick, go to the nearest tree and whack the heck out of that stick until it broke. That was my parents’ way of helping me release my anger.
After a recent day of work at my school, I went home, found a big stick, a tree, whacked it, broke the stick . . . and it didn’t help.
I was still mad. And I still am. Really mad. And I can tell you why in one simple word: “Silence.”
Over the past months, several instances have been reported in the press about collegiate student-athletes being treated poorly and improperly. Look no further than the recent Don Imus incident or the Duke lacrosse case to see what I mean (but those are by no means the only instances). And leaders in the world of collegiate sports have been as silent about these instances as a high school student sneaking in after curfew.
I teach a collegiate class called “Leadership in Sports.” We study leadership from numerous angles and perspectives. We read, talk, write and analyze leadership. We have speakers, activities and heated discussions about leadership. From these activities one question recently came up: “Why is no one sticking up for student-athletes?”
A fair question for which I struggle to find a credible answer.
Stories frequently appear about student-athletes who receive preferential treatment because of talent or ability. In response, there is a solid — albeit sometimes bureaucratic system in place — called the NCAA, which addresses many if not all of these instances.
But who is there when a student-athlete receives unfair or unjust treatment for no other reason than being a student-athlete? Who is looking out — and speaking out — for them? Who is telling the bullies to stop? Apparently no one, unless the athlete hires a lawyer.
In my class we use a text called “The Leadership Challenge.” The authors surveyed more than 75,000 people and found that three of the most valued traits of a leader are being forward-thinking, supportive and courageous. By not standing up for our athletes, by not putting our foot down and saying “stop,” we are not being forward-thinking or supportive. And as leaders we certainly are not being courageous.
In the Imus case, many people did speak out. However, on closer examination almost all of those who raised a voice were either addressing the issue of race or gender. Where were the voices that addressed the issue of spotlighting these students because they were athletes?
That silence was, and is, deafening.
A skeptic could say, “Hey, what about those athletes who steal, cheat and commit crimes?” My response is that a much larger majority of athletes are star students who give of their precious free time to volunteer in their community — who are wonderful role models both on and off campus.
So why should today’s college sports leaders speak out?
Steve Wulf gives insight into this in an article he recently penned for ESPN. “We confer responsibility, trust and sometimes glory upon college students, forgetting that they are caught between childhood and adulthood,” he said. Collegiate student-athletes in many ways are still developing — they are still being molded. We as leaders have a responsibility to give them a safe environment in which to grow, to care for them and to ensure they are treated with respect, not as an object.
We have been here before. Do you remember Michael Costin? He was a hockey coach who was tragically beaten to death — in front of his own children — by a parent of another hockey player. That was in 2000, and there was no outcry from leaders in sports. Yes, there was a trial, a guilty verdict, and a long sentence. But there was also silence.
A maddening silence.
And now, almost daily there are examples of coaches, officials and athletes being abused, and still silence.
It is time for today’s sports leaders to speak, stop the silence and be leaders. A great vocal leader, Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it.”
Speaking out might just help us avoid such a relationship.
Mike Davenport is an adjunct professor and the director of rowing at Washington College (Maryland).
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By Mike Davenport
Washington College (Maryland)
Washington College (Maryland)
As a kid, when I got mad — really hopping mad — I would go out in the backyard, find a big stick, go to the nearest tree and whack the heck out of that stick until it broke. That was my parents’ way of helping me release my anger.After a recent day of work at my school, I went home, found a big stick, a tree, whacked it, broke the stick . . . and it didn’t help.
I was still mad. And I still am. Really mad. And I can tell you why in one simple word: “Silence.”
Over the past months, several instances have been reported in the press about collegiate student-athletes being treated poorly and improperly. Look no further than the recent Don Imus incident or the Duke lacrosse case to see what I mean (but those are by no means the only instances). And leaders in the world of collegiate sports have been as silent about these instances as a high school student sneaking in after curfew.
I teach a collegiate class called “Leadership in Sports.” We study leadership from numerous angles and perspectives. We read, talk, write and analyze leadership. We have speakers, activities and heated discussions about leadership. From these activities one question recently came up: “Why is no one sticking up for student-athletes?”
A fair question for which I struggle to find a credible answer.
Stories frequently appear about student-athletes who receive preferential treatment because of talent or ability. In response, there is a solid — albeit sometimes bureaucratic system in place — called the NCAA, which addresses many if not all of these instances.
But who is there when a student-athlete receives unfair or unjust treatment for no other reason than being a student-athlete? Who is looking out — and speaking out — for them? Who is telling the bullies to stop? Apparently no one, unless the athlete hires a lawyer.
In my class we use a text called “The Leadership Challenge.” The authors surveyed more than 75,000 people and found that three of the most valued traits of a leader are being forward-thinking, supportive and courageous. By not standing up for our athletes, by not putting our foot down and saying “stop,” we are not being forward-thinking or supportive. And as leaders we certainly are not being courageous.
In the Imus case, many people did speak out. However, on closer examination almost all of those who raised a voice were either addressing the issue of race or gender. Where were the voices that addressed the issue of spotlighting these students because they were athletes?
That silence was, and is, deafening.
A skeptic could say, “Hey, what about those athletes who steal, cheat and commit crimes?” My response is that a much larger majority of athletes are star students who give of their precious free time to volunteer in their community — who are wonderful role models both on and off campus.
So why should today’s college sports leaders speak out?
Steve Wulf gives insight into this in an article he recently penned for ESPN. “We confer responsibility, trust and sometimes glory upon college students, forgetting that they are caught between childhood and adulthood,” he said. Collegiate student-athletes in many ways are still developing — they are still being molded. We as leaders have a responsibility to give them a safe environment in which to grow, to care for them and to ensure they are treated with respect, not as an object.
We have been here before. Do you remember Michael Costin? He was a hockey coach who was tragically beaten to death — in front of his own children — by a parent of another hockey player. That was in 2000, and there was no outcry from leaders in sports. Yes, there was a trial, a guilty verdict, and a long sentence. But there was also silence.
A maddening silence.
And now, almost daily there are examples of coaches, officials and athletes being abused, and still silence.
It is time for today’s sports leaders to speak, stop the silence and be leaders. A great vocal leader, Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it.”
Speaking out might just help us avoid such a relationship.
Mike Davenport is an adjunct professor and the director of rowing at Washington College (Maryland).
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