I Wish He Wrote For The AT

from the 4/22/09 Royal Purple-UW Whitewater's Student Newspaper

Spoiled athletes need reality check (by Mike Daly)

"Not often are you afforded the opportunity to compare UW-Whitewater's sports to a typical Division I athletic program, but there's one similarity between the two: the preferential treatment some athletes receive.

The special treatment some athletes receive at the Division I level has been well documented. Most people have heard the story of former Ohio State University running back Maurice Clarett accusing his former coach, Jim Tressel, of arranging for him to get passing grades, cars and money for bogus summer jobs. Clarett also once walked out of a midterm exam because he "didn't know a thing," and was later allowed to take an oral exam instead. He "passed."

The likelihood of such events occurring at UW-Whitewater is highly unlikely, if not impossible. But some Warhawk athletes do receive treatment their non-athlete peers are not afforded.

While I was in the Williams Center weight room April 10, three athletes from one of UW-Whitewater's elite programs attempted to work out, independent of their team, without handing over their student IDs. They had their IDs, they just simply didn't want to perform the laborious task of handing them over to the Williams Center employees. One athlete was cooperative, a second eventually forked over his ID, but the third refused until the police were called. That's right; the police were summoned because an athlete wouldn't take his ID out of his wallet and hand it to the employee. Nothing really happened, and all three were allowed to stay after wasting everyone's time.

Days later, the athletes didn't want to comment on it. The coaches didn't want a story about it, and the Williams Center employees-presumably due to the fear of singling out athletes-didn't want to talk about it either.

This particular athlete conducted himself in a way his coaches surely would not condone. Neither their demeanor, nor their language was respectful, but that's OK, because they're athletes. They're allowed to play the system. Next time I'm in the Williams Center, I'll keep my ID, wear my headphones on the bottom floor and bench press naked because I feel like it. Although when I break the rules and act like a goon, I won't have a coach or administrator who will go to bat for me.

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."

Wow! Why can't we get a student writer like this instead of the current current AT editor who rails incessantly about the evils of business?