WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By John Bailey. January 27, 2017:
Perhaps women attending all NCAA colleges and programs should be given this admonition as part of their college handbook:
“Warning to all students and participants in university programs: The college cannot be responsible for the behavior of our athletes and coaches when women students or male students date athletes, enter athletes’ rooms or attend athletes’ parties, or are examined by school officials for health reasons, or meet with college personnel of any kind. When male or women students participate in these social, athletic and medical activities, and interaction with any and all university employees, full or partime, or independent consultants, they do so at their own risk and the university assumes no responsibility or liability when women and male students do so and allegedly are sexually molested, made intoxicated, or sustain injury at the hands of the aforementioned athletes, coaches, staffs, medical or faculty, or administrative personnel behavior towards that student or program participant.”
This week has shown the corruption, the immorality, the exploitation, the irresponsibility, disrespect for the law, lack of ethics, greed and the bottom line of what NCAA college athletics is:
A cesspool of weak, self-centered, timid powerful people who would rather tolerate the immorality of college administration of athletics, ignore reports of athlete, coach, and athletic administration malfeasance and defend their self-interest at all costs, than pursue truth and justice and the American way.
The absolutely sickening conduct of Dr. Nassar resulting in the wrenching, unbelievable but real testimonies of the young women who were assaulted by this ghastly pedophile–can we call him that now–child molester–told in a courtroom in Lansing, Michigan, resulting in his life sentence for his crimes against the young children he guided showed the moral malfeasance of Michigan State.
Then today comes the report from The Athlete of 37 cases of Michigan State male athletes being accused of sexual assault of women being ignored by the President of the NCAA.
I have had enough of this reprehensible look-the-other-way, ignore-it-it-will-go-away and they-were-just -boys-being-boys attitude up and down the athletic culture of college football basketball, hockey whatever that the NCAA exhibits.
The head of the NCAA if he ignored these reports should be brought up on obstruction of justice at the very least.
Michigan State has forfeited the right to compete in the NCAA, the Big Ten, and should get back to the business of educating students in how to behave and lead a productive life. The University of Chicago years ago dropped college football to concentrate on education.
Michigan State should do the same thing.
Their administration needs a top to bottom cleanout of the enablers of big money athletics that only care about profits and bowl games and attracting the kind of bad apple players (some) and the coaches who tolerate their immature, immoral, illegal behavior because they are so talented.
But this case of Nassar and the apparently wild disrespect for women and bad behavior towards women revealed today is shocking.
Can a head coach at Michigan State, or any school ever consider suspending, cuttting, or the school expel an athlete who is accused of sexual assault? It can be a team rule. Or remove their scholarship if they have one?
But Michigan State’s culture or Penn State’s culture, for that matter, is aside.
It is the incredible moral weakness of the President of the NCAA and the NCAA up and down that astounds me.
If the NCAA has any concern for athletes and education at all, Michigan State should lose bowl eligibility for a decade until their sports programs can be cleansed of its good-old-boy enabling culture– exemplified by Nassar’s disgusting conduct.
The President of the NCAA should be investigated by the Board of the NCAA to see why he would not investigate the 37 reports of sexual misconduct by male athletes at one school. Sounds like a permissive culture there, doesn’t it?
The coaches that did not throw those bums off their teams should be ashamed. But no they’re winning coaches, the athletes win games, they are good for the school, who cares if they force themselves on women occasionally, right? Of course, the he said, she said defense is always relied on.
Innocent until proven guilty, yes but you have to bring a court action.
The athletic programs should be investigated top to bottom by the school, and if criminal charges are warranted, bring them.
And folks, this is at just at one big time school!
How many other football factories, basketball powers, hockey empires, soccer programs, Olympic sports and programs have this same culture where if you put the ball in the hoop, carry the ball over the goal line,or put the puck in the net, it’s OK. Don’t report an alleged incident to the authorities. Don’t bring in the police.
It is sickening.
It is time for the NCAA to call for all such incidents on campuses in its purview to be reported at the time of their reporting. No more coverups. That is the very least they can do. Real Police should be called in and rape kits or other tests should be administered for alcohol, drugs, sexual trace. If universities did that it would protect the alleged perpetrator from false accusations, and discourage false reports.
And meanwhile, I do not want to see Michigan State have a Bowl Game for a decade. Hit them where they care–the endowment, the money, the reputation. The Board of Trustees reaction to this crisis is despicable. There is no excuse for the Nassar pedophilia to continue for as long as it did.
I am sure there are great athletic programs with respect for their athletes’ behavior and great coaches that will not tolerate this kind of behavior on their teams or on their staffs, professors, advisors, consultants, and academic administratiors. I salute you.
And this is a teaching moment for those of you who need to up your standards, attitudes, and sense of justice, morality, and behavior.
Thanks to the 150 young women who have been forever haunted by the filthy hands Dr. Nassar.
