Jasper Journal

Did you read about the brawl that broke out Saturday at the Cincinnati- Xavier basketball game? It was so bad they called the game.  Worse yet were the minimal penalties being levied on the thugs involved.

One of the main perpetrators from Xavier said that his team was “disrespected” and that they had to “zip up” the other team for doing that. Wow, and that was from a student at a Jesuit school. Clearly the English department is falling down on the job there.

I never liked basketball, and today find the  NBA permeated with  gangsta- hip hop culture and image. Its no wonder that college kids see this and act accordingly. Look at the NBA all star games in Las Vegas and New Orleans and read afterwards about the violence,  prostitution,  drugs and gambling associated with the fans and groupies of these teams.  It is a shame that this sport is becoming so tarnished with thugs.

I know that all sports teams have bad apples, but where are the role models for inner city kids in the NBA?  Contrast that to the incredible humility and sportsmanship evidenced by  Denver’s Tim Tebow. He is a winner and he gets “disrespected ” all the time… by lots of people nationwide! And talk about a sport that protects its image?  The NFL goes out of its way to attempt to promote a wholesome image.

I would love to see all the players involved in the brawl in Cincinatti lose their scholarships. I would love to see the hammer come down on this behavior in college athletics. Sadly, it will never happen.  In the meantime, another generation of poor kids will look at the NBA and the behaviors they see, as things to emulate. What a shame.

Scandals involving sexual abuse continue to be big news at both Penn State and Syracuse.  Quite honestly I find this beyond shocking. Apparently  these incidents have been covered up for some time.  Perhaps I have been naive to think that this kind of thing didn’t happen.  Bob from Florida wrote an  item on this that he sent in to the St Pete Times. It is below for your consideration. Thanks Bob!

There is a mild support for the rioting students at Penn State who have given a total pass to Joe Paterno in their actions. They see him as a necessary and iconic football coach and deem football to be far more important than this crushing criminal matter that defiles this great institution.

However, all that revere education and athletics need to come to the absolute realism that college athletics at the higher ranges have become the “tail wagging the dog.” Universities across the country have caved to the simple fact that monies derived from college athletics through sponsorships, television, alumni contributions and cult followings raise revenues undreamed of  a mere generation ago.

It is all about “win, baby, win” and when coaches of secondary sports at major colleges make more money than long-term professors, have ironclad contracts and sideline deals with television and athletic companies that reap millions for them, we must step back and analyze where higher education is headed.

University presidents are often threatened with rejection when a popular coach is derelict in his performance and in danger of dismissal. The attitude tends to be, keep the coach and dismiss the administrator.

When did revered educational facilities decide that athletic revenues trump dedicated educational advancement? My answer – - – when money trumped educational integrity.

I have far greater recollections of my economics professor than my golf coach. What will those pampered athletes remember of myopic coaches, self-serving athletic department people and cloying alumni? It will probably lead them toward hedonism and away from the very reasons that they received a scholarship that offered them an education that would prepare them for the biggest competition of all – - – it is called life.