If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
It's a big weekend for lacrosse fans with the NCAA D1 Men's Lacrosse Championship taking place in Philadelphia, PA. In the spirit of lacrosse season...
College athletics, as it intersects with the educational and life outcomes of black male athletes, is in crisis. This crisis is evident in many ways, including the prevalence of once-aspiring professional black male athletes who end up with no degree, few job prospects, and used-up eligibility.
Big data solutions can help teams filter out specific types of players, but it often doesn't go nearly deep enough when evaluating a player's potential. With the current model in place, it's not cost-efficient to see all players who meet a team's specific criteria.
The NCAA and President Mark Emmert seem incapable of reorienting college athletics within higher education as a positive component of the campus experience, instead embarking on a Darwinian chase for revenue. Student welfare and development is no longer the priority but an afterthought.
There is no need for a coach to abuse his power in order to gain the respect of his players. The players at Rutgers deserve a coach that mentors, not a bully that demoralizes.
Perhaps the only constant in a college basketball coach's lif are the up's and down's faced throughout a career. At a point, though, each coach faces the decision as to whether the up's outweigh the down's, and to what extent a semblance of a personal life can be sacrificed.
Is Bobby Knight ever hurt by what's said about him in the media? That question lodged itself in my brain about 15 years ago when I was hosting a radio talk show on a station in the small town where I still live.
Louisville rallied from another 12-point deficit with their relentless play to defeat Michigan 82-76 in the national title game.
With Rutgers University's Mike Rice video and subsequent firing now in the news, many are tempted to talk about the special treatment given to sports. This conversation makes me wonder, which special treatment are they talking about?
As long as schools place winning -- and the ticket sales winning generates -- above the welfare of the students, it seems unlikely we are going to see athletic directors and presidents alter their behavior.
Kelly Olynyk came back from his redshirt season as the most improved player in the country as he led Gonzaga to a #1-rating in the polls prior to the NCAA Tournament.
Congrats, never again will a kid get kicked in the ass by a head coach. Instead they will continue to be kicked in the ass by this corrupt system.
Welcome to the 2013 Final Four Harkboard (TM)! What is a Harkboard? It is an interactive infographic with embedded sound bites. There are hidden sound...
I don't know any of the Rutgers players, or how they felt about their coach, but I know the way he treated them involved bullying, intimidation, and abuse. There is no room for that in the sports world, especially amongst student-athletes.
How is it possible that behavior that could lead to arrest in public is tolerated within the culture of sports? How is it that violently homophobic language is decried in school communities yet excused in the private world of teams?
Intercollegiate athletics has been horribly corrupted and one is as likely to be exposed to bad characters and unethical behavior as you are to be taught all the good lessons of life.
