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Virtually the 1st Commandment of the BY is thou shall not mix sports and politics. It is a widely accepted rule, apparently predicated on the notion that sports should be unsullied by tawdry politics. Also, there are plenty of sites on which to vent one's political opinions. However, in the real world, sports and politics are drawing ever nearer. A principal argument against the recent NFL protests, for example, is that they are injecting politics into a game meant to divert and entertain.
In this morning's Washington Post sports' pages, Sally Jenkins writes that the NCAA is “robbing athletes of their rights.” She opines that “the bribery and fraud scandal engulfing college athletics could not exist w/out the fundamental corruption of an NCAA that is flush with elicit cash but denies players the basic right to a dollar.” We've heard this before couched in various guises, but the argument persists. Only a few days ago, Muffet McGraw asserted that the corruption in men's basketball has infiltrated women's college sports as well. Will she share the details?
UConn fans do not need to be reminded of the old feud between Geno and Pat in which the latter accused Auriemma of cheating in the recruitment of Maya Moore. The Bristol in TN was the wrong Bristol, according to Pat, as the one in CT is the headquarters of ESPN. Perhaps Ms. Moore would like to work for the sports network one of these days? That schism has never been repaired—even in death.
So, if the BY will not go to Muhammad, it appears that Muhammad will be coming to college sports. I'm not suggesting that we cancel our guiding rule; heaven forfend! Who wants to read about politics on these page? But has it become inescapable to acknowledge that what's going on may not affect our own beloved Huskies? And where will that conversation take place?
In this morning's Washington Post sports' pages, Sally Jenkins writes that the NCAA is “robbing athletes of their rights.” She opines that “the bribery and fraud scandal engulfing college athletics could not exist w/out the fundamental corruption of an NCAA that is flush with elicit cash but denies players the basic right to a dollar.” We've heard this before couched in various guises, but the argument persists. Only a few days ago, Muffet McGraw asserted that the corruption in men's basketball has infiltrated women's college sports as well. Will she share the details?
UConn fans do not need to be reminded of the old feud between Geno and Pat in which the latter accused Auriemma of cheating in the recruitment of Maya Moore. The Bristol in TN was the wrong Bristol, according to Pat, as the one in CT is the headquarters of ESPN. Perhaps Ms. Moore would like to work for the sports network one of these days? That schism has never been repaired—even in death.
So, if the BY will not go to Muhammad, it appears that Muhammad will be coming to college sports. I'm not suggesting that we cancel our guiding rule; heaven forfend! Who wants to read about politics on these page? But has it become inescapable to acknowledge that what's going on may not affect our own beloved Huskies? And where will that conversation take place?
