Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Put the Student Back in Student-Athlete

Today's blog was written by Noah. Noah is a sophomore computer science major and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching, a course taught by Play Like a Champion founding director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan. 

As stories pour in from Columbia, Missouri, it is difficult to draw something positive from what is seen. Students receiving death threats, reporters being attacked—an entire college campus on edge. With all of the issues stirring, I want to focus not on the overwhelming problems in play on all sides, but on what we can draw from this experience.

As a disclaimer, I do not know whether Mr. Wolfe’s decisions deserved the sort of outrage that has ensued at the University of Missouri. I do not wish to make this story about defending Mr. Wolfe. I am not promoting what the Mizzou students have done. This is in no way a promotion of Concerned Students 1950. This is not an article about racism. I wish to make it about a decision made by one man who, in a time of adversity, stood up for those who look up to him so much: University of Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel.

When we see college athletes, on our own campus or on TV, we do not look at them as students. Do you really look at, for example, Cardale Jones and wonder how he is doing in his math class? Probably not. I never have. The things about modern college athletics is the giant rift between the average football student-athlete and the average student is growing at an alarming rate. At some universities, students are given special housing, special classes, special dining privileges—I am not arguing that any of this is wrong, I am just saying that it exists and further pushes the football player from the student body. You see them play on Saturday and rarely think of them as students. They are often better-known representatives of a university than the president or board of trustees; they have an immeasurable impact. That being said, their influence is dampened and they are often told to not make rash decisions, to not say something that may be deemed extreme or contrary, to not embarrass the university, to always present themselves in a clean image. With this, I would ask if then they are really even treated as students. College is a time when young people have the opportunity to try new things and, as would be expected, mess up. A time to be right and a time to be wrong. A time to make something of yourself. A time to define yourself beyond just a degree and a number. A time to become yourself.

In my opinion, Gary Pinkel, the man “in charge” of the players did exactly what he should have when the players said they wanted to boycott the game. He did nothing. He treated them as students. He treated them as people who can make their own decisions and portray themselves as they deem appropriate. Although disagreements arise over whether what they did was justified or exceeded acceptable limits, they have just as much a right to a voice on that campus as any other student.

This is a step forward. I hope football players and other student-athletes are encouraged to get more involved in the daily life of their universities, although not in such a dramatic manner. Whatever happens in Missouri over the next few months, one thing is for certain: Coach Pinkel sent a message. A message that will reverberate throughout the entire college football landscape. It seems ridiculously simple.

Student-athletes are students.