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5/10/03-
SHAME...
Shame-
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A
painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment,
unworthiness, or disgrace.
-
A
condition of disgrace or dishonor; ignominy.
-
A
great disappointment.
This week, the
NCAA infraction committee levied additional penalties that Michigan
will face for failing to control former basketball booster Ed
Martin. As is well documented. Martin had extraordinary access
and benefits provided to him by the Michigan coaching staff due to
his relationships with basketball players. Martin, an avowed
Michigan fan, also helped steer players to his favorite school and
provided 'loans' to these players before and during their college
careers. These facts are not in dispute.
There is a lot of
blame to go around for this fiasco. First and foremost, Ed
Martin is to blame for taking advantage of the players. The
players themselves also must shoulder much of the blame.
Misguided supporters of disgraced hoop stars are quick to point out
that everyone bends the rules a little. But in this case
that's like a speeder caught doing 135 MPH in a 25 MPH zone saying
that everyone goes 5 or 10 MPH over the limit.
But most of the
blame has to fall on the coaches running the program during these
transgressions. Steve Fisher- the mild mannered head coach who
let Martin have access to perks befitting a trusted friend.
Perry Watson- the assistant coach from Detroit who was so wary of
Martin that he had banned him from his previous high school team. Watson
who at best was a coward who was unwilling to jeopardize
his position at Michigan by raising the alarm when he saw Ed Martin
crawl out of the woodwork.
The press
certainly carries part of the blame. Award winning
sportswriter Mitch Albom wrote a book about the period called Fab
Five, which never mentions any impropriety. Nice research
Mitch. We need to either re-classify the book as a work of
fiction or re-title it Fab Fraud. Where were the sports
journalists? They were too busy writing about baggy shorts and
black socks. Can't miss a good story.
And what of the
administrators? The people who parked next to those shiny new
SUV's in the parking lot and didn't think anything of it?
Shame on you
all...
A Stain that Can Never Be Removed
Wolverine fans have been living with this mess for over 7 years.
We've grown numb to what happened. Let's be clear- this is one
of the worst scandals ever to happen at a major university.
The amount of the money is shocking. And the fact that whole
another group of players after Chris Webber took money from Martin
after being warned only makes it worse.
This is something
that Michigan will never live down. Like a stain on your
favorite shirt that can't be removed. No matter what success
Michigan basketball achieves the Ed Martin scandal will always be
mentioned as part of it. Whenever a scandal hits another
program, Michigan will mentioned in the next breath.
Great job guys- thanks a lot...
The Root of the Problem
Plain and simple,
compromises were made. People were allowed into the program
who weren't Michigan men and people chose to overlook that because
of their incredible skill.
Many will say that
money caused this scandal. That's too simplistic. The
problem lies with the shortcuts that both the players and the
Athletic Department were willing to take to achieve their goals.
There is nothing wrong with a player wanting to parlay their college
experience into a lucrative professional career. Certainly
many of their fellow students hope to leverage their college
experience into high paying jobs. What is wrong is when they
decided to start skimming the cash early. Likewise there is
nothing wrong with the athletic department wanting to make money on
basketball to fund other sports. There is a problem when they
start ignoring warning signs that their players may be crossing the
line.
The Leaders and Best Will Be Back...
Michigan will be
back count on it...We all must watch to make sure that the current
guardians of the Michigan spirit do it justice.
Go Blue!
Phil
Callihan
UMGoBlue.COM, Editor-in-Chief
phil@umgoblue.com
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Phil Callihan is the Editor-in- Chief of
UMGoBlue.COM. Phil graduated from the University of Michigan
in 1993 and has been a football season ticket holder since 1994.
Full Bio
Read More of Phil's Columns
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