rbg
Postdoc
Posts: 3069
Reg: 10-20-14
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05-14-19 09:43 AM - Post#284487
In response to palestra38
From my reading of these 3 teams (I am including the Penn softball team that reported problems to the Daily Pennsylvanian in 2018), the athletes felt there were many members of the teams that had serious problems with the coaches that dealt with physical and emotional issues. They then went through proper channels by reporting the problems to the Athletic Department.
These athletes felt that the Athletic Departments did not do a thorough job evaluating the problems and basically closed the cases. Afterward feeling ignored by the ADs and their staffs, the athletes went to the school paper to discuss the problems.
If one or two team members have a problem with something like a lack of playing time, I can see that those people might just not mesh with a certain coach and then decided to leave the team or transfer. However, these 3 teams appeared to have a large number of players reporting concerns that went beyond simple problems.
Since these players are not unionized and have no representation other than themselves, why shouldn't they bond together and do whatever they can to try and change something they feel is unjust? The UNC women basketball players did this and were found by an independent investigator to be more truthful about the former coach and the culture of the program than that coach and her supporters.
Watching how things are playing out at schools and workplaces across the country, I think this type of situation will find its way into more areas, including men's basketball and football.
Since there are serious differences between accounts from the teams and the ADs, I feel independent investigations would be helpful to find out which group is more correct. If it turns out the players were more truthful, then the ADs offices could put reforms in place to be stronger for all parties going forward. If it turns out the ADs and their staffs were more truthful, then it would be helpful for them to show athletes that their investigations are thorough and tend to be accurate.
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