During the recent public outcry over rapist Pierre Pierce's latest crimes, another important news event was overlooked: Iowa football thug Antwan Allen was arrested for assault causing injury, a Class D Felony. Iowa City Police reports say that violent thug Allen assaulted a man in a drunken bar fight, striking him from behind with a cowardly sucker-punch, breaking the man's jaw and knocking him unconscious.
The sentence for Felonious Assault Causing Injury is a prison sentence of up to 5 years, and a fine up to $7500. However, football coach Kirk Ferentz imposed his own unspecified disciplinary actions, and issued a warning to thug Allen "that if charges and a conviction followed, more measures will be taken including suspension of playing time.”
What a terrible time for poor little thug Antwan Allen. He breaks a man's jaw and sends him to the hospital, and for his trouble, the coach says he will have to run extra laps during training, and if he's convicted he'll have to sit out a few games. And even worse, his moment in the spotlight is overshadowed by rapist Pierre Pierce, making thug Allen's crimes seem amateurish in comparison. However, he will soon regain his moment in the sun, when a judge and jury deliver a more severe penalty. Thug Allen will be unable to play Iowa football for up to 5 years.
The persistent problems with violent criminal thugs on the University of Iowa's sports teams are intolerable. Iowa sports coaches have been doing everything possible to protect their thug athletes from criminal penalties. Thug athletes have assumed they can get away with any criminal activities and be shielded by their coaches, which has lead to more and more outrageous criminality. Enough is enough.
The citizens of Iowa City and the students of the University of Iowa have spoken clearly, they have demanded the University adopt a strict policy concerning criminal actions by student athletes. The University convened a panel to suggest a new athlete conduct policy. This was obviously a stalling tactic, two years have passed since the panel convened and no new policy has even been suggested, let alone implemented.
I am calling on the University to immediately implement drastic measures against criminal athletes and the sports environment that enables their criminality. I propose the following policies.
1. Any athlete's arrest, even a misdemeanor, will result in immediate permanent removal from the team. Reinstatement will only occur upon total exoneration by an innocent verdict (not just a plea bargain). Immediate suspension of athletic scholarship upon any arrest. Expulsion from the University upon any felony conviction.
2. Drastic cuts in coaches' pay. Cut coaches' pay for each player's arrest. Iowa coaches are the highest paid state employees. They have obviously failed their mission to provide leadership for their team. Each incident of criminal behavior only demonstrates their further failure. Coaches clearly value money over morals, they have no financial incentive to keep their players in line.
3. Drastic budget cuts to football and basketball programs. The major sports teams are sucking money out of the general University budget. It is time to return that money to academic programs. This week, the University announced another budget shortfall, light bulbs are being removed from classrooms to save energy costs at the same time a $5 million renovation of the football stadium is underway. Athletics are always the last programs to receive budget cuts. As a last resort, $250,000 was cut from athletics. The University has spent 5 years trying to raise a mere $2 million for new building construction for the Arts campus, but $2 million was raised for a "Hawkeye Sports Hall of Fame" in less than a month. The University should require all contributions to sports teams or facilities to be put into the general fund. Contributions earmarked for sports programs should be considered "matching funds" and at least 50% should go towards academic, non-sports programs.
4. Team budget cuts for each teammate's criminal action. This will clearly demonstrate to the law-abiding team members that they are all collectively responsible for the actions of their criminal teammates, and must work together to stop violent thugs from damaging the team's and the University's reputation.
5. End all special privileges for athletes. Just down the street from my home, the University has constructed a $4 million facility, the Gerdin Athletic Learning Center, to provide remedial tutoring for athletes who are failing their classes. But no similar facility exists for the general student population. The University has struggled for many years to find enough money in the budget to provide additional funding to academic support programs for general students, yet donors can find instantly find $4 million to prevent athletes from flunking out of school. The Gerdin Center should be returned to the general student population, make athletes use the same academic resources as any regular student. Athletes who cannot meet academic standards should be expelled like any other failing student.
The University of Iowa must recognize the problem with criminal thug athletes, and act decisively to end the problem. The University's mission is academic, not athletic. The University must return its focus to providing the best possible education to all students, rather than providing the best possible support to athletes. If the University cannot find a balance between academics and athletics, it will not be able to attract the best students and faculty, and even athletes who are serious about education will go elsewhere. The reputation of the University is at stake. As an alumni of the University of Iowa, I cannot sit back idly and see the reputation of my school be dragged through the mud.
The sentence for Felonious Assault Causing Injury is a prison sentence of up to 5 years, and a fine up to $7500. However, football coach Kirk Ferentz imposed his own unspecified disciplinary actions, and issued a warning to thug Allen "that if charges and a conviction followed, more measures will be taken including suspension of playing time.”
What a terrible time for poor little thug Antwan Allen. He breaks a man's jaw and sends him to the hospital, and for his trouble, the coach says he will have to run extra laps during training, and if he's convicted he'll have to sit out a few games. And even worse, his moment in the spotlight is overshadowed by rapist Pierre Pierce, making thug Allen's crimes seem amateurish in comparison. However, he will soon regain his moment in the sun, when a judge and jury deliver a more severe penalty. Thug Allen will be unable to play Iowa football for up to 5 years.
The persistent problems with violent criminal thugs on the University of Iowa's sports teams are intolerable. Iowa sports coaches have been doing everything possible to protect their thug athletes from criminal penalties. Thug athletes have assumed they can get away with any criminal activities and be shielded by their coaches, which has lead to more and more outrageous criminality. Enough is enough.
The citizens of Iowa City and the students of the University of Iowa have spoken clearly, they have demanded the University adopt a strict policy concerning criminal actions by student athletes. The University convened a panel to suggest a new athlete conduct policy. This was obviously a stalling tactic, two years have passed since the panel convened and no new policy has even been suggested, let alone implemented.
I am calling on the University to immediately implement drastic measures against criminal athletes and the sports environment that enables their criminality. I propose the following policies.
1. Any athlete's arrest, even a misdemeanor, will result in immediate permanent removal from the team. Reinstatement will only occur upon total exoneration by an innocent verdict (not just a plea bargain). Immediate suspension of athletic scholarship upon any arrest. Expulsion from the University upon any felony conviction.
2. Drastic cuts in coaches' pay. Cut coaches' pay for each player's arrest. Iowa coaches are the highest paid state employees. They have obviously failed their mission to provide leadership for their team. Each incident of criminal behavior only demonstrates their further failure. Coaches clearly value money over morals, they have no financial incentive to keep their players in line.
3. Drastic budget cuts to football and basketball programs. The major sports teams are sucking money out of the general University budget. It is time to return that money to academic programs. This week, the University announced another budget shortfall, light bulbs are being removed from classrooms to save energy costs at the same time a $5 million renovation of the football stadium is underway. Athletics are always the last programs to receive budget cuts. As a last resort, $250,000 was cut from athletics. The University has spent 5 years trying to raise a mere $2 million for new building construction for the Arts campus, but $2 million was raised for a "Hawkeye Sports Hall of Fame" in less than a month. The University should require all contributions to sports teams or facilities to be put into the general fund. Contributions earmarked for sports programs should be considered "matching funds" and at least 50% should go towards academic, non-sports programs.
4. Team budget cuts for each teammate's criminal action. This will clearly demonstrate to the law-abiding team members that they are all collectively responsible for the actions of their criminal teammates, and must work together to stop violent thugs from damaging the team's and the University's reputation.
5. End all special privileges for athletes. Just down the street from my home, the University has constructed a $4 million facility, the Gerdin Athletic Learning Center, to provide remedial tutoring for athletes who are failing their classes. But no similar facility exists for the general student population. The University has struggled for many years to find enough money in the budget to provide additional funding to academic support programs for general students, yet donors can find instantly find $4 million to prevent athletes from flunking out of school. The Gerdin Center should be returned to the general student population, make athletes use the same academic resources as any regular student. Athletes who cannot meet academic standards should be expelled like any other failing student.
The University of Iowa must recognize the problem with criminal thug athletes, and act decisively to end the problem. The University's mission is academic, not athletic. The University must return its focus to providing the best possible education to all students, rather than providing the best possible support to athletes. If the University cannot find a balance between academics and athletics, it will not be able to attract the best students and faculty, and even athletes who are serious about education will go elsewhere. The reputation of the University is at stake. As an alumni of the University of Iowa, I cannot sit back idly and see the reputation of my school be dragged through the mud.
I can't speak for the University of Iowa, but I know for a fact that football was a MAJOR money machine at my university (U. Miami). Far from diverting resources from academics, it brought in cash by the truckload... cash the university is absolutely, positively financially dependent upon for its ongoing existence since it lacks both state support and any kind of meaningful endowment.
The truth is, one dollar spent on football is NOT one dollar diverted from academics... for the most part, it's a dollar that the university wouldn't have gotten in the first place were it not for the football team. It's absolutely in the university's best financial interest to aggressively nurture and protect its one cash cow while milking it for all it's worth.
Just to use one of your own examples, it took the university five years to raise $2 million for an academic-related building, but less than a month to raise $2 million for its hall of fame. It's not because the University is lazy and didn't try... it's because donors are more willing to pull out their checkbooks for the latter. In all likelihood, one or more of the hall of fame's major donors is himself featured in it and couldn't wait to have his ego stroked even more.
It's easy to envy and resent football players (and other athletes), because they DO get preferential treatment. On the other hand, in the grand scheme of things, they ultimately get used more than an old condom in a Nigerian whorehouse. The money that gets spent to keep them from failing or boost their egos is a drop in the bucket compared to the total amount the school earns from them every time ESPN, FOX, and the rest have bidding wars to carry their games.
There's also the point of recruitment. Granted, it's more of a big deal for private schools, but when the football team sucks, it's harder to recruit students... and even harder to get away with jacking up their tuition. Yes, it's intellectually satisfying to make fun of the mediocre students who'll probably fail out after their first or second semester anyway... but ultimately, they're the ones sitting in big classes with 60 or 70 students being taught by a grad assistant, paying the same amount you are, subsidizing the small classes taught by good professors that YOU get to take. In other words, if you're one of the school's academic elite, you're already sitting at the top of the funding pyramid that's financially supported by football revenue and warm bodies paying full tuition in the hope they can avoid getting their money's worth.
Bask in the irony, and enjoy the fruits of their (and their parents') labor. Remember... the people at the very top who actually run universities are almost entirely scholars themselves. They hate spending money on football as much as you hate seeing it spent... but somehow, they've got to find ways to bring in the revenue that pays for the things they REALLY care about (labs, classrooms, etc).
Your remarks are a tautology, you argue that students are attracted to football because football attracts students. Perhaps if you had spent more time studying and less time watching football, you would know what a tautology is.
But I will allow you to agree with me. You claim that football attracts donors and their money, which keeps the academic programs afloat. If this was true (which it is generally NOT), then you would agree that at least 50% of all sports donorship monies should be diverted to academics. You obviously agree with me because you believe that this is already true, that most of the sports donor monies ALREADY go towards academics. Oh if only this was true.