The University of Maryland has a pretty big football game against Rutgers University tomorrow afternoon. They’ve lost two consecutive games in conference, it will be a televised game against a nationally-respectable team.
But that won’t be the topic of discussion. Instead, it will be another issue of racism hovering over the Rutgers campus. As if Don Imus’ comments about the women’s basketball team weren’t enough, now a professor at the state university for New Jersey has made comments about athletic scholarship enabling academically unprepared students at the collegiate level, most notably, minorities. A portion:
“If you were giving the scholarship to an intellectually brilliant kid who happens to play a sport, that’s fine,” Dowling said. “But they give it to a functional illiterate who can’t read a cereal box, and then make him spend 50 hours a week on physical skills. That’s not opportunity. If you want to give financial help to minorities, go find the ones who are at the library after school.”
I don’t see anywhere in this story if the professor has been fired or not, but I do see where the president of the university and the Rutgers athletic director have denounced the comments. Sadly, a large portion of it is true; many programs invest in the talents of an athlete, but not the development of their academic prowess or their professional preparation for when football is over. That’s not an issue specific to minorities, but considering that the achievement gap between minorities and whites is so large, I can see where it enters the question.
This is a double-edged sword, as athletes bear a responsibility to further and perform in the classroom as any other student does. Granted, they make a huge sacrifice for their scholarship and for the benefit of the school, but it all comes down to being a student. Was it a good call to make commentary focused on minorities? No. Is it a good call for athletic departments to allow their players to falter academically, while still passing courses and making GPA requirements? No. Their are ways both sides can improve on this issue, but for this weekend, Rutgers will be caught on the losing end no matter these race games are played out.
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