Sports
ethics under scrutiny
By Jordan Webster
Sports Editor
>
February 16, 2001
Well-known
author and sports journalist John Feinstein lamented the path that he
sees college athletics following as he addressed the issue of ethics
in college athletics Feb. 14 in Pugh Auditorium. Feinstein’s address,
titled “What is Wrong With College Athletics in the 21st Century,”
was part of the Year of Honor and Ethics Series.
In a lecture sprinkled liberally with humor, Feinstein condemned the
current college sports scene focus as warped, with too much emphasis
being placed on the proverbial bottom line and not enough placed on
academics, referring twice to the term student-athlete as an oxymoron.
And although Feinstein had little trouble bemoaning the ills that afflict
collegiate athletics, he was reluctant to provide a solution.
“I would love to stand up here and say that it (the troubles in
college sports) is reversible,”Feinstein said, “but I’m
not at all convinced that it is. It has gotten so big and so out-of-control
that the power at universities does not lie in the president’s
office or in the trustee’s meetings, but in the basketball office
and the football office.”
Feinstein cited statistics and examples throughout his address, from
the nationwide 42 percent graduation rate for Division I basketball
players to a Kentucky circuit court judge that postponed a hearing for
a University of Kentucky basketball player, so as not to jeopardize
the Wildcats’ chances at a national title.
But while Feinstein does not acquit players of wrongdoing, he places
the majority of the blame on the institutions.
“You have to go back and begin at the beginning,” Feinstein
said, “and the way that you begin at the beginning is to change
the culture of the athletes at the beginning of their careers, not when
it’s too late.
“It’s not their (the athletes’) fault, to a large degree,”
Feinstein said. “Blame the institutions.”
Feinstein
cited several solutions, but was not convinced that one or any would
even be implemented. Among those programs, Feinstein suggested that
the paying of athletes.
“(One) thing that I’ve always believed should be done is that
the athletes should be paid, but not the way you think,” Feinstein
said.
Feinstein continued to suggest that money made in revenue sports could
be placed in a trust fund, to be available to true student-athletes
only upon graduation. Feinstein also mentioned the NBA’s projected
developmental program, and changes in the NCAA’s current scholarship
policies as areas that could be improved.
But Feinstein was adamant on where he felt the majority of the blame
should fall.
“I think it’s, without question, more an ethical question
for the institution (as opposed to the players),” he said. “For
one thing, the people running the institution are supposed to be the
adults.
The athletes
are no different than the rest of us who go to college; they’re
no better or no worse in terms of their ethics. But it’s up to
the institutions to take the responsibility, to say ‘No, we’re
not going to do this’ or ‘No, we’re not going to go there’
or ‘No, we’re not going to accept this.’ I do think the
responsibility lies with the institutions.”
Feinstein has reported and critiqued the sports landscape from several
different positions in his career. A former reporter for The Washington
Post, Sports Illustrated and National Sports Daily, the Bethesda, MD
resident now makes regular appearances on ESPN’s “The Sports
Reporters” and National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.”
Currently, Feinstein is a visiting professor of journalism at Duke University,
his alma mater.
Feinstein has also written a number of books, including the best-selling
sports book of all time, A Season on the Brink, which chronicled an
entire season on the bench with former Indiana University head coach
Bobby Knight. Feinstein also authored A March to Madness, a behind-the-scenes
look at ACC basketball; A Civil War, which detailed the intense Army-Navy
football rivalry; and his most recent book, which was released in November,
titled The Last Amateurs, is an account of college basketball in the
little-known Patriot League.
Earl Smith, professor of sociology and a member of the Honor and Ethics
committee, approached Feinstein and convinced him to speak as a part
of the series.
“Once I explained to him (the Honor and Ethics series), he readily
agreed,” Dr. Smith said. “I don’t think we can address
honor and ethics without talking about intercollegiate sports.
“We wanted to have representatives of all walks of life,”
Samuel Gladding, provost and co-chairman of the Honor and Ethics committee,
said.
Feinstein’s charges for speaking were minimal – tickets to
last night’s basketball game between the Demon Deacons and Georgia
Tech.
