Here is Head Coach Pete Mangurian's direct statement on the Twitter mess below from his blog.
I think he makes a very good point about finding out whether the players involved made a stupid, immature mistake or whether he has some real racists, etc. on the team. The response should indeed be different depending on what the situation is:
79 comments:
I have a modest proposal. I think that it is a mistake to have four so-called captains for each class. By having a large number of captains we have no captains at all, and thus no senior player led leadership which might have served to keep guys from acting like jerks. I would have either one or at most two rising seniors as captains, guys who are uniformly regarded as leaders both on and off the field, and give them real responsibility. They would be charged with responsibility to make sure that our guys know what it means to represent the program.
Old Lion is absolutely right and I have publicly said as much more than once. The multiple captain thing centralizes more power in just the coaches and they can't be expected to follow up on these guys in their personal lives.
Jake, I have had a few days to think about all this. One of the main things that struck me is that this isn't a fair fight.
Ok, the Washington event occurs (more about that later) and it plays itself out. Most likely his words warrant a closer look at his record and Twitter account. Here is my big problem, and I think there is a second political agenda here, how in the hell does the Washington event jump all the way over to scrutinizing every other football player and their Twitter account? How does the football team become involved in this? This doesn't make sense. Now that is stereotyping.
I will grant you that these comments are very immature (not a shocking revelation coming from college freshmen and sophomores dealing with their own identity and how they personnally relate to the rest of the world). How does this justify looking up the Twitter account of a hundred other people not involved and correlating it to the event? Who decided that this "scrutiny" was part of the equation or was this a pre determined event that "conveniently" got thrown in now that we have a athletic situation. Looking up the entire football teams ' Twitter accounts is so out of the way it makes me question the whole politics of the situation.
This is about as fair as looking up every non football players Twitter account and picking out the comments that suit Chad Washington's point and attributing them to the complaintant. Total bull shit!
Why are the football players being singled out for punishment for Twitter when the whole rest of the college community including administration, staff, faculty and the entire student body are not being examined in the same fashion? What did the students not named Chad Washington do to warrant a whole level of scrutiny that no one else on that campus is asked to do? Then punished for that scrutiny! This isn't fair.
I belong to three of those groups named. I am part Arab, and Asian. My grandparents came from three different religions. My children come from three multi lingual cultures. My family came to America so we could speak out. They did not come here to demand their individual cultural rights but to speak freely without Big Brother hanging and spying on every word they spoke.
When I was in college in the 1970's I could count on my Student Government to stand up for me to speak out about Vietnam, Women Rights, the draft, race relations, the economy, etc.. Where is Columbia's Student Government standing up for the students right of free speech? How will the Athletic Department and the Administration apply this model going forward. Today maybe not me and you, but who will speak for me tomorrow? Why are they selectively being punished.
My understanding of Diversity is that we celebrate everyone's uniqueness and gifts. Why are students jealous of the student athletes? Are they not unique? Can we not celebrate their gifts? This Diversity seems to only apply when convenient to certain groups.
Lastly, I do not know what happened with Chad Washington but I hope it is a fair, impartial and a thorough investigation. Remember Duke lacrosse and the school looked like jerks and ended up getting justifiably sued.......
Well said sir/mam!
I don't know what Chad Washington did or didn't do but, like the poster above, I hope that a fair, impartial and thorough investigation exonerates him, indicts him, or something in between -- whatever the facts warrant.
I also don't know the young men who sent out those tweets. But I do know that every football coach on every campus in America either does or should tell his players, "Like it or not, you are under more scrutiny, and a different type of scrutiny, than the average student here. That derives in part because you take the field on Saturdays in a uniform which says 'Columbia' on it. So watch your behavior. Be smart."
These young men didn't watch their behavior. They weren't smart. For some reason, they thought that offensive messages which they send out into the twittersphere don't enter the public domain.
So here we are. As the poster above argues, it's not fair. But stupidity does have consequences. These young men were stupid. And consequences are exactly what they have already suffered.
I have come to believe over the past 48 hours that the WKCR cub reporters have morphed from legitimate exposure of an ugly situation into nothing more than publicity hounds basking in their 15 minutes of fame. I have no brief for the bigotry of a few bad actors, who can and should be disciplined and who apparently also suffer from terminal stupidity for posting such trash, but enough of this public witch hunt already.
These are all excellent comments and I only wish they led to a clear conclusion. On the one hand it seems unjust to translate a single incident into scrutiny of a specific group's social media content -- putting aside the question of what that content means, if it means anything. On the other hand I am sure there are issues between athletes and non-athletes that deserve a hard look. One certainty is the need for very strong and insightful leadership from the "adults," both short-term and long-term. Will that be forthcoming? I guess we'll see.
Mitch S. '68CC
It's about time that the Col student media produced more than standard stories, reported the games, broadcast panel discussions.
KCR reporters are reporting!
I'd hope they would dig, and give them kudos for posting the very offensive tweets some students put up. Else, we'd have no clue about how bad they were (the AD, administration wasn't about to provide them.
petemangurian commented on This Is Not Who We Are.
in response to CC Alum:
Coach, based on today’s update in Bwog, http://bwog.com/2013/05/09/some-football-players-sorry-were-not-sorry/ it seems that some of the team: a) does not take this as seriously as you are b) does not seem to respect the coaching staff c) appears to be demonstrating a “social problem” as you mention above. If the story is validated, would these players remain [...]
They are graduating seniors, they are not on the team any longer. Furthermore they were not at the meetings in which these issues were discussed.
Regardless of the circumstances that led us to this point in time; I am more than disgraced by what was done and said by the players. Yes, we all want to see a fair process and outcome, but shouldn't most of these kids just be expelled? The tweets were gross and I wonder if they are tweeting this what else have they been doing and what type of person are they? I get that some people think these things are in jest, but frankly there is not one thing funny about any of the tweets I read. The gerst kid went to a catholic school and obviously not the greatest person since he served in jug, which for those unfamiliar with the term, is justice under God. They certainly don't teach those quality traits he showed in his tweets.
To the school and the coach- these kids are representatives of the whole school and every athlete that walked in their footsteps before. In a time where social media is front and center, what is the excuse for not monitoring this? I see none. Whether you want to do it or not...it has to be done today. Yes, this is not who we are and the coach should be held accountable to the actions of his players as should the leaders of the school.
Des Werthman
93
For those who may not know, the above poster, Des Werthman, was one of the best linebackers in Light Blue history.
To Des Werthman.. Are you willing to donate the salery to handle watching the social media of all Columbia athletes? That is a full time position.
"KCR reporters are reporting" really? I guess your standard is like ABC,NBC,CBS and CNN reporting on Bengazi.
You found athletes that are no longer in the school. You found athletes that are no longer on the team. You found Tweets from students that were in HIGH SCHOOL when they wrote the Tweets. Before they ever committed to Columbia!
You took jocular Tweets that were between roommates and presented them as if they were racist taunts by Chad Washington's gangbangers! Making him look as if he were an African American thug!
You scrutinized the Twitter accounts of 100 football players who did nothing to warrant the "Big Brother" intervention into their lives. You disrespected their freedom to have a normal college live with fun and banter among themselves forever!
The students that were dug up assaulted no one, were not present, and directed no hate to any individual. THEY WERE TOTALLY UNRELATED TO THE CHAD WASHINGTON SITUATION! Why did KCR drag them up and bring them into it?
Total unmitigated sensationalism, muckraking, and self advancement by some Journalism flunky trying to make a name for themselves to acquire a job someday!
KCR took facts from two unrelated events and presented them as if they were related to the same event. Shame on KCR for what they have done to freedom of speech at Columbia.
To anonymous regarding the cost of monitoring..it isn't a full time job, it is simply a technology function that scans for certain words...cost is very little
I agree these two items are unrelated, but why would you ever say some of these things in jest, if in fact they were in jest? Certainly not all the tweets were so horrible, but some were just wrong and uncalled for.
Most of us probably have said some terrible things in our day and chalk that up to stupidity, youthful ignorance or what have you, but most of us have to adapt to a new age where this stuff goes viral. However, all those who participated did so willingly and knwoing that this stuff goes viral. It is hard to be lenient when the persons in question are complicit.
the department always pays a large amount to bring in a social media expert to speak to first years during NSOP. They have team meetings where staffers discuss Twitter/Facebook, etc and the potential consequences. These are supposed to be the young adults smart enough to study at an Ivy League university. I don't see other teams involved. Maybe it starts at the top???
Mr. Werthman, if we were to canvas EVERY undergrad's Twitter account at Columbia, should we expel anyone who's tweeted something foolish, gross or insensitive?
Des Werthman makes a valid point. Here is a guy who walked the walk, and he is telling us that the consequences of trashing Asians, Jews and gays aren't funny, but more so, aren't acceptable. Take the Callahan quotes, for example. Jokes among friends? I don't think so. So tell me, if Sid Luckman were playing today, and Callahan lined up at left tackle to block for him, would his tweets about "Jew York" and too many Jews lead to a team building experience? Villamagna had it nailed. Why should the vast majority of guys like Des Werthman have to be tarred with the paint brush of a dozen racists?
I am with you on this one Ungvar, why are we singling out Just Columbia athletes? Ihave read post saying the administration should cancel ALL Columbia Athletes twitter accounts. This is ridiculous! This must mean that only athletes tweet stupid comments. If you go to the entire student body twitter accounts I am sure you may find even more shocking comments than those that a few tweeted, yes I said a few.
FYI
The post about KCR reporters reporting was mine and I am not a student, but an alum who was never been affiliated with the station in any way.
I have been out of school for about 20 years. I agree with Des Werthman, and if I were the president of Columbia, I would expel some of the football players.
1. On one level, many of the tweets reflect these player's sense of inadequacy about who they are as human beings (issues dealing with: their sense of masculity/hence slurs on gays; intellectual ability/hence attack on Asians. That is why they need to bash others. Mere harmless banter? No I do not think so. These tweets show that people who wrote them are racists, homophobes, and bigots.
2. World is going global. You would have thought that Columbia's renowned core curriculum would produce more enlightened minds. I guess not. These jocks are no different from the son of NYC commissioner who attacked jews on twitter. You know, the EMS guy.
3. Chad Washington and Sean Brackett: I do not think you should bother applying for the new Rhodes-type scholarship set up by chair of Blackstone. The one where you get to study in Beijing. I do not think you will get the scholarship.
4. Sean Brackett, the Captain: you had me fooled. You could jig and dance better than most black football player I have seen. You were a very good player. I am very disappointed.
Des: you are probably the greatest lb I have had the privilege to watch (You and Zingo). You were the whole team back in the day, making tackles and scoring TDs.
BTW when these students try to apply for jobs and some employer reads the twitter accounts they may wish to take back what they said.
CU_88
Part of going to college is to learn how to be independent and how to handle your new found liberty. Columbia is way to politically correct, and I am SHOCKED by those, including Old Lion, for such a thin skin. Please do not go to any comedy club where racial profiling, religious jokes and sexiest comments comprise 90 pct of the material. I am a Jew and grew up as one of the only Jewish families in an Irish catholic neighborhood. I will not go further on that, but it wasn't always pleasant. I learned how to take care of myself, took my lumps! Gave a few back, and never called the police, or involved a lawyer.
Bullying is not always physical. How about the hum lit prof in pagel's article who asked the athletes to raise their hands and then commented to the rest of the class to thank them for lowering the curve. That is a hate crime. Did the athletes run to the 26th precinct? What about the students who routinely rip apart the writings of their classmates during peer grading exercises and belittle them. That is a hate crime..
Has anyone considered the possibility that the victims in the Washington case might be embellishing. If they were, are you prepared to apologize to Washington? What if the others in the incident were not involved? You want them freaking expelled! Are you out of your freaking minds!
This incident is about the divide between athletes and non athletes at Columbia. The harder it is to get admitted the worse it will become. I do not condone bullying. I suspect this particular incident should have been handled by the RA and maybe the university. I hope and pray the judiciary board is even handed and fair and not pressured by politics and jerks like most of you. I also hope that if the victims embellish, they are punished with equal vigor, as that is a hate crime and is equally putrid, and perhaps, depending on details, worse.
This whole thing represents the very worst of the Athletic experience at Columbia. My heart goes out to Coach M who is in a no win situation, and the vast majority of the players who are no living in a facist state with a-holes at the ready with their cellphones and tape recorders. How freaking sad!!!!!!
BRAVO!!! WELL SAID!! THAT KIND OF SUMS IT UP TOTALLY. THERE DOESN"T NEED TO BE ANY MORE POSTS MADE PERIOD.
I agree with Des, Jake, OldLion and my good friend Don J. Some of these kids should be expelled, forced to take a year off, or, at very least, suspended for several games. We need to employ a ZERO Tolerance Policy here. Where the heck are the parents here? They should be ashamed as well!
I played with Des and I can assure you this would not have been tolerated on any level of our teams. Clearly, there is no fault to Coach M, or the administration. Their responses have been appropriate but I think we all learned a lesson here. We need to screen the players via Facebook and scan their tweets. If we see any red flags, do not recruit them!
Regarding Chad Washington, I’ll wait until all of the information is out before I pass final judgment. I just hope that it was a misunderstanding.
Greg Abbruzzese CC '91
Wow, what a double standard!
Let me get this right, we take mostly 18 and 19 year old student Twitters and we ascertain that they must scrub incredibly lily clean. Perfect perhaps....
These students receive no financial remuneration for athletics. They play a measly 10 games a year. It then becomes imperative that they are the only people on the ENTIRE Columbia campus who are required to meet this standard?
Meanwhile, we have administrators making hundreds of thousands of dollars and running the school, faculty members making $175,000 and grading papers, admissions officers making selective decisions, teaching assistants marking papers and none of them are scrutinized in their personal social media content? Why not the same standard for the very people that matter most? Football players are the only people on campus required to be perfectly scrutinized to run, throw and tackle? Are you people nuts? What about the others that have significant positions? Are they not scrutinized to the same standard?
No, they single out freshmen and sophomore Twitter accounts and hold them to the very highest standard in the ENTIRE University. That isn't a double standard on the absurd?
Old Lion, no deference to you or previous football players (I'm supposed to believe the '91 football team never said stuff like this. Greg you now have zero credibility with me. Give me a break!) but you seem to have gotten your shorts in a bunch over the anti-Semitic tweet (I am part Jewish). Ok, the kid said something thoughtless. What if he was drinking and made the post? You expel him from school for that? I think you are way too sensitive and thin skinned for a grown adult. I don't condone it and consider it wrong, but expel? No way, out of proportion. His life ruined forever for one drunken Twitter post!
Even the playing field for the ENTIRE University. It's not a fair game. It's politics with football, again. Why we lose.....
These kids are at Columbia to learn how to deal with people of different colors, creeds, and sexual orientations. To expel them for a few Twitter posts, a medium that invites inane drivel and is used largely for friend-to-friend banter, is simply ridiculous. Yes, some of the players need real help and sensitivity training. But what of the larger student population? Do you really believe that everyone else's posts are lily white?
To the players of yore chiming in, there was no Twitter in your day. I can guarantee that, had Twitter been in place, the posts from athletes and "reggies," would have featured some of the same off-color, bigoted, and frankly, infantile posts. It's what 18- and 19-year olds do.
As the poster above says, thicker skins please.
if you read my post, you will see that i did not single out the football teaam or any team, for that matter, to have their tweets scanned. i suggested that tweets be scanned, yes that could be everybody. we live in an age where technology is a fantastic resource if used correctly. it isnt hard or expensive to scan for words. also, dont we have an endowment in the billions? i think spending a little of that to make sure the school's reputation stays in tact is not a lot to ask.
On another note, yes, CU can be unfair to student athletes, but that is just the way it is and one way to bridge the gap is to foster better relationships with those that do not see equality. Kill them with kindness as the saying goes. Making yourself your own worst enemy whether it be through tweets, actions, dialogue, etc. is not and cannot be the answer.
Some of these kids have shown an extensive history of these types of behaviors. They have gone through trainging provided by the coaches and athletics, yet here we sit without some of these kids changing.
Yes, there are comedy clubs where these types of monologues go on, but you choose to go to them. The only thing some of these races and creeds have chosen is to go to Columbia; quite a different story, and not one that warrants being the butt of ill-conceived jokes.
We have all done stupid things and grown, but the key is to learn from those things, which is not evident from the history of actions by some of the kids involved.
Des
to the most recent Anonymous, please realize that if not for football few, if any, of these young men would be accepted to Columbia and they know that. Their football ability is getting them a Columbia degree. Also, always walking around wearing CU Football gear makes them stand out even more. Finally, opportunities after graduation will exist for them that do not exist for many of the non-athletes accepted solely on their academic merits. Thus, they are rightfully held to a higher standard than the rest of the student population and they know that. They dropped the ball, so to speak.
In addition, it's one thing for students to post tweets and FB updates of themselves drunk, flipping off the camera, in scantily clad attire (as many females do; that's infantile. A photo with 3 guys with a beer bong would have been irresponsible and infantile, but incredibly bigoted tweets like these (especially Callahan's) take it to another level. And they do this having received training on social media and with staff and coaches informing they of the extra scrutiny they are under. It's beyond irresponsible and there really is no defense for it.
I do not believe expulsion is a warranted penalty, nor do I think suspension is for some of the tweets. However, suspension from the team and athletic activities (the reason they are at CU) is. These kids are actually lucky, if they were at a major program like Texas this would be a national story (see the player kicked off the team for a racial facebook status regarding President Obama).
We do not see other teams involved here, why is that?? Is the untouchable status of Coach Mangurian within the department now trickled down to his players in their attitudes?
The idea of scanning student tweets scares me. Do we really want the CU administration taking on the role of campus thought police? Maybe Orwell got the title of his book wrong. "2013," anyone?
Untouchable status of Coach Mangurian? Maybe he's doing a good job.
ungvar, i can appreciate your concerns, but i dont classify what was written as thoughts as that implies thinking took place
That may be so. But who draws the line? Who decides what's foul and what's fair? That's depends on the censor's religion, ethnicity, sense of humor, etc.
On The Bright Side of Columbia Football the BWOG interviewed Josh Martin
Bwog: Do you have any thoughts about all the recent controversy that has come up surrounding your fellow player, Chad Washington, and the racist remarks that have been found on some players’ twitter pages? Have you ever experienced any racism during your time on the team?
Martin: I’ve never experienced that on the football team. It’s really disappointing that all of this is happening. I heard about Chad’s incident last night, and it’s just disappointing that this is happening at the university. It’s also disappointing that we don’t really know what’s happening. There are so many things coming out, but nobody really knows what’s going on. I mean, there’s nothing that I can do about it. We’re all just sitting, watching, and waiting to see how things turn out.
Read the whole interview here
http://bwog.com/2013/05/10/peoplehop-joshua-martin-finds-a-new-home-with-kansas-city-chiefs/
i think it depends little on the things you mentioned, but let's just say it did. A program scans for certain words, such as the ones used in the tweets we all read, it then goes before a diverse committee of students and faculty. if it is the first strike then it is sensitivity training, second, third, etc.
Big companies deal with this everyday and CU is a big company.
Columbia's also a bastion of free speech, as universities have to be to truly work. Peers judging peers just stinks.
Scanning tweets?
So stupid!!!!
How far you gunna go back in high school for recruits??
The guys in new haven, Cambridge, providence, Hanover, Ithaca, Princeton and Philly would be so happy. Imagine that as a recruiting tool.
Why not have the AD hire an fte to monitor and field complaints by the athletes who are now having their privacy invaded by the facist student body, that makes more sense. I never thought I would live to see the day that jake's crew and former players would do so much to damage and harm to the program. More than the damage caused by the incident itself!!
STOP.
WAIT FOR THE PROCESS TO UNFOLD. YOU MAY CHANGE YOUR TUNE. YOU ARE IGNORANT TO THE FACTS AND HURTING THE PROGRAM.
Scanning tweets?
So stupid!!!!
How far you gunna go back in high school for recruits??
The guys in new haven, Cambridge, providence, Hanover, Ithaca, Princeton and Philly would be so happy. Imagine that as a recruiting tool.
Why not have the AD hire an fte to monitor and field complaints by the athletes who are now having their privacy invaded by the facist student body, that makes more sense. I never thought I would live to see the day that jake's crew and former players would do so much to damage and harm to the program. More than the damage caused by the incident itself!!
STOP.
WAIT FOR THE PROCESS TO UNFOLD. YOU MAY CHANGE YOUR TUNE. YOU ARE IGNORANT TO THE FACTS AND HURTING THE PROGRAM.
you think those other schools arent scanning the tweets after this?
ignorance? we are talking about the Washington thing, we are talking about the twwets that are out there already...i dont think there is much in the way of something being determined here by a process.
so STOP AND READ BEFORE YOU SPEAK
I am flabbergasted that there are some who are trying to defend these tweets as innocent remarks by naive 18 and 19 year olds. Think about it… If a recruit said “thinking about going to Columbia, but there are way too many Jews there… “ (arguably that was reflective in one tweet). I’m pretty sure he would have to find a new school. I’m still trying to find the rationalization of the fact that these are not scholarship kids??? Does that mean scholarship kids have the right to be bigoted, racist and homophobic? I sense that there are parents who are chiming in to the defense of these kids and their rants (or trying to ask for understanding). If that’s the case, look in the mirror. With regard to who says what is acceptable and what is not. I would remind you what President Michael I. Sovern (Columbia’s 17th President 1980-1993) said in reference to a similar question posed regarding alleged homophobic remarks made by athletes. He said that this would not be tolerated on any level and he reminded us that Columbia is NOT a democracy, HE makes the rules! If we didn’t like the rules he pointed to the door to his left and he said you can explain your departure from Columbia to your parents.. Suffice to say, message received. It was that simple back then, and should be that simple now.
To the member of MESNA wh said "... athletes who are now having their privacy invaded by the facist student body..." News Flash... if you "TWEET", that is in a public forum.
How interesting........
I notice almost every person calling for expulsion and scanning the Tweets and on the BWOG hasn't used their name!!!!!!
I wonder why? Damn well know why!You don' t want your posts attributed to you. You don't want your freedom of speech stunted! But this campus full of hypocrites want the 18 and 19 year old football players held to that standard.
Is the entire Columbia experiment a fraud? Is the Columbia free speech a quaint notion? There are a lot of people throwing stones who live in glass houses......
By the way, Don Bosco got it right two years ago... ZERO TOLERANCE!!! Remember Yuri Wright? All-American football player from Don Boco. This is is a PERFECT example of why Notre Dame, Rutgers, Miami, etc. withdrew their scholarship offers.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/01/23/catholic-high-school-football-star-expelled-loses-scholarship-over-racist-sexual-tweets/
Mensa
I was referring to the girl who was taking notes on private conversation by players re:incident and then it being reported on the radio, Mensa! Look up the definition of facism if you don't think that applies, Mensa. I think posting anything on twitter is stupid. Young men do stupid things. Many use twitter as a form of private group communication, which is ignorant. Educators must educate and rehab. Punishments to modify behavior should befit the offense. You are getting the numerator of the problems. Football players are having tweets reviewed and disclosed. Need to see the tweets from the entire student body to determine the denominator, Mensa. Everybody's excrement stinks Mensa. Even yours.
To the last blogger on not listing my name--well I asked why the school isnt monitoring social media and my name is listed right at the bottom of that.
I didnt see your name on yours, but I do see the stone you are throwing.
Des
Yup, Orwell blew the name of his book.
Btw, Mike Sovern was the brain who sold off part of Baker Field.
Just a few points...
I read all of the tweets. A few of them were pretty bad, but for the most part these kids weren't attacking anyone or any group but simply talking the way kids talk now. I don't condone this at all, but if any other football program was looked at in the same way they would find the same thing.
I find it hard to be too judgemental of these kids because the world is a different world now than what most of us grew up in. A lot of us didn't have twitter or facebook to post your thoughts.
Its easy to be critical over what young adults are saying on twitter, but do you think it is possible that you may have said something over the line if you had that type of forum? Did you do things when you were that age that were bad immature decisions (ex. underage drinking)? My guess is most of you being critical could answer yes to these questions.
Sovern sold off part of baker field as an appeasement to the community at large. Oh, and what did they build? Hmmmm, let me see... a community in desperate need of a hospital. And what did that do (besides save lives)? Allow us to build the Campbell Center (NYT article referenced community cooperation with the university citing the Hospital and the malcom X site on 168th sttreet). Just TRY and get some facts straight to make a viable argument.
Three final thoughts. First, on Chad Washington: no matter what the verbal provocation, I find it had to justify having a big, strong guy like him slamming somebody half his size against a wall. Let him save his aggression for Harvard. Second, as to the tweets: this isn't going to a Comedy Club to hear what passes for humor. These tweets reflect revolting behavior which has brought discredit to a number of people, including those who are entirely blameworthy. I would not expel any of the twitters, even Callahan, but I certainly would take appropriate remedial steps. Finally, any professor who singles out athletes for verbal abuse or demeans them should be reported to Dean Valenti and President Bollinger. A hundred years ago, when I was a freshman at the College I had a French professor who was way out of line. I decided to do something about it and walked into my dean"s office. Miraculously I never had another problem with that professor. So here is a word of advice to current players and parents of current players: professors can also be jerks, but don't just take it. Go to your coaches or your deans and tell them what happened.
Really??? Comparinhg racial, bigoted, and homophobic remarks to drinking?
I just read the Don Bosco article. Looks like they got it right.
And a community hospital couldn't have been built in place of any of a dozen industrial lots or parking structures in the area? The Baker land is never coming back and our athletes are suffering because we gave up one or two practice fields.
The Campbell Center was built on Columbia's land, in place of a former structure. To connect its construction to the hospital's existence is about as tenuous as you can get.
And Mr. Anonymous, maybe try to construct a post without using capital letters -- it's pretentious.
Old lion
What if Chad never touched the kid?
Keep posted.
Reserve judgement.
Bosco let the kid go after they won the title, is that getting it right? Think about it?
Talk about a double standard, look at what some of the Columbia students have been saying on this blog. This blog is full of hypocrisy
http://bwog.com/2013/05/07/football-soph-charged-with-hate-crime/
Really, Chad is NOT the issue here. Most people have it wrong anyway. Chad is NOT charged with a felony, just a misdemeanor. I digress... The issue is these TWEETS. Again, let's pray that when all the facts come out, he is found innocent. Oone thing is abundadntly clear. there will be a sensitivity training seminar next year... or ther had better be one...
Old lion, Being the parent of a FB player at Columbia, I am absolutely disgusted that a professor would have the athletes in his class raise their hands and tell the rest of his students to thank the athletes for lowering the grade curve.Why didn't he get a lashing? He was singling out a group wasn't he? Also I remember when our Columbia band made some pretty snide remarks about our football team , what if anything was done to them. Maybe a little apology and it was over. People posting here want to crucify these kids for their ignorance immaturity and their stupidity. We have all been there, but expelling them? I don't agree.Callahans name cannot be dragged through the mud anymore than it has. I personally do not know this young man, but would guess he regrets all that he has tweeted.he has been shamed how much more do the posters have to shame him?
Bosco tweets were made AFTER the season... so yes, they won the Chamionship with him.
I played for CU and was suspended for 4 games at the beginning of my sophomore year for telling my team they had a losing attitude and for missing camp because I did not want to play with guys who weren't taking the game seriously. I learned that there was a beTter way to get my point across.
I didn't offend a race or sexual disposition, etc. Given my penalty, what should be their penalty? A subtle reminder, the issues they face are social/school issues not just a football issue.
If I went to the library steps and started screaming racial slurs should it be chalked up to immaturity and stupidity or would I be expelled?
You need to get a new calendar.
My experience with CU football was with a group of 100 brothers. 90 had their heads on straight, 5 were clowns and 5 were jerks.
I didn't like the jerks sullying the CUFB reputation then, and I don't like it now. Social media & the news cycle clearly make this easier.
To me, this is a team identity and upperclassmen leadership issue. I hope this shitstorm and Villamagna speaking out inspired a rising senior or two.
On the mark post by the former player above.
Hey guys,
The twitter stuff was disappointing but not that surprising.
It was however all brought to the forefront by the Washington incident. Now, hypothetically, lets say the interaction between players and students was little more than boorish behavior. Lets say the victim baited Washington with some comments and he responded with some threatening body language but zero contact and no racial slurs. Actions that would warrant a university warning and not much else. Motivated by an agenda, lets say our victims embellished, falsified statements to police and university. Who are the victims now? I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but if this is true, recognize how pathetic the reaction by the student body, the press, many of you would be. The underlying lesion is the divide between athletes and non athletes at Columbia.
Des was the best. Anything he didn't tackle went for a touchdown.
There were a lot of touchdowns
Des
To Anonymous two posts above...
If washington's stones were bigger he would've brushed off a 5'8 (presumably skinny) guy dissing him at 2am and gone about his business. I'd love our D-ends to be so cocky that their aloof after bar close...
Yeah, it's possible that a 5'7" guy baited a 6'4" 242-pound defensive lineman. That can't be ruled out. But any guy, let alone a 5'7" guy, who is out with two women at 2:00 AM generally has his mind focused only one thing -- and it's not getting into a fist fight with another guy big enough to embarrass him.
On the other hand, a guy hanging out with several of his buddies at 2:00 AM may -- I emphasize "may" -- have a drink or two extra and run his mouth a little more than he might without a few beers in him.
Now I'm not saying the other kid didn't initiate things, making Washington the victim per the scenario posed by Anonymous "Hey guys" four posts above. But if I were a betting man, and I am, my money's on the bigger, taller, more muscular man being the instigator.
Let's hope for a thorough and fair investigation, but if it turns out that Washington was framed, I'll be surprised.
Aren't there security cameras in the foyer of every dormitory at Columbia? Shouldn't a tape of the door at McBain show whether Washington followed the other kid into the dorm and possibly what happened afterwards? Aren't there at least six witnesses (Washington's four buddies and the other guy's two lady friends)? This one probably won't require CSI:NY to figure out.
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Here is how I hope this thing ends: Washington as it turns out was baited and never touched the kid, and he learns something about walking away. The players who twitted show some contrition, receive an appropriate penalty short of suspension from school, Coach Mangurian also learns from this experience that social media are not necessarily helpful to team building, the administration is more pro-active in coming up with means to bridge the gap between football players and other students, something is done to enforce a sense of respect by faculty members so that they stop embarrassing athletes, and we come back this Fall with this sorry episode behind us and concentrate on winning some games.
Amen Old Lion.
Old Lion,
I was tough on you earlier in the Blog but you have calmed down and shown great wisdom here. That's all I ask. Let' s keep this proportional to time, place, age, location and reality. You have been fair about your judgement. I dare say Solomon like. May the real judges follow your lead.
To chime in with a few reminders:
1) We talk about "culture" on the football team; the reason the tweets are an issue is that they may (that is, MAY) reflect a cultural problem on the team. Certainly they suggest an appearance of a problem - not with everyone, but with a significant minority.
2) Football players are a bit different from the "reggie's", because football players represent the school in public. If the head of the student body or another representative figure were involved in a similar situation, I think they'd be getting scrutiny, too.
3) Washington gets the benefit of the doubt until he is convicted, if he is convicted.
4) As Villiamagna said, football players are an insular group on campus, perhaps because of the structure and demands of their commitments to the team and sport. Part of this is because of that.
5) The tweets are hate speech. Let's not start justifying or excusing hate speech. While kids are free to say what they want, everyone has to take responsibility for what they say, especially in public. Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand.
6) Number 5 notwithstanding, college is a place where kids learn tolerance and judgment. It should be a place where young people can make mistakes, bear reasonable consequences, learn from them, adjust and become better without ruining their lives. This goes to the punishment rather than the offense. Balance and judgment are required of those who enforce community standards, as well as those who would violate them.
7) be careful about the reverse double standard evident in some posts. "They are football players, leave them alone," is not an appropriate response to violence or hate speech for any school, much less an Ivy. Just shrugging and saying jocks will be jocks is close to the "dumb jock" epithet, suggesting they shouldn't or (worse) can't be responsible. And suggesting that doing the right thing in this situation (whatever that turns out to be) should be tempered by its effect of CU's competitive position in sports relative to the rest of the league is just beneath us.
Let's wait to see how Washington's situation plays out before judging. A class A misdemeanor is serious, and carries a sentence of up to one year in prison. Let's recognize that the tweets are a logical outgrowth of Washington's investigation, questioning whether there is a culture that contributed to the Washington incident. Finally, the appearance of a problem based on the tweets is now at issue, and the question whether it has substance is still an open question. That, much as we don't like it, is not unreasonable nder the circumstances.
It's interesting that Messrs. Werthman and Abruzzesi would hold football players to a higher standards than many of the "reggie" alums out here. Let's recognize their leadership.
... question .... how much time was spent at Yale talking about Patrick Witt's and Will McHale’s off-field transgression ... same for the 2 kids from the Harvard basketball team ... what have you seen on the other 123 athletes at Harvard caught up in the cheating scandal ... not to minimize the details of what hapeened in the Washington incident ... but really, few if any of us know what happened ... it's in the legal system ... it would have been one thing if he had been charged with roughing up a gellow student .... the hate crime charge made it take on a different, sensational, more evolatile tone .... there have been over 100 posts on this subject ... have we covered all the ground yet ???
... sorry .... fellow not gellow
I'd like to echo what LionEsq said three posts above. It's interesting that Mssrs. Werthman and Abbruzzese, two of the finest leaders Columbia football has ever known, are not asking us to lower our standards of behavior for allegedly miscreant football players. Mssrs. Werthman and Abbruzzese are demanding of their successors in the Columbia football program to raise their standards of behavior -- or they should no longer be members of the program.
That's why these two gentlemen were effective leaders. There's a lesson there for all of us.
It's easier to make excuses for what is hopefully isolated behavior. It's harder to adopt a zero tolerance policy. But good leaders demand just that -- HIGHER standards, not lower.
I just think in order to get the program on the right track requires all of us to sacrifice that which is dearest and to go above and beyond what is asked of us. If people have a certain level of expectations, in order to win and win correctly, we need to go beyond that level in the classroom, on the campus, on the field. The status quo on requires we do what is necessary, but we have seen the status quo and that isn't working so we need to expect more.
Des
I agree with the earlier writer who said if you parsed the tweets from every student at Columbia you'd find a lot more than football players and other athletes who have been making inappropriate comments. That being the case, it would be wrong to apply institutional sanctions unilaterally to football players. In the interest of fairness, institutional sanctions would need to be applied across the entire student body and given that such a thing is impossible the school cannot, in good faith, single out the football players.
The players, however, should be subject to sanctions within the football program. They need to understand that with a more public profile comes more public scrutiny and more responsibility.
Tom Callahan is one of my best friends and I am Jewish. Tom Callahan took an African American girl to his freshman formal and an Asian girl to his sophomore formal.
Tom Callahan went to a public high school just outside of Chicago.
Tom Callahan is known by all of his friends as the class clown.
Perhaps his tweets shouldn't be taken so seriously.
Last post about Callahan is encouraging and points more to an error in judgement rather than prejudice. Still has to be remedied, however.
Two taxis crash in NYC. The drivers one Asian one Hispanic, exchange verbal slurs and shoves, but no punches are thrown. One is 60 pounds
heavier than the other.
IS THIS A HATE CRIME?
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