I can't tell you all just how much I hate, hate, hate this story about Chad Washington and the charges against him.
I am praying some new information will come out to mitigate the whole thing, but that leaves me feeling pretty helpless. Apparently there is video of the incident... and I'm not sure I want to see it.
The rational adults and near-adults reading this will all agree that even if the charges are true, it doesn't mean anything about the other athletes at Columbia or collegiate sports in general.
Others will attempt to use this story as a weapon. We have to be prepared for that.
Meanwhile, much of the Columbia campus is still in finals mode.
That hasn't stopped many students from speaking out online.
Some of the comments are the usual hate-filled ignorance, but I noticed one from former Columbia QB M.A. Olawale on the student website Bwog.com. I follow Olawale's other online comments all the time, and this looks 100% authentic).
It reads:
"I dont know the full details of the story but I will say that it is anonymous cowards like the owners of some of the comments above that cause the divide between athletes and non athletes. You don't have to hang out with somebody to show them respect, and quite honestly if you haven't figured out that college and the world in general is separated into many "cliques" then you are a little late my friends. Not all "cliques" are bad. The "cliques" that form among athletes is a byproduct of most athletes' scheduling and the amount of time that they spend together practicing and working out. Being a former student athlete myself, I have been a victim of this undeserved hate and animosity from some non student athletes. I am not going to generalize and say that all non athletes were disrespectful and hateful but there were definitely enough to make me question how many other non athletes shared this irrational and general dislike for us. Anybody remember that article that was written in the Spec in 2006 or 2007 about how Student Athletes didn't belong at Columbia? Talk about not feeling wanted?!?!?! We all go to the same school, so I don't know why there needs to be an athletes vs. non athlete mentality. For every athlete you meet that is a jerk there are ten athletes that are great people and could care less if you played a sport or not.
It's really easy to act and talk recklessly when you can't be held accountable for your words. If you stand by the comments you are making then you should be able to put your name by it.
-Millicent Olawale CC '10
44 comments:
This incident has nothing to do with "athlete vs non-athlete". It's a hate crime of racist against victim.
To the above poster, it is very easy to armchair quarter back this situation. We don't know the full story and I would suggest you reserve judgement until all the facts come forth.
It's called freedom of speech. Look into it.
It's called presumption of innocence. Look into it.
If you don't want people commenting, why are you allowing comments? Hate crimes are about race/gender/orientation etc, not athletics. You can't control the internet. Or people.
I want people to comment and don't bar any comments. But I, like M.A., wish everyone here would sign their posts. If I forced that rule though, there would be no comments. So I go with a truly open forum and hope that everyone will be an adult.
Nobody has a clue as to what happened at this point, other than the fact that the police may see things differently than the campus police. Maybe everybody should rely upon the presumption of innocence until the facts are known. If it is true, then it is just awful on several levels. But if it isn't, then we are doing a great disservice to this young man.
Who is saying anything about hate crimes? Did you witness this event? I think not. Just because someone accuses you of something and/or you are charged with it does not mean you are guilty. Why don't you ask the duke lacrosse team about it. I'm sure they could better help you understand the differences.
"Who is saying anything about hate crimes?" That's the charge.
"Who is saying anything about hate crimes? Did you witness this event? I think not."
Actually, I did witness the event.
Try to focus your attention on the word "crime" just because you have been accused/charged with a crime, hate or otherwise, does not mean you are guilty of committing one. It's a simple yet fundimental principle in which our judicial system has been based for hundreds of years
You were an eye witness to this incident? Please then tell us all exactly what you witnessed
"... just because you have been accused/charged with a crime, hate or otherwise, does not mean you are guilty of committing one does not mean you are guilty of committing one."
To clarify, none of the above commenters said he was guilty, they just spoke about the **alleged** crime and the right to discuss it, and the presumption of innocence, etc.
Unfortunately WKCR has upped the ante. They have tweeted a large number of tweets from football players. As a long time supporter of the program, I was frankly disgusted by some of the tweets. Apparently we have a few players who don't like either Asians or Jews very much, and the gay bashing is really pretty extreme. This will not end well. And there are a few guys who shouldn't be at Columbia, if what they are saying is what they believe.
I have read the tweets. Although people may not agree it's PC, there is still freedom of speech. It's difficult for me to believe that these players are true racists when the team is comprised of black, white, AND Asian players. What are the potential ramifications of these tweets?
I regret having to date myself but much of this garbage is very familiar from my days as a CU student athlete. It was especially prevalent among the non-starters and certainly the non-stars in the football program. On the other hand it was non-existent in the basketball program where Jack Rohan was clear about expectations and consequences. I know all about the stresses and strains of being a CU athlete. Boo hoo. We need discipline from the coaches and respect among the players and if that's all just too much then the hell with the whole thing.
Mitch S. '68CC
"We need discipline from the coaches and respect among the players and if that's all just too much then the hell with the whole thing."
Bravo, sir.
This isn't a freedom of speech issue. And this isn't a bow to political correctness. This is pretty ugly stuff. And it is incredible to me that anybody in the Columbia community could actually be dumb enough to post some of this drivel. These are the young men who are representing our school? This is the program which we are supporting financially and otherwise? And where were the coaches? Didn't they tell these young men that they are supposed to uphold our core values? Just read the tweets. Some of our best players have posted some of the worst stuff.
Unfortunately for Coach M. and the decent guys on the team, with what's been coming out it looks like the "Columbia Curse" has erupted big time. The Washington thing is bad enough, add guys like Brackett, Callahan, and Connors spewing their racist, homophobic crap publicly and you have a real shocker.
Old lion, what do you prepose they do about these tweets?
Jake, how can you read what Callahan and Connors tweeted and conclude anything other than that they are antisemites? And Brackett, our senior leader, turns out to be a much lesser man than I thought he was. I'm sure that most of our guys are decent and fair minded, and it is too bad that they have put a stain on our program. Whatever the administration doesn't, I am more interested in seeing what Pete does here.
Some of Brackett's inane tweets, especially since the FB season, show he's not grown up since HS.
Is the administration at notre dame racisist for continuing to allow a depitiction of an entire group of people as fighters, some might even say drunken hooligans? How about the Cleveland Indians, or better yet the Washington redskins? Is every person who uses the term "jewish"im a sterotypical way an antisemite? How about all thoes not in favor of gay marriage, are they all homophobic? If someone uses the term "gay" with a negative conotation, are they too homophobic? Are theses hard core racists who attend klan and neo nazi rally's or are they just playing into stereotypes?
I guess I haven't seen all the Tweets.
I noticed that all the athletes in question have taken down their twitter pages or locked them from public view. To late for that...
Callahan didn't use use the word "Jewish" in a stereotypical way. Read what he said. He doesn't deserve to wear our uniform. He is a bigot.
Some tweeted objectionable comments while in HS, say a few on Firing Lion. Apparently, no one (coach?) stepped in.
A female athlete on the panel said there was but one meeting about posting on social media.
Just read the WKRC web page which contains nothing but tweets from football players. They are ignorant and disgusting. These few guys sully the reputation of many. About 10 players will feel Coach M's rath over this embarrassment. I agree that Callahan has a serious problem with Jews and he had the audacity to send an ignorant message regarding Jews to the NY Times!
were the comments made by the players in the tweets hateful or ignorant?
Big difference if you ask me...
It can actually can and should be explained in very simple terms to these guys when they show up at CU: "Do not do, say, or write anything that if it were to come out would embarrass the program or the university. If you violate this you will be separated from the program and possibly from the university as well." What's not to like?
Mitch S. '68CC
Mitch S., your solution, while perhaps practical, begs the question. What's needed is sensitivity training with instruction in respect for all people regardless of their ethnicity, sexual preferences, etc. Clearly some of these dumb jocks are ill prepared to enter a multi-cultural university and city. That they can stay that way for three or four years, maybe get even worse than how they were when they came in, is CU's responsibility.
This isn't a question of "dumb jocks", with all due respect. This is a question of pure bigotry by a few bad apples like Callahan who don't share fundamental American values with the vast majority of students, both athletes and non-athletes. And it shows a total absence of leadership. Maybe if we had one senior captain who in the Bill Campbell mode could exercise leadership that would make a difference, instead of this laughable experiment with four captains for each class. And PS I was particularly disappointed to learn that the senior QB I had come to admire was one of the worst offenders here.
My God, I can't believe what I'm reading here. There was a time America was the land of the free and the home of the brave. I'm not so sure anymore. I served 4 years in the marines and promised to defend my country from enemies both foreign and domestic. Why people are so sensitive & thinned skinned today is beyond my comprehension. I remember my days as a young marine living in close quarters with people comprised of all types of religions, race, creed, and sexual orientation. Everyone would bust on everyone and say and do stupid things to one another but no one ran to our superiors and said he called me this or he called me that. The bottom line was this; there was no black, white, Hispanic, Asian or Muslim we were all marines willing to give our lives and limbs for one another freely and unselfishly because the color of our blood was and always will be red. Let's all grow up and knock it off with the sensitivity bullshit.
I totally agree with the above poster. The vast majority of the tweets we stereotypes, NOTHING MORE.
A woman athlete on Firing Lion Wed said there was but one session about social media for her group.
When did Columbia join the SEC or PAC 12?
These guys aren't Marines in close quarters. More likely they're maligned Columbia football players taking out their frustrations on others.
For anyone who can't make the connection, "stereotypes" leads to hatred amd violence (Nazi Germany, the KKK, are perfect examples).
HAHAHA so everyone who stereotypes will soon be a violent hate monger?
Having met some of these guys a few years back, I am skeptical that they are genuinely hateful or racist.
What they are is unbelievable stupid despite their high SAT scores, and class-less despite their high-class education.
Mangurian needs to start identifying these individuals the day they set foot on campus and boot them if they can't man up.
I agree with the poster who served 4 years in the marines.
We need to go back to old values and teach our kids to ignore ignorant comments. The problem is too many people make money and get notoriety by taking dumb comments too seriously.
Too the person who equates stereotypes to he KKK, all us "dumb jocks" better run for cover...
Racism always begins with stereotyping. Show me a racist who doesn't spew the typical sterotypes about whichever group he's demeaning. That's not to say that everyone who thinks in sterotypes is a virulent hater or bigot, but stereotyping of any group based on preconceived negative characteristics is always at the root of bigotry, and is therefore potentially harmful.
Agree that it can potentially be harmful but probably a small percentage.
Show me one person who hasn't periodically stereotyped a group ever. it is nearly impossible because we are all human...
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