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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1988)
Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, September 12, 1988 Opinion Should Jack be bac Last week the University was attempting to dismiss a tern Spanish professor for professional incompetence and mon tnde because of incidents found in a 1985 investigation. Last week the University stood behind and defended ano«r^' f tenured professor for professional incompetence and moraltuWilliam tude for incidents dating back to 1985. ra < 'V' on Infra The dif ference was that the former was responsible for their./J he ^ task of educating students while the latter was assigned the umental chore of winning football games on f all Saturday the med , 6 ' derende ternoons. th ^ UnP lions wei Now that the NC1AA has put a halt to the special privilegesi? 111166 01 Aggie football players receive, it’s time that A&M stopped holdHrhis the football coach on a higher level than his f ellow tenured prols! leased ll ‘ ° J11 rc■ \ vestigati* Because of the numerous violations committed b\ the atlidtis encc program, which are proof of Jackie Sherrill’s incompetence moral turpitude, proceedings should begin inum-di.itely todfBiiu mine whether Sherrill should be dismissed from his duties asatH? n is * ue! tional co director and head football coach. ■tve o about ih Jump back, Jack — and take a look at yoursel The wheels Fi nally fell off Jackie Sherrill’s maroon Cadillac Friday af ter some loosening of the lugnuts by the National Col legiate Athletic Association. Al though Sherrill began Friday’s press conference by apologizing to Jackie Sherrills of the world.” And no intercollegiate coach wants to be put in the same area code with Switzer, espe cially after the release of former Sooner All-American Brian Bosworth’s reveal ing autobiography. Anthony Wilson A&M President William Mobley, the University, and the former and present students, and admitting responsibility (mighty big of him since he is the ath letic director and head football coach), it’s not enough. Of course, if Sherrill had pulled a Ronnie Reagan and admitted he didn’t know what was going on, he would have appeared to be a buffoon who didn’t know what was going on in his athletic program and wasn’t doing his job ad ministratively. fact that Sherrill has refused to come right out and say that if the charges aren’t overturned in the appeals proc ess, they will be dismissed from their du ties. Instead the athletic department has levied some ridiculously light discipli nary action against the coaches in ques tion. They are: no off-campus recruit ing, review by Dr. Mobley before contract renewal, and no merit compen sation this year. (WHAT! No raises for these guys?) “Yeah, it probably will he,” Osgood replied. “But I’ve been through it befo re.” After asking Osgood a few more questions, I went to get some quotes from Sherrill. After asking for his reac tion to Osgood’s statements, Sherrill denied that Osgood had said what he did. The whole ordeal now appears to be over, but Sherrill has left many ques tions unanswered. Number one in the minds of many students is, “OK, Jack — so you’re re sponsible for what happened, hut did you know what the hell was going on?” The most serious revelation to come from the NCAA’s investigation is that two A&M assistant coaches provided false and misleading information to the NCAA concerning their involvement and knowledge of violations. A&M at torneys have refused to release these coaches’ names until they have the op portunity to appeal the charges against them. Sherrill has warned the press not to ask him, the coaches or players any questions concerning the violations and sanctions for the remainder of the sea son. But many of the players have not had the opportunity to express their feelings about the incident because they were not made available to the press “But Coach,” I said. “I have his voice right here on my recorder.” “No, Chris didn’t say that,” Sherrill maintained. “You’re trying to put words into Chris’ mouth and imply things that just aren’t true.” pened thi: s year and nc >i last. Kip rington w< mid have beet i theonlvp allowed to » talk to the p tress while] Brooks wc mid have beer i bound, d and locket 1 in a dark clo.>! .et. Sherrill has said he d< tesn’t agree the penalt ies implying that the 4 was too ha rsh on A&M. WhatalaJ Would he have preferee 1 the TCI age deal? ECU head co itch Jim W self repot i ted violations in hispn and was m nmercifully pi mished-J years pro! >ation with m > 1 KIWIS, IGfJ ure of S3' 42.203 of tele •vision revd and redui lion of 35 sc holarshitt ppe An gram. our a the |>' Stude tw •a r It’s a question Sherrill purposefully left unanswered. If he had admitted to knowing about the numerous violations, he would appear to be exactly what Penn State’s Joe Paterno said he was when Paterno said he would never leave the collegiate ranks to coach in the pros because he didn’t want to leave college football to “the Barry Switzers and This in itself is an injustice to the peo ple who support A&M athletics. The students especially have a right to know who’s directly responsible for raining on their New Year’s Day activities. Lying to the NCAA is certainly not as serious as murder and our democratic system has no problem with releasing the names of people who have been charged with murder, whether they’re guilty or not. Noticahly absent from the Friday press conference was quarterback Chris Osgood. Osgood, who after his perfor mance against LSU is the likely starter against Alabama Saturday, transfered to A&M two years ago from the University of Mississippi after the Ole Miss pro gram was put on probation. Obviously he must have some interesting insight into this situation since he’s been through it before. I, for one, would like to hear it. “But you’ve got to admit that this thing could turn against A&M (gee, I must have ESPN) and there might not be any Cotton Bowls or television ap pearances for the Aggies,” 1 said. Kevin Mm ms l)i publicize team, leading — two Cottc \&M took fricm prop mom A' com j “No, you’re making implications that just aren’t true,” Sherrill said. “You don’t know any of that.” “Well Coach, let me put it this wav. When 1 go into a classroom to take a test, 1 know the chances of my making an A or an F.” But more outraging than this is the Of course whether Osgood would ac tually say what is on his mind is doubt ful. He did that once and caught hell for it from Sherrill. “No you don’t. You don't know what that professor put on that test or how hard the guy sitting next to you stud ied.” Mail Call Shake, rattle and roll those Greeks EDITOR: When the NCAA allegations against A&M were released last spring, I went to cover Sherrill’s press conference and get the players’ reactions. I was the First reporter to notice Osgood in the Netum Steed weight room and ask him about the situation. “I have a pretty good idea.” “No you don’t.” I agree with Anthony Wilson’s comments about sorority rush. His comments hit the hearts of a lot of brainwashed SB’s whose pride would not allow them to accept these accusations. I can’t think of any other organization (except the military) which take individuals and turn them into an army of beings that look, talk, dance, and act alike. If that is what they want, to be like someone else, to follow the sisterhood (or brotherhoods) philosophy like their own, more power to them. There are some of us in this world who don’t need to rent our friends and be told how to act. “Obviously you came here to play in the Cotton Bowl and on TV and get some national exposure,” I said to Os good. “Now because of what other peo ple did before you even got here, that could be ruined for you.” Seeing that I wasn’t getting anywhere with this conversation, I thanked Sher rill for his time and walked away. And while I was still in earshot range, Sher rill called Osgood over and preceded to coach him on the proper way to answer questions. Needless to say, Osgood was through talking to the media for the day. wouli tli 11 h; fjeei n tn without.Mr’i ray a n d hi: omit legible talents. I! NCA j\ had pen t .onsisient with ii: ing, j \, ScM wo uld 1 have had to rep mom it r lived for placing in: two p st-se >n ga mes. “E VC ryot le 1 > it" is no excuse what h iap|>< put *d at A&M. Arkansas* Baylc >r a re tw o su iccessful teams it Soutl IV vest Co *nfer ence that don'i! to stc P »<> ch eatii tg to win. Neithe: Notn Dan and Penn State-i* the n U) >st su rssfu 1 football progns the n at ion. IT le re’s i no reas on A&M can't ha succe ss if ul atl iletic program and tinue 1 :)U rsi uin ccellence as a V u nivt ;r sity.’ ' Bi ut as long as A&M CM men A sc the continue to cheat and ignore that govern college athletics, norri how many Cotton Bowls we win,m| not he successful. 1 he athletic dirr must do some house cleaning witte department. And he should bed dusting off himself. Actually, it’s better this thing hap- Anthony Wilson is a senior jot? I ism major and opinion page ediw s The Battalion. BLOOM COUNTY I personally tested several frats during the First week of school and while everyone else asked if they were rushing when they received a nametag, I was always ignored. Even though I have met a few individuals within frats or sororities, this just goes to prove my assumption that frats are looking for those who can easily be conformed and molded to fit the image of the brotherhood. I fear that sororities are much more guilty concerning this trait. 3UUST/N // The ms a computers HAVE RESUMEP THE COUHTPOm " VU SCREENS ARE REAPING "GO'.? ALL GUTCHES HAVE MYSTER IOUSLY P/SAPREAPEP // NASA IS SAYING THE BENEVOLENT HANP OF GOP /-)/[!/. / MUST'VE GOTTEN U/ V--C\tNlV THE SYSTEM! // Needless to say I do not act and look like your average Aggie and am proud of it. Individuals should never conform to fit into a clique or organization. Anthony has certainly shaken up a lot of people with his article and I am definitely going to look for more earth-shaking editorials. Bingo Barnes ’90 Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must be signed and ?nust include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. CadtWft 1-/0 by Berke Breath* The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Lydia Berzsenyi, Editor Becky Weisenfels, Managing Editor Anthony Wilson, Opinion Page Editor Richard Williams, City Editor D A Jensen, Denise Thompson, News Editors Hal Hammons, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director Leslie Guy, Entertainment Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac ulty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1 11 1. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station TX 77843-4 111. BLOOM COUNTY by Berke Breath* /?5 INEVITABLE AS RAGWEEP POLLEN, THE SEASON'S FIRST REAL CONTROVERSY PESCENPEP UPON TNE MEAPOWCRATS... THE PRESS HAP PISCOVEREP WHAT THEIR CANP/PATE HAP PONE PUR!NO THE PARR YEARS OF VIETNAM...