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
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NASA IS SAYING
THE BENEVOLENT
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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
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CadtWft 1-/0
by Berke Breath*
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BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke
Breath*
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