THE B *ni
irylj
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 11 • Friday, November 8, 2002
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ETERMININ
HO GOES PR
ear-old Ohio State running back should be allowed to play in the NFL
aurice Clarett is the total
package. As Ohio State’s
star running Ipck en
HTto'a possible recora-ofeak-
|g%ason, he has easily led the
ir.ckc^cs to a %iumber four
ionarranking in a currently undefeated sea-
Oftentimes eollegiaterfrishinen tile norm.
LINDSAY AIELLO
Indoing so, he has also established himself as
eofthe NCAA’s leading rushers with an aver-
leof 14J yards a game, and a contender for the
Ismail Trophy, awarded each year to the sea
l’s single best player in collegiate football,
lot only does he have the ability to compete
th the NFL’s besn, but also the physical and
ntal toughness.
I ! Howpver, lie ispnly a 19-year-old freshman.
;cordifg to National Football League rules,
rich require a player to be three years out of
(gh sciu)ol|bclure lie is eligible for the draft,
larei is too yt>«trg to play for them. While he
jsyetto decide if he will challenge this ruling,
k has more than earned the right to do so if he
looses.
do not have the size they need to
w ithstand the brutality of the NFL,
and thus need a few years to '‘bulk
up.” This is not an issue with
^Maurice Clarett. At six-foot and 230
pounds, he easily matches — and
even surpasses — the size of the NF1 ,’s best run
ning back. LaDainian Tomlinson, a running back
1 JAt his age|:;lie has had to see and endure
things many people don't in a lifetime, and talced
far tougher mmgs than any defensive line. In an
interview with ESPN Magazine, he explained
what if was like to grow up in Youngstown,
Ohio.
■MlMi^hout a father, Maurice — with his two
brothers and eleven cousins — basically raised
tor the San Diego Chargers and the league's cur- himsen/while his mother worked long days. He
rent rushing leader, stands two inchdf shorter easily reesalled a time when, while playing foot-
than Clarett and weighs in at 221 pounds b^fl in the’street, he watched as a neighbor was
Emmitt Smith is even smaller .JpcWding to, shot irr'a drive-by and “crawled in the bushes
the Web site for the Dallas Cowbcfy^hts; sfStu^^^^Tdi^tL" ■
is measured at 5 ft. 9 in. and 2Ijfpounds ^AncFanotjler time when the same thing hap-
is the NFL’s all-time 1 e a d i n d
arguably the best running back the game has
ever seen, and his size is not an issue, (^larett,
who is even more physically^nposing, should
be given his chance to develop in the Nm-
Many also feel a 19-year-old does notpossess
the mentality or maturity needed to handle the
pressures associated with an NFL career or the
fame that comes with it. However. Clarett defies
ja~a fteighbor’s friend as Clarett played
outside with a cousin.
He Vhas 'Jllready been to ten funerals of
friends frorff the neighborhood”, while his best
friend is in prison for attempted murder. In high
schoolpu Harding High, while basically living
off of beans and franks and often without elec
tricity, he managed to earn himself the title of
USA Today's National Offensive Player of the
Year before graduating a semester early/mnd
nQW^Jtam ,the worst possible' situation Jand
^against all odrfsf4iCThas managed to becomse one
of football’s brightest young MafsQjtf ymx think
he can’t handle the pressure, just ajJFnim. As
told to interviewer Gene Wojciejmowski, “I
don’t feel like there’s anything aryilfne can do to
me now that hasn’t been done to me before. So
the way I look at football is, \JPll you gonna do
is hit me?’” M
When a brillian|young 12-year-old decided to
enter college at University of California-Davis
last August, nobody told her she wasn't allowed
to do so. Although there are many possible
repercussions to a child facing the harsh reality
of college lifll, this pretfeen was afforded the
choice to embark on sucifan experience. Maurice
Clarett, whose unique Abilities and experiences
easily prepare him for all the NFL has to offer,
should b<|^iaffipi^|the same freedom.
Lindsay Aiello is a sophomore
journalism major.
GRAPHIC BY JOSH DARWIN • THE BATTALION
udity, vulgarity and all things ‘Mature’
BMX XXX and other ‘Mature’ video
pimes should be banned from stores
now their HF/J
babies of infd
1 get imiMlis
it might keeptte
pitals want a fat
whether Nov. 15th,
>sed to bloodfratH B A . c c 1 a i m
patients needxV-/Entertainment Inc.
-HIV medicaii |will launch its new video
S activists 11 game BMX XXX, an
:y enough foiJaction-packed thrill ride mark wood
arkers instea | that includes full nudity and a line of characters
including pimps, prostitutes and copulating pink
odles, according to reuters.com. The video
fame, which is made for Sony’s Playstation 2,
Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s GameCube,
features the tagline “Keep it dirty,” according to
outers. The game is so controversial the makers
to create an edited version to further the reach
ofihe game’s distribution.
In the edited version, players will be unable to
reate topless female characters. Acclaim
pokesman Alan Lewis said. BMX
AX will, however, still be avail-
Me in the original, fully nude
orm. The video game does come
a “Mature” rating meaning
ou have to be at least 17 to pur-
hase it and Acclaim says it is not
marketing this game to children,
many consider this merely a
front and children will likely still
’oable to get their hands on it.
An example of this is the ease
Mi which anyone can get into the
BMX XXX Web site.
Demand from the public and the
ESRB should dictate whafs acceptable
ers would F
easing thife
/ testing.
r cities or pa
where access*
is limited,
nay indeed pit*
for now it car *
y certified kali
ruse of
h and
:retary Toil
i Thursday.
A pornographic
game can lead to
no good and will
eventually land
in the hands of
children.
ifficial
iVhi
en you pull it up, instructions
arect the viewer to “click here” if
. I.,, |T eors I 1 e is 17 or older. When it is
aH4Wir.il ' .feed, it automatically goes into the site with no
, Mfication of age, so anyone can access it. Any
j| "'fe ll or 12 -year-old can log onto the Web site
"hrch contains “ads magazines didn’t want you
fosee ’ of a woman in a thong on a bike, two dogs
Mng sex and a pimp with two girls wearing
bikinis.
This parallels the issue of alcohol companies
ln g accused of targeting a younger-than-21
Mience with their marketing mix. According to
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, last year nearly
ird of all measured magazine alcohol ads were
Paced in publications with a statistically young
au drence. Twenty-one is the legal drinking age,
So the companies shouldn’t be targeting a
younger crowd. They do, however, know chil-
ren are going to be able to obtain alcohol, so
Men they do they want to make sure they buy
'boir brand.
The executives at Acclaim must have the same
1 e a in mind. It is bad enough children are
a owed to purchase and play violent video games
? w hich the winner is detemnined by who kills
e most people or games in which children are
taught how to steal cars and get away with
it. But now by allowing this video game to
circulate, children are learning that behav
ior such as pimping, prostitution and wan
ton profanity are okay also.
Video game producers have taken
explicit video game content to a whole new
level with BMX XXX. The game should be taken
off the shelves of every gaming store and should
not be allowed to be sold. A pornographic game
can lead to no good and will eventually land in
the hands of children.
Acclaim Entertainment Inc. is doing society
an injustice by making this game. They are tak
ing advantage of young children by capitalizing
off of them. This game is a prime example of
the attitude many American businesses possess
of willingness to do anything to make a buck. It
is sad that young children these
days are faced with these deci
sions at such an early age just
because some executive isn’t sat
isfied with his already million-
dollar salary. This video game is
adding to the pile of immoral
junk people are forced to deal
with. /
However, a good thing can
come out of this situation as
opposition to the game is rising
steadily. Several executives at
some of the world’s largest retail
companies find it too graphic.
Top retailers, including Wal-
Mart, Toys “R” Us and KB Toys have said they
will not sell BMX XXX because of its content.
So through all this negativity, people have
learned there are some companies out there that
stand up for what is right no matter how much
revenue they may be missing. Wal-Mart
spokesman Tom Williams told Reuters, “We’re
not going to carry any software with any vulgari
ty or nudity — we’re just not going to do it.” The
companies that have decided to not sell this
pornographic game should be applauded.
Finally, someone in corporate America has real
ized sometimes the bottom line just isn’t worth
the harm it will cause the youths. The only hope
we have in stopping this behavior is not buying
the game and by letting the retailers who have
decided not to stock it know how much their
integrity is appreciated. Hopefully, there will be
so many protests and boycotts Acclaim will have
no choice but to pull the game off the shelves and
out of production forever.
Mark 'Wood is a senior
journalism major.
GEORGE DEUTSCH
A cclaim
Entertainment’s
newest entry into
the multitude of “Mature”-
rated video games, BMX
XXX, is drawing needless
criticism from various retailers and members of
the media, which is more than a little unfair con
sidering the game hasn’t even been released yet.
Critics who have neither seen nor played the
game are labeling it obscene and calling for it to
be banned from stores, a move that limits the
control consumers have over what they can buy.
But many fail to realize that BMX XXX and all
other video games comply with standards set by
the Electronic Software Rating Board (ESRB)
which rates games, and no game can be more
graphic or vulgar than an R-rated
movie or album with explicit
lyrics. This game’s release is
actually a celebration of people’s
rights and purchasing power as
responsible consumers.
One of the elements which
separates BMX XXX from
other games is the addition of
nudity and coarse language.
Though the addition of sexuali
ty and questionable dialogue in
games is hardly groundbreak
ing, it is enough to ignite the
occasional watchdog organiza
tion, well-meaning parent or senator running
for re-election.
A similar controversy in 1993 about Mortal
Kombat coupled with a game rating campaign
spearheaded by Senator Joe Leiberman resulted
in the formation of the ESRB. It was the gov
ernment’s decision that the responsibility for
rating game content lie with this organization,
and the BMX XXX has met the board’s
approval.
For retailers such as Best Buy or Wal-Mart
to say they won’t sell this game is hypocritical,
because its content is no different from other
electronic media they already sell, such as
movies and CDs. There is likely nothing that
will transpire in BMX XXX which has not
already been seen in countless movies, nor will
people hear words they’ve never heard before.
This game in particular should not be judged
differently than any other form of commercial
entertainment. As Greg Fischbach, CEO of
Acclaim, noted in a recent news release, “our
product is being held to an entirely different
BMX XXX and
all other video
games comply with
standards set by
the Electronic Soft
ware Rating
Board.
standard than other media of similar con
tent.”
It also remains to be seen whether
these selective retailers will carry the
edited version of the game Acclaim is
promising them. In either case, by not
selling the unedited game they have already
alienated a sizable portion of their shopping
demographic.
After all, no one wants to be told what they
can or can’t buy with their money, especially
not adults who are responsible and informed
consumers. As long as legality is not an issue,
the buying public should dictate what is being
sold through supply and demand it should
not be controlled by senseless regulation.
Stripping consumers of their right to buy this
game is the first step toward
stripping them of more rights, a
trend nobody wants to see.
Besides, for stores not to carry
a “Mature”-rated video game is to
say they don’t have faith in their
own government-created regula
tory board, the ESRB. It sends a
bad message when retail chains
cave in to the demands of the eas
ily-offended minority and fail to
recognize the means of regulation
already in place. As a “Mature”
game, BMX XXX cannot be sold
to anyone under 17. There is no
need for it to be banned on top of this.
Being an “M”-rated game, BMX XXX is not
being marketed toward children, which actually
makes it more family-oriented, instead of less.
This empowers parents to decide what is right
for their children. The advertisements for BMX
XXX make no attempt to hide its rating, but ads
for the game are actually few and far between.
Interestingly, the game has seen more attention
from news agencies than from its own adver
tisements.
There is no question that people should have
some degree of protection from media with
questionable content. In this case, that protec
tion lies in a rating board agreed to by both the
government and the video game industry. For
retailers to ban approved games no different in
content from the movies which line their
shelves is both hypocritical and irresponsible.
Time will tell if “Mature” consumers prove to
be an unforgiving group.
George Deutsch is a senior
journalism major.
MAIL CALL
Athletics vital part of
A&M's Vision 2020
response to a Nov. 7 mail
call:
actual words "football"
sports" may not be includ-
In the official Vision 2020
cument, but Associate
r °fessor Gary Varner is incor-
® ct in concluding that our ath-
lc Programs are unimportant
a ccornplishing the goals set
out in Vision 2020. He should
be reminded that schools are
not just ranked by the quality
of teaching and research.
Success of the athletic pro
grams indirectly influence our
school ranking by furthering
school spirit, new student
recruiting, alumni contribu
tions, and national exposure of
the university. All these are
factored into the U.S. News
ranking, so like it or not, suc
cess in football and other
sports (to a lesser extent) play
a role.
The Home page for Texas
A&M commits to "Creating a
Culture of Excellence." This
means we as a school will not
accept mediocrity in any facet,
but strive to make it better.
Let’s hope we do.
Dan Vales
Class of 2004
Students must focus
on OU, not Slocum
No, the world is not coming
to an end in these last few
weeks of the Big 12
Conference football schedule,
but, for us Aggies and our
"world-renowned Twelfth
Man," these few weeks, and
this Saturday in particular, will
say a lot.
This Saturday the number
one team in the nation, OU,
will be coming to our Kyle
Field with more than its own
rising confidence.
Unfortunately, some of the
Aggie faithful have also recent
ly been helping out OU’s ego. I
do not know how many times I
have heard remarks like,
"Slocum needs to step down,"
or "I hope we lose so that we
have to get a new coach."
Then there is the ever popular,
"We don’t stand a chance
against OU."
Frankly, these remarks sicken
me. Dustin Long, Bethel
Johnson, and company are
part of possibly the most dan
gerous offensive unit we have
ever had in Aggieland. And
while our Wrecking Crew has
not played up to expectations
lately, I have an enormous
amount of faith in our defen
sive unit, and they have the tal
ent to back it up. Furthermore,
the coaching situation will be
addressed AFTER three of the
biggest games of the season. I
have my opinions about what
needs to happen here, but, for
now, I am just a little more
interested in beating the num
ber one and number five (t.u.)
teams in America.
J. Cuyler Dear
Class of 2006