THE REAL CRIME IS SILENCE
In 1978, I decided against all odds to try and play major college football. My only football experience to that point had been some Pop Warner league. No high school, no semi-pro, just the belief that I could do it.
The football coach at Memphis State (now the University of Memphis) at that time was Richard Williamson, a tough buzzard and former disciple of Alabama’s legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. I was involved in a spring scrimmage when I caught a pass over the middle, and our hard hitting free safety Tony Graves gave me an all star shot to my exposed ribs. The pain was immediate and intense. I knew something was terribly wrong.
Back on the sideline, Williamson decided to “toughen” up this sissy basketball player and demanded that I go back in the game. When I declined saying that I couldn’t breathe, he became irate and actually took a swing at me. I didn’t sue….I ducked. When the report came in the next day that I had a fractured rib, there was no apology forthcoming from Williamson. Back then, that was the lay of the athletic land.
We can fast forward to the Holy Family basketball situation and see that it is an entirely new day. Practices are on video, and much like the Watergate tapes, they can expose any acts of overzealousness. First year Coach John O’Connor was guilty of doing something coaches have been doing for years, using physical tactics to make their squad more competitive. What he did was wrong, but this was not the real crime.
Born and raised a catholic, it pains me to see what has happened in my religion. Scores of Priests have been accused and found guilty of what I believe is the ultimate betrayal, using their collar as an EZ-Pass to sexually molest our young people. The crime itself is bad enough, but the silence and the cover-ups by the leaders of the church are unconscionable.
Athletic Director Sandy Michael, and school President Francesca Onley chose to sit on this volatile situation, with the hope that it would go away. When the parents of the player involved (Matt Kravcuk) came to the school and demanded answers, the only one forthcoming was that it as “being handled”. It took a leaked tape to suspend John O’Connor, which ultimately led to his resignation on Thursday after an embarrassing segment between player, coach, and legal counsel on “Good Morning America”.
I would hope that the local media would hold Michael and Onley’s feet to the fire and demand answers to their inactions and silence. By now, the Roman Catholics should have learned….. pretending a situation doesn’t exist is never the right answer.
In 1978, I decided against all odds to try and play major college football. My only football experience to that point had been some Pop Warner league. No high school, no semi-pro, just the belief that I could do it.
The football coach at Memphis State (now the University of Memphis) at that time was Richard Williamson, a tough buzzard and former disciple of Alabama’s legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. I was involved in a spring scrimmage when I caught a pass over the middle, and our hard hitting free safety Tony Graves gave me an all star shot to my exposed ribs. The pain was immediate and intense. I knew something was terribly wrong.
Back on the sideline, Williamson decided to “toughen” up this sissy basketball player and demanded that I go back in the game. When I declined saying that I couldn’t breathe, he became irate and actually took a swing at me. I didn’t sue….I ducked. When the report came in the next day that I had a fractured rib, there was no apology forthcoming from Williamson. Back then, that was the lay of the athletic land.
We can fast forward to the Holy Family basketball situation and see that it is an entirely new day. Practices are on video, and much like the Watergate tapes, they can expose any acts of overzealousness. First year Coach John O’Connor was guilty of doing something coaches have been doing for years, using physical tactics to make their squad more competitive. What he did was wrong, but this was not the real crime.
Born and raised a catholic, it pains me to see what has happened in my religion. Scores of Priests have been accused and found guilty of what I believe is the ultimate betrayal, using their collar as an EZ-Pass to sexually molest our young people. The crime itself is bad enough, but the silence and the cover-ups by the leaders of the church are unconscionable.
Athletic Director Sandy Michael, and school President Francesca Onley chose to sit on this volatile situation, with the hope that it would go away. When the parents of the player involved (Matt Kravcuk) came to the school and demanded answers, the only one forthcoming was that it as “being handled”. It took a leaked tape to suspend John O’Connor, which ultimately led to his resignation on Thursday after an embarrassing segment between player, coach, and legal counsel on “Good Morning America”.
I would hope that the local media would hold Michael and Onley’s feet to the fire and demand answers to their inactions and silence. By now, the Roman Catholics should have learned….. pretending a situation doesn’t exist is never the right answer.
