2008 Woodie Awards
Some student-athletes just don't get it
Staff editorial
Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: Staff Reflections
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Yet another University of Northern Colorado football player has been arrested - that brings the count to four in the last two seasons.
Alex Shapiro, a freshman offensive lineman at UNC, was arrested for a warrant of second-degree assault in Arapahoe County and felony menacing on Sunday. To be fair, it's not just athletes at UNC that are having trouble staying out of the backseat of police cars, it's athletes everywhere.
However, when you examine the circumstances surrounding the UNC athletes' arrests, they are mostly situations that could have been avoided with a little common sense.
For instance, most people know not to threaten someone with a gun, or to use a racial slur during an argument at a bar. The athletic department has sent the message to athletes to be smart, but some of them just aren't listening. At some point the athletes need to understand how their actions can affect their teammates, coaches, administration and university.
Perhaps the athletic department should require student-athletes to take an extra curricular personal conduct class. Granted, most student-athletes don't need to take such a class, but it would certainly drive home the point how important it is to stay out of legal trouble.
It is unfortunate that blame for his players' conduct will likely be placed on head coach Scott Downing. Somehow, we find it hard to believe that at 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning Downing should be held responsible for the actions of a player. At some point, athletes need to take responsibility for their own actions.
If they don't start taking responsibility, UNC will not only have trouble recruiting for their failures on the field, but also for their failures off the field as well.
Mirror Reflections are the opinion of The Mirror's editorial board: Emily Freed, Christina Romero, Nate Taylor, Donnae Wahl, Lindsey Walker and Mitchell Woll. Let us know what you think! E-mail us at editor@uncmirror.com.
Alex Shapiro, a freshman offensive lineman at UNC, was arrested for a warrant of second-degree assault in Arapahoe County and felony menacing on Sunday. To be fair, it's not just athletes at UNC that are having trouble staying out of the backseat of police cars, it's athletes everywhere.
However, when you examine the circumstances surrounding the UNC athletes' arrests, they are mostly situations that could have been avoided with a little common sense.
For instance, most people know not to threaten someone with a gun, or to use a racial slur during an argument at a bar. The athletic department has sent the message to athletes to be smart, but some of them just aren't listening. At some point the athletes need to understand how their actions can affect their teammates, coaches, administration and university.
Perhaps the athletic department should require student-athletes to take an extra curricular personal conduct class. Granted, most student-athletes don't need to take such a class, but it would certainly drive home the point how important it is to stay out of legal trouble.
It is unfortunate that blame for his players' conduct will likely be placed on head coach Scott Downing. Somehow, we find it hard to believe that at 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning Downing should be held responsible for the actions of a player. At some point, athletes need to take responsibility for their own actions.
If they don't start taking responsibility, UNC will not only have trouble recruiting for their failures on the field, but also for their failures off the field as well.
Mirror Reflections are the opinion of The Mirror's editorial board: Emily Freed, Christina Romero, Nate Taylor, Donnae Wahl, Lindsey Walker and Mitchell Woll. Let us know what you think! E-mail us at editor@uncmirror.com.
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