“The first fruit of this imagination—and the first lesson of the social science that embodies it—is the idea that the individual can understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period, that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances. In many ways it is a terrible lesson; in many ways it is a magnificent one.” (para 9)
This large quote is a very bold statement and hopefully true of the select few Ohio State Football players that decided to trade their hard earned medallions for various services. To me, doing this kind of act shows that they have no respect for not only their team, but also what Ohio State Ohio State
I can remember watching Terrelle Pryor play in the Navy Game and giving both Michigan and Ohio State
Pryor is not the only athlete on the team that made this mistake. It is unfortunate that he is the one that is getting most of the heat from the media, though he represents a huge part of the program at Ohio State
“In many ways it is a terrible lesson; in many ways it is a magnificent one.” How true this statement is. It is a terrible lesson to learn for the boys in question, but a magnificent one because Ohio State
While I agree that this is an important lesson to learn, I do not know if I agree with Kallie that other athletes will learn from this Ohio State scandal. There have been many scandals lately and the overwhelming response has been a lack of real punishment. I am sure there are a wide number of reasons for the punishments that were handed out and I don't want to go into them, but the overall feeling that I get as a casual sports fan is that it is ok to break the rules. The odds of you getting caught aren't very good and if you do get caught, there isn't any serious punishment anyways. The really sad part about rule violations in team sports is the punishment of all those involved other than the athlete and the coach. The fellow players who depended on him/her and the serious fans. For them, it is truly a terrible lesson.
ReplyDeleteAnthony, I agree that their punishment is kind of a joke. I think that it does set a precedence, and shows the true colors of the NCAA. To me, it is so transparent that the NCAA is overly concerned with generating revenue. Let the players play in the bowl game and keep the game competetive in order to draw crowds, then just punish them the next season when it won't effect the bowl season.
ReplyDeleteRelating to the article, I think this story is a good representation of our time. It represents how truely commericial big time athletics have gotten and the effects of that commercialization on collegiate sport.
The part of the quote that really stands out to me is, "that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances." I think that this would go along with Pryor and his teammates. Each of them looks around at each other, looking for guidance. If one guy decides to sell his old ring, other ones find out that they can do the same thing. And then on the other end of it, the consequences that these athletes have/have not faced will show to other athletes at different universities. The example that Ohio State is setting is one that athletes can break NCAA rules and just get a slap on the wrist. They have to pay the money that they made illegally and sit out several games. I do not know if the punishment is enought to deter other athletes who are not thinking of the greater good (i.e. the team) from doing the same things. So in reality, we do learn about our chances in life from others in the same circumstances. It is just not always learning that is done for positive things.
ReplyDeleteKallie as an OSU alum, I found your post very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that is a shame that Pryor and company did not value their awards from Ohio State. Having a gold pants medallion from beating Michigan should be priceless.
However, I disagree with your harsh criticism of Pryor. If Pryor and company choose to sell their memorabilia they should not be vilified. Obviously these objects have a specific worth to them and if the players choose to sell these objects they should not be punished as severely as half of a season. Pryor and the rest of the players are directly responsible for Ohio State's $63,000,000 football revenue. Yet, they are strictly limited to what benefits they experience while they are players at OSU.
Ultimately I think Pryor and the rest of the NCAA athletes should be allowed to profit as much as possible from their celebrity. Yet, it is still a shame that Pryor sold his memorabilia reflecting how he does not value OSU tradition like so many other people. However, it is impossible to judge someone without being in their shoes. Many of these athletes come from poor families and the chance of earning an extra thousand dollars for a family in need is something that is very difficult to think about.