Friday, October 31, 2014

When a college team mails in a "F" -- they get the next year OFF too

California University of PA has a football team with five of its players in jail and in serious trouble due to some late night fight. All the players have been kicked out of school. The team is scratching its next game this weekend. Forfeit. Gannon wins. Cal U sees its home game vanish. And a guy is in critical condition after a life-flight to Allegheny General Hospital. Hope he doesn't die.

This is another football forfeit. Here is another brick in the wall that signals the long, slow departure of that game from society's landscape. Football is well past its peak and is headed to the toilet bowl in the years to come.

In water polo, after a team mails in a "F" -- the next year they are kicked out of the league. A team that forfeits gets the following year without the ability to play in the league.

This would be a great time for those at CalU to look into creating a number of different activities to take the place of football. How about an Ultimate Frisbee House League? What about Rugby 7s and Rugby Union teams? How about water polo? Perhaps they should do a better job at CalU with their Powerlifting matches and Bodybuilding too. And finally, most of all, time to hook up with the Boys to Men program and get those discussions established about accountability of actions, stopping violence, and intervention.

None know what the future holds for these guys and the overall program. But it is a good thing to take a break and think again. Let's establish a different set of norms and get everyone to play nice with others.

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