WHAT A FALLING-OFF WAS THERE

Dana Prom Smith (11/10/2011)



The ghost said to Hamlet: “What a falling-off was there.” The ghost was referring to the betrayal and murder of Hamlet’s father. It might also be used to refer to the coaching establishment at Penn State. What a falling-off was there for collegiate sports. Eight years of pedophilia without a peep.

Some devotees of collegiate athletics have called for reform, but one suspects that the calls will have the same effect as the calls for banking and Wall Street reform and the reform of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Sometimes, corruption has become too pervasive and deep for reform. What is needed is revolution. Thomas Jefferson said: “Every generation needs a new revolution.”

It is time for the usually timid academics along with everyone interested in education to call for the elimination of inter mural collegiate athletics. Think of the money that could be diverted to faculty salaries and scholarships for serious students. The University of Chicago did and has prospered because of it. Get the yahoos, good-old-boys, and other sports fans out of education.