Notre Dame’s athletic director Jack Swarbrick has given a tearful account of how he has determined that his football star Manti Te’o was a victim of being “catfishes” in mourning the death of a girlfriend who never in fact existed. I must confess an insurmountable level of skepticism regarding Te’o’s account, but I am more concerned not with his veracity (which seem entirely gone) but with the ethics of Notre Dame. Even without considering the Catholic values of the university, the response of the University to this matter is predictable and depressing given the known facts. We have previously discussed how football programs warp the academic mission and ethics of universities. This appears to be a towering example of the corrosive effect of such programs. Notre Dame admitted that it was made aware of the hoax but said nothing as reporters gushed over the bravery of Te’o in facing the death of the “love of his life.” Yet, the university insists that it had no obligation to tell the truth during the season while Te’o was being considered for the Heisman Trophy. Moreover, it concluded that Te’o had no ethical obligation to come forward immediately with the truth — even if we accept that he did not know that the “love of his life” did not exist.
Swarbrick’s position forgiving Te’o (and the university) of responsibility is most notable not only in the suspending of any notion of logic but any obligation of ethics. Let’s assume for a moment that Te’o never knew that his girlfriend did not exist despite the fact that he could never have actually met her. Indeed, while reporting that she died of cancer, he never appears to have gone to “the love of his life” in person. The university admits that he told them during the season that it was a hoax. Yet, he and Notre Dame remained silent as published accounts discussed how he met her at a football game and poured sympathy on his loss and that of his grandmother on the same day. It was the biggest personal story in the college football season. It was a story that clearly would have helped in the competition for the Heisman Trophy — a huge benefit for both the player and the school. This is not some collateral fact or something subject to interpretation. It was the core of a national sensational story and it was entirely untrue.
Yet Swarbrick expressed only shock of the “casual cruelty” shown by the hoaxsters saying “they enjoyed the joke.” Perhaps, but Notre Dame enjoyed the attention generated by the story –after they learned it was a lie.
Notre Dame emphasizes that students must meet high ethical standards as part of their education.
However, when the student is your football star, the University appears to believe that failing to come forward to admit the truth is not an unethical act for either the student or university officials. Notably, the student gave interviews of how his girlfriend was the most beautiful person he “ever met” and not just “her physical beauty.” His interviews fueled a frenzy among reporters who did countless pieces on the terrible loss. The tearful account of Swarbrick brushed over the period where he admits that the university knew the truth and did nothing. Swarbricks’ insistence that they made the decision that this was Te’o “story to be told.” That is highly convenient for the university and notably jettisons any responsibility to stop the lie from being repeated and replicated.
As an academic, I view the position of the university to be reprehensible and devoid of any ethical content. It tells students that there is no obligation to come forward when you know of such a falsity and that there is no institutional or personal responsibility for acts of omission. This is not simply a betrayal of Catholic value it is a betrayal of core academic values in my view.
What do you think?
Source: ABC
The University of NoTe’o Dame. BwaWaHaHaHa. :o)
Tony C.
Granted and understood and agreed to.
Details.
=============================
That gets back to microbes … 😉
I hit enter too early. My point was that if you even think you might HAVE to resist, then you see there is a conflict of interest.
@Dredd: Not really [an exception for Olympic Sports]. Students have loads of spare time to train for sports.
Understand, I have no problem with a campus having a SAC (Student Athletic Center), tennis courts, swimming pools, weight rooms, trainers, shooting range, archery range, golf course, sand volleyball courts, all that stuff. Or team sports like soccer, football, baseball, handball.
My problem is when the sports transform from entertainment, training and exercise for students into a source of prestige and revenue for the University. It is a conflict of interest.
That conflict of interest remains if instead of football your volleyball or basketball team or swimming team (all Olympic sports) is #1 in the country. Can you flunk the student with the best free throw percentage in the country? Can you flunk the student that has the second fastest backstroke in the country? Because if you do, you may damage the reputation and revenue stream of the school, in the eyes of the school President, your dean, and your department head and your peers. If you are a fan of the swim team, and two points of partial credit on a wrong test answer would convert an F to a passing D, can you resist?
Tony C. 1, January 17, 2013 at 3:13 pm
I am an academic and an extremist on this point, I do not believe colleges should have sports of any kind.
….
======================================
Like AY, I can agree with you too.
Learning is anything but boring.
College sports is anything but useful to academics.
Those who fail to become mental can later become physical in the professional sports arena.
The pro teams, in all sports, have enough money to run side games as a way of detecting future professional quality atheletes.
I would entertain Olympic Sports as an exeption to this scenario.
Would you?
Tony C,
I can agree with you…. One thing about Rice University… They chose academics over sports… There was a lot of coercion to fudge on the grading…. It finally was heard out by the alumni and overwhelming they chose academics over sports….
I am an academic and an extremist on this point, I do not believe colleges should have sports of any kind.
Sports stars, prestige, and profit all create inherent conflicts of interest in ethical education; the stars become a de facto elite among the student body that get special treatment and grade fudging from professors (and not just the legal kind in subjective grades), both under pressure from peers and superiors, and voluntarily because they are fans.
If it is impossible to get rid of sports, it would be better to tightly control the disposition of the profits. Perhaps those profits should go to the players themselves, as a part-time job for the school. We do that with grad students, pay them a salary for working (for their advisor) while still taking classes. We have even allowed senior under-grads to be paid for tutoring and lab jobs, in classes they have passed (with a 4.0).
Paying the players to play wouldn’t be that much of a stretch, and I think they are being robbed as it stands.
Darren,
I agree in principle…. However, my knowledge of two sports programs there is a lot of good ole boy look the other way…. If you bring in the dough you can do what ever you want…. Look at Texas….. Hey, the even get a bowl game…. Why?
There is an opening in some government propaganda position for this dood.
He is the epitome of the propagandist in today’s U.S.eh?, and the University is the epitome of governance in today’s U.S.eh?
Anonymously Yours wrote:
Darren,
Show me the money….
~+~
It is all about the money. If the school can continue to proffer some idealistic story of one of their football players, which is a significant source of revenue for the school and the potential as Professor Turley mentions the extra advertising the school would receive as a result of a Heisman Trophy being awarded to this player it can result in additional promotion and revenue.
Scandal on the other hand puts off customers and less revenue comes in so they have demonstrated a lack of acceptence of the misdeeds trying to avoid this cost.
In our state at least, but I suspect there are others, the head coach of the University of Washingotn receives more in compensation than the governor. The revenue that these football teams bring in is often cited as one of the reasons for deferrence and in some cases outright violations of the law or the school’s own rules.
From Screenplay of Horsefeathers (1932): We now take you to Wagstaff’s office at Huxley College. Wagstaff is holding a conference with two professors.
Wagstaff: (Cracking walnuts with the telephone.) And I say to you gentlemen, this college is a failure. The trouble is, we’re neglecting football for education.
Both professors: Exactly. The professor is right.
Wagstaff: Oh, I’m right am I? Well, I’m not right. I’m wrong. I just said that to test you. Now I know where I’m at. I’m dealing with a couple of snakes. What I meant to say was that there’s too much football and not enough education.
Both professors: That’s what I think.
Wagstaff: Oh, you do, do you? Well you’re wrong again! If there was a snake here, I’d apologize. Where would this college be without football? Have we got a stadium?
Professor One: Yes.
Wagstaff: Have we got a college?
Professor One: Yes.
Wagstaff: Well, we can’t support both. Tomorrow we start tearing down the college.
Both professors: But professor! Where will the students sleep?
Wagstaff: Where they always sleep. In the classroom.
Secretary: (Enters from other room.) Oh professor. The Dean of Science wants to know how soon you can see him. He says he’s tired of cooling his heels out here.
Wagstaff: Tell him I’m cooling a couple of heals in here. (Secretary leaves. To professors,) Where were we? Oh yes. How much am I paying you fellows?
Professor Two: Five thousand a year. But we’ve never been payed.
Wagstaff: Well, in that case, I’ll raise you to eight thousand. And a bonus. Bring your dog around and I’ll give him a bonus too.
“TomMil,
Congratulations! You win the Internet.” (Gene)
Got my vote.
It was a telepathic relationship, complete with sex. ND needs one of those telepathic mirror diverters that keeps the telepathic vibes from coming into the trailer park where the athletes live.
What did dumb schmuck major in? Phys Ed? Latin?
I play dominos, you play dominos, I can beat you at dominos! [sung in a priestly chant and it sounds great en mass. I mean at Mass.
Or how is this one for the ND fight song:
Went in dumb, come out dumb too
hustlin round Atlanta in our alligator shoes….
Heismann Trophy was at stake? Wow. Cant let it get out that the candidate is dumb as it gets. He gets hustled on the internet. I wonder if he sent her any money.
Can someone send the photo of her to this blog?
I can understand now whey they dont have any little decals on their football helmets. They want telepathic messages to come right in.
Maybe the athletes need a guardian ad sexum. It is kind of like a guardian ad litem in litigation. The guardian ad sexum could screen their texting and phone calls. Jeso, this story could go on ad infinitum.
Did he attend her funeral on line?
When did he know she was a hoax? Post Heissman? Post hoaxum?
Can you post his email address on the blog here. I got something I wanna sell him. It is a Figthing Irish Kit.
Sick story about greed gone wild. ND had a duty to provide the truth and if it discovered it was not the truth, then it had a duty to correct the record. What would have happened to any other non-athlete student at ND who “misled” or lied to the press and to the university?
I think the University knew about it and they were complicit in the charade, IMO. It is just another example of how athletics are king at most major colleges. Many of the scholarship athletes would not be able to be accepted at a lot of these schools because of their grades, but their athletic skills raise their GPA and ACT scores dramatically!
I do have to echo the kudos to TomMil.
LJC,
I think you’re right about that… But I think you could say the same thing about all instructions… Ethics are lacking….
Ethics and catholic institutions seem to be an oxymoron.
As a guide dog for a guy who is half blind, I attend church and make sure that he does not put too many coins in the plate when it goes by. As a human in a prior life I knew Latin and can understand spoken Latin. So, we have this Notre Dame farting priest at the church who is always chanting what he perceives to be Latin homilies. One goes like this: I play dominoes, you play dominoes, I can beat you at dominoes. No one seems to hear or understand his little ditty. I would not trust him to give any advice to a football player.
What does football have to do with education at the college level? Should we not lower the rankings of those schools who spend money on this crude?
Take State Penn for example. How many doctors do they graduate and how many doctors do the various hospitals in Pennsylvania have to import from India and elsewhere to treat all the patients? Why would a school crank out even one football player?
Darren,
Show me the money….
mespo, Kass is a columnist in the Royko tradition. Chicago pols hate him.
AP, Bravo! The Lizzy Seeberg case sickened me, and it is even more sickening now.