Spring Break
The Daily OrangeOff-field incidents taint SU's image
By Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 8/26/08, 12:35 AM EST Section: Sports
The victim in all this, really, is an athletics program still fighting its insecurities and still searching for extra accreditation on the national level. It was a couple summer melodramas to dump rain on lacrosse's redemption parade.
For Gross, they were an unsettling challenge at his authority. He's been preaching accountability ever since.
"To get a scholarship and play for Syracuse is a great opportunity," Gross told The Daily Orange. "So we're going to be accountable, and we're going to be responsible. And if you're not going to be accountable and responsible, then that's OK. We have a thousand people in line waiting to get a scholarship to come here."
Not to say Syracuse is rolling out a rap sheet. But when good news is hard to come by, it makes the bad news harder to forget.
Last summer, rumors swirled about Syracuse's possible relocation to the Big Ten, building a new downtown football stadium and an announcement about the next basketball coach to replace Boeheim. There was excitement over the hiring of Gary Gait, the addition of a hockey program and a primetime nationally televised football home opener against a BCS team.
There was a tangible bit of eagerness for a clean start - not unlike the anticipation that should be starting to teem here now. A worldwide movie premiere in September, a title-winning lacrosse team and a head basketball coach returning home from Beijing with a gold medal; it's nice PR fodder for the freshmen welcome wagon.
But how much does it hurt to have No. 1 football jerseys hanging unsold on the rack? How many times does Gross need to stress accountability when the on-field product still struggles to produce?
"We have enough good athletes now that if you're not going to be responsible and not going to be prepared for what you need to do, then I send you home," Gross said. "It's that simple."
In the mouse-click generation and the age of instant updates, news travels far and wide and fast, and it doesn't take much for finger-pointing to snowball into headline news - wiping out whatever else came before it and possibly after it.
After a summer of allegations, the judges have made their decision: no jail time for the SU basketball players.
But for SU athletics, wiping its hands clean of the matter might not be as easy. The jury's still out on whether Syracuse can redefine its on- and off-field image.
Zach Schonbrun is a columnist for The Daily Orange, where his columns appear every Tuesday. He can be reached at zsschonb@syr.edu.
For Gross, they were an unsettling challenge at his authority. He's been preaching accountability ever since.
"To get a scholarship and play for Syracuse is a great opportunity," Gross told The Daily Orange. "So we're going to be accountable, and we're going to be responsible. And if you're not going to be accountable and responsible, then that's OK. We have a thousand people in line waiting to get a scholarship to come here."
Not to say Syracuse is rolling out a rap sheet. But when good news is hard to come by, it makes the bad news harder to forget.
Last summer, rumors swirled about Syracuse's possible relocation to the Big Ten, building a new downtown football stadium and an announcement about the next basketball coach to replace Boeheim. There was excitement over the hiring of Gary Gait, the addition of a hockey program and a primetime nationally televised football home opener against a BCS team.
There was a tangible bit of eagerness for a clean start - not unlike the anticipation that should be starting to teem here now. A worldwide movie premiere in September, a title-winning lacrosse team and a head basketball coach returning home from Beijing with a gold medal; it's nice PR fodder for the freshmen welcome wagon.
But how much does it hurt to have No. 1 football jerseys hanging unsold on the rack? How many times does Gross need to stress accountability when the on-field product still struggles to produce?
"We have enough good athletes now that if you're not going to be responsible and not going to be prepared for what you need to do, then I send you home," Gross said. "It's that simple."
In the mouse-click generation and the age of instant updates, news travels far and wide and fast, and it doesn't take much for finger-pointing to snowball into headline news - wiping out whatever else came before it and possibly after it.
After a summer of allegations, the judges have made their decision: no jail time for the SU basketball players.
But for SU athletics, wiping its hands clean of the matter might not be as easy. The jury's still out on whether Syracuse can redefine its on- and off-field image.
Zach Schonbrun is a columnist for The Daily Orange, where his columns appear every Tuesday. He can be reached at zsschonb@syr.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Cooter Bob
posted 8/26/08 @ 11:44 AM EST
I don't think there was anything that could have rained on the lacrosse team's parade this past summer. I really don't see how you can say these other things had any impact on the lacrosse team, or how they felt over the summer. (Continued…)
Post a Comment