In honor of Dad's Weekend, I felt it fair to properly represent my father and all his infinite wisdom in the world of sports.
After all, this is the man who thought ads would eventually make their way onto playing fields and under the ice at hockey games.
It was his most recent outcry, however, that I found hard to warm up to.
That is, until I remembered that he was my father, and thus, probably correct.
Over Christmas dinner, I should have anticipated the dialectic coming.
What I don't understand is why basketball players
or football players or whoever can't major in their sport. If someone wants to major in a sport
they should be allowed to.
Having given this some thought, I can't help but agree.
If, indeed, basketball is a profession, then why can't one major in it? Why can't someone put all his or her stock in making the NBA or WNBA? Are the odds of making it into NASA any greater? The CIA? The senate?
Lest I'm still overseas, I seem to recall this being a land of opportunity and freedom to pursue any passion one has. Yet the stigma that comes with making a living with your body and not with your head has inhibited the God-given talent some people possess. And last time I checked, God did give people incredible gifts physically as well as mentally. Think about it as you walk to class this morning.
If you don't understand what I'm getting at, take Maurice Clarrett as an example. And I'm not even an Ohio State fan, but I can't help but feel for the guy.
The fact that an athlete can be denied his future simply because he can't pass a survey course in psychology, can't apply the Pythagorean theorem to a triangle or doesn't know the perfect tense of the verb swim (ask your friends, see how many actually use it correctly) is ridiculous.
All the while athletes around the United States are bridled and touted as the face of universities, then denied the opportunities they pursue.
Don't get me wrong, it's not as if all athletes can't excel off the court, field or mat. Many do and have no intentions of doing otherwise. For those few who simply want to prosper in a profession that has a bleak outlook, why not let them? Why not let a human pursue the gifts and talents he or she has tried so hard to craft?
-Kyle Jepson is a senior journalism major who has all intentions of joining Frank Solich's School of Football. Find out how to join by sending him an e-mail at kj336301@ohiou.edu.
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Kyle Jepson
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Kyle Jepson
