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9 1 THE MAROON TIGER
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2003
Sports
Soccer: team disbanded,
Athletic Department
responds
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: JAMIE SWIFT/MAROON TIGER
SOCCER continued from page 1
sons.
With all this in mind, one would think that
our soccer team would be a cherished com
modity. Think again. According to players and
coaching staff, the team rarely received sup
port from the athletic administration, and play
ers often felt that the then-newly-appointed ath
letic director, Andre Patillo, had a negative at
titude towards the sport in general.
Patillo, however, insists that “There is not
a coach or a student-athlete that can say they
have been treated differently.” He continued
to say that under his administration, the soccer
team was given more than they had ever got
ten in the past, and that he was brought in to
diversify the athletic program as whole - he
simply saw soccer as a good starting point in
his mission to improve Morehouse athletic pro
grams.
One question, however, remains burning
in the minds of many students: “Why isn’t there
a soccer team on campus this year?”
During the 2000-2001 season the team
came under investigation by the NCAA for
penalties and violations, details of which will
be disclosed in a NCAA newsletter to be re
leased later this semester. When asked to re
spond with regard to the soccer team’s dis
missal, Patillo cited the team’s violations, add
ing that this was not the first time the team had
been involved in such unacceptable behavior.
He recalled meeting with the team and explain
ing the seriousness of their situation. Individual
players were questioned about the infractions,
but neither they nor the coaches were given
any feedback. That season, the team would go
on to accrue a 15- 4 record, unaware that its
tenure at Morehouse was quickly coming to
an end.
With the investigation pending, the team
went on to the next season, finishing with one
of their worst records. It was shortly thereafter
that the team found out it had been cut from the
Morehouse athletic roster. According to
Konneh, this had a lot to do with the lack of
responsible leadership in the team’s organiza
tion. Players went to the administration to pro
test the decision, only to find the administra
tion standing firmly behind its athletic director.
Patillo asserts that the team knew about
the charges against them and had an opportu
nity to correct those problems, which they were
unable to do. The administration saw these vio
lations as damaging to the integrity of the
school’s athletic program as a whole, so the
decision was made to cut the soccer team.
Konneh, however, is optimistic about the
eventual reinstatement of soccer at Morehouse.
He spoke of the college’s plans to erect a free
standing soccer field, although he joked that
the actual time frame for the materialization of
such plans is a different question altogether.
According to Patillo, however, there are
no plans to reinstitute the soccer program - at
least not while he is athletic director - though
he maintained that this is not an absolute pro
nouncement.
“If the administration wants the program
back,” he continued, “then there will be a soc
cer team.”
In the meantime, what some are calling “a
band-aid on the situation” has been instituted,
with the emergence of a new Morehouse intra
mural soccer league this year. Reactions to the
new league among former soccer team players
are generally mixed, but most will likely not
participate. Patillo sees the new intramural
league as a compromise between the
administration’s obligation and the students’
desires.
i "20QU ifsfioN s
I. Did yall really think we would stop giving you these questions? 2. As a people,
why aren’t we speaking out against the real issues at hand? 3. Like, why do we let
Marshall Matthers think that it is okay to rock a doo-rag? 4. Why did that fool mess
things up with Halle Berry? 5.1 wonder if she’s lookin’ for a Morehouse man?
6. When are you gonna stop telling her she looks like Beyonce? 7. And why is it that
when a girl says, “Yeah, I can cook!” she is only talking about Spaghetti and
Lasagna? 8. Have you noticed how many people are making the “ultra trendy” move
from blacks and cloves to cigarettes? 9. And why does every girl expect us to know
what that tickling'sound is under her car hood? 10. But know she will soon be here
for homecoming, shouldn’t you be calling her to get back in her good graces?
II. Why don’t you stop asking who is writing these and just enjoy the anonymity?
12. If you look through his cell phone, aren’t you asking for trouble? 13. Oh, and
when will someone teach that woman on the front line at the cafe to communicate
with something other than half smiles and head nods? 14. Are they simply emulating
tradition? 15. Or, are they just that lazy? 16. How many phrases for God does Dean
Carter know? 17. When are we getting paid? 18. Would you be mad if we decided to
strike? 19. And do you think that we’ll all learn to count someday?
10.30.08
AP
It’s coming... The Elixir
Savannah Film Festival
October 25-NcP§wnber 1 ,“200,3,• Savannah, Georgia
• Feature, animation, short, documentary and student competitions
• HBO Films award for best student film and HBO Films producer award
• Workshops and lectures with industry professionals
For more information, call 912.525.5050 or visit www.scad.edu/filmfest.
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