I am a fan of Longwood athletics. I say that without hesitation. I support my school and its athletic pro grams through the good times and the bad, through the wins and the losses. I also hang tough with the athletics programs when adversity and controversy rear their ugly heads.
In my four years here, I've seen coaches fired and hired and players suspended and recruited. In every case, I tried to do my job as a journalist and asked the tough questions. Why was this coach fired? For what reasons were they fired? Why was this player suspended and for what reason? More often than not, I was told that those reasons could not be revealed. I've heard the phrase "cannot elaborate" several times.
Here's the deal: the Longwood Athletics De partment has to be more open and transparent in what it releases to the community, specifically when bad news comes to the surface.
I have discussed this transparency issue with multiple people: professors, students, members of The Rotunda and WMLU's sports commit tee. The latest situation that called this back into question was the suspension of men's basketball senior Jeremiah Bowman.
The official press release said Bowman was suspended from the program for violating the student-athlete code of conduct policy. Now, the code of conduct policy is broken down and lists in bullet form what constitutes a violation. In Bowman's case, nothing was specified. Not one violation was listed, other than the fact that he had broken the code.
Naturally, I made an appointment to speak with Troy Austin, the athletics director, about Bowman. I started by asking him what the situ ation was concerning J.B. There were no details given. Head coach Mike Gillian clarified that it was an off the court issue that got Bowman in trouble. There was no "recalcitrant behavior" and nothing "malicious" on Bowman's part, accord ing to Gillian. Still, no concrete facts were offered relating to the suspension. Therein lies the prob lem for writers and reporters. No facts equals more questions.
Backtrack to December 2010. Then women's basketball head coach Kristin Caruso was fired after a shaky, and at times, not so rosy, tenure. She was suspended two times in as many years, the second of which resulted in her firing. No specific reason for her dismissal was given other than that it was a "personnel issue."
Larger universities and schools that are more recognizable on a national scale usually have the situation revealed when one of their coaches or players gets in trouble for either an on or off the field problem. Look at the Ohio State, Miami and even Penn State controversies that occurred in the last few months. The details surfaced and all the programs are moving forward, although they are certainly not the same as they were before said controversies.
Here's the problem. I know Longwood is a small community of 5,000 students and the fac ulty and staff who assist them. A tight-knit bunch of people in Farmville may react differently than people in larger universities to the details of a player or coach incident.
With that said, however, there are students and faculty/staff at this university who invest their time, energy and vocal chords to cheering for and supporting the Lancers. I won't say they have a right to know why someone was suspended, but they need to know. Bowman was the second leading scorer on the team (13.5 PPG) and led the team in assists (six per game). Suddenly, and without specific reason, he is no longer on the hardwood bring the ball up the floor.
Athletes, and coaches for that matter, lose some of their rights to privacy when they mess up. The onus is on them. They are in the public eye as athletes and coaches at a public institutions such as LU. They are offered scholarships to play and are paid well to coach. When a situation arises that is not particularly pretty, the people who have invested themselves in following the program(s) need to be informed.
I've heard rumors in both Bowman's and Ca ruso's cases, none of which I will write here. The rumor mill, especially for Bowman, will continue to spin the remainder of this month until the sea son ends and maybe even beyond that, especially considering the void that he leaves on the men's team. To the athletics department, I say this: give people some answers, even if they are difficult to hear. I guarantee the Longwood community will hold you in a higher regard.
