Sept. 11, 2015
Quick Slant is an array of brief insights and occasionally opinionated overviews of collegiate athletics in general and the Vanderbilt Commodores in particular.
Director of Athletics David Williams was one of seven individuals recently appointed by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey to form a working group to review issues surrounding student-athlete conduct. Sankey said the group has been established to engage in a continued conversation on student-athlete conduct for the ultimate purpose of making recommendations for Conference policies or institutional best practices to shape student-athlete behavioral expectations in the SEC.
2015 SEC Golfer of the Year Hunter Stewart had a goal of playing for the United States in this week’s Walker Cup in Lancashire, England so he didn’t turn professional upon graduating last May. His dream came true and he made the USA team. Follow the Walker Cup Saturday and Sunday from the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club (www.royallytham.org)
I just shake my head when half-baked theories gain traction in today’s vast media world, even when there is little or no logical evidence or history to back up the conjecture. The conundrum for organizations is that attempts to enter facts, information or plain old common sense into the mix often results in lending more credence to the very matter it attempts to debunk.
A few weeks ago there were some articles about Kansas State’s athletic department asking its student body to sign a sportsmanship pledge before getting their student tickets. They wanted to set a positive example. And then the news that last Saturday its marching band attempted a formation that involved the rival University of Kansas’ mascot but ended up with what some thought was an X-rated configuration that got the band director suspended and fined. Sometimes the truth is much stranger than fiction. .