Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, and welcome to the Tuesday Morning Quickies.
Let’s see, what is there to talk about today? Oh, look, there is a big story on the 24-time national champion UK cheerleading team. It seems, according to a University of Kentucky investigation, that the team allegedly raided the 1970’s fraternity scene for a little debauchery, drunkenness, and hazing.
How nice.
The Lexington Herald-Leader has details here, and what seems clear to me is that a) the coaches and assistants did indeed turn a blind eye to the misbehavior and b) not all the cheerleaders participated to the same degree. That suggests this was pretty much in line with my experiences both in the United States Navy (fellow Shellbacks will know what I mean) and as a member of a fraternity during the height of Animal House popularity — participation in “hazing” of this sort was voluntary.
To 1970’s/80’s Glenn, this looks like a little harmless college fun. However, 2020 Glenn, now thoroughly steeped in the New Puritanism and zero-tolerance college scene of the late 20th and early 21st century, the alleged conduct is appalling and worthy of censure.
While I often lament the changes in college culture since my days as a student, I also see the positive side of it. My particular fraternity at Western has undergone a very positive change and produced a vastly superior graduation rate, community and charitable engagement, and positive contribution to the overall university and Greek culture. Given the vast debt most students must accumulate to obtain a degree these days, I’d say a more serious and dedicated attitude is an unalloyed good thing, and that would seem to apply equally to those students engaged in various forms of athletics.
Times change. Cultures change. When they do, traditions must also change when they run into conflict with modern codes of conduct. If the allegations are true, the UK cheerleading team preserved and continued a decades-old culture that ran afoul of modern expectations and university conduct codes. I think the firing of the coaches was justified based on what has been reported, and hopefully there is no other conduct alleged more nefarious than underage drinking or indecent exposure.
But the culture surrounding UK cheerleading must now move into the 21st century. Besides, the 1970’s called and would like their debauchery back.
Tweet of the Morning
In regards to the UK Cheer allegations— Here I am doing a basket at the lake retreat.
— Alana Copas (@alanabcopas) May 18, 2020
1.) I am not being hazed
2.) I am not topless
3.) I am not under the influence pic.twitter.com/a6kdGVcuog
My feeling is that some did, some didn’t on a voluntary basis. Young people aren’t exactly known for perfect impulse and hormone control, at least not in my experience.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
Kentucky basketball
- Highly-ranked 2022 recruit Skyy Clark is learning from some pros, and has UK interest.
- Update on UK 2021 recruiting targets.
- Brad Stevens joins Coach Cal on “Coffee with Cal.”
Other Kentucky sports
- Rick Bozich pens a scolding column about college cheerleading in general and UK cheerleading in particular, but it took him a couple of tries:
Here are two parts of the column that have since been deleted
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 19, 2020
Two Louisville TV stations in a week have deleted embarrassing stories off their websites pic.twitter.com/qBT1EO2FDg
Links posts
College football
- College football APR rankings. UK is 8th in the SEC, but Louisville does better.
- 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel rules that the NCAA cannot limit education-related scholarships to just the full cost of attendance. This is likely to start a conference arms race.
College basketball
Other sports news
- LeBron James says meeting Michael Jordan was one of the formative experiences of his life.
- Mike DeCourcy comes to the defense of Jerry Kraus.
Other news
- New study estimates the odds of life and intelligence emerging beyond our planet. Sorry, but my faith in “studies” that lack significant numbers of inputs is at an all-time low.
- Scientists use pressure to achieve a breakthrough on liquid magnetism.
- Is NASA actually working on a warp drive. The Alcubierre drive is commonly found in science fiction, but it is a real theory.