Woofman, I agree with you 100% that the article on Kelly was not as positive as it appears but merely another underhanded way to put UW down. That Kelly had to buck the system to succeed; please. With all due respects to Kelly, Mr. Kelly only did what every UW student needs to do to succeed. To infer that UW wanted these young men to fail and that the only way they could succeed is to fight UW is so sinister and evil that it takes my breath away. Everyone should be outraged, regardless of your loyalty.

Welcome Donatell.

Welcome Big Ed! You have a big job ahead of you re-shaping this pathetic D.

We are behind you 100%.

The Times should comment that it is not the UW that is broken - it is society that is broken. Every major university will go through cycles like the UW did in 2000 - because they are taking kids that are not ready for college and bringing them into college. There will always be a lot of failures to go along with success stories when this is the case. When is American society going to realize that we cripple these kids by setting the academic bar too low? I love the UW and love collegiate sport, but let's keep it in perspective. Those of you out there who want to win at all costs need to consider what this attitude does to the entire fabric of our society. Can we take this attitude and apply it to academic success? Some cultures do (e.g., S. Korea) and their society's welfare may eclipse our own if we are not careful - THIS is what the Times should focus on. It's not the UW's fault so much as it is boosters who CONTROL the school with "bribes" for their donation money.

BCSDAWG,

I find it incredible that you read these stories and feel the need to stick up for poor, defenseless UW. Kelley's story was a great example of the fact that these young men are not recruited to be student-athletes. They are recruited just to be athletes. I don't necessarily feel that the athletic department has a responsibility to make every football player into a great scholar. But the way the department, in this case, discouraged Kelley's success is awful. Obviously not everyone in the department worked against Kelley, but the fact is that every single member of the athletic department should have encouraged him. This story is just a great example of the necessity of jealously guarding the values associated with being a student-athlete.

So many positives can come from this series. I find it ludicrous that people can only see evil intent by the Times.

Nate

Of course positive can come out of this and it has. And I always believe academics comes before sports. However, Times should not be excused for its timing, sensationlism, underhandedness, and hypocrisy.

First!

Best Of Luck to you Ed Donatell!

Man, this feels like re-marrying the same wife again. Very strange. I really hope he turns this defense around. Like a lot of people have said, there is nowhere to go but up for this defense.

GO DAWGS!!!

b,

I will have to defer to a neutral expert on the issue of journalistic ethics, but I don't think we have many neutral people or experts on this blog, let alone neutral experts.

Nate

The problem remains that it is not the UW's (insert any other major university name here) problem that athletes that come to their school cannot read or write or have a host of other personal and medical problems. The blame should go to parents, local governments and their educational systems and the political system for overvaluing fast money over a stable, safe, peaceful and benevolent society that serves all, not the few with the most.