Athletic code goes too far

After all the negative attention the University has garnered in the past few weeks because of the athletic department, one would think athletics director Clarence Doninger and President Myles Brand would lie low for awhile. But they haven't. Now, the latest controversy in the athletics department lies not in the actions of any particular person but rather in the new athletics code, which restricts the actions of all players and coaches. \nThe updated code seeks to enforce a higher level of integrity among the athletics department, an understandable goal in light of recent developments. But the broad statements in the code encompass too much ground, completely overstepping the bounds of the athletics department. The code not only restricts inappropriate conduct, it also stipulates players cannot associate with people who have a bad reputation -- what Doninger said gives players "the appearance of inappropriate conduct" the IDS reported Sept. 18.\n How does the athletics department have the right to tell players who they can and cannot associate with? From the wording of the code, athletes can now be punished simply because their friends have misbehaved -- whether or not they were implicated in the incident. Does this mean the rest of the basketball team shouldn't hang out with junior Dane Fife or sophomores Tom Coverdale and Jeffrey Newton, since they were all arrested this summer?\nWho a player or coach chooses to associate with is a personal decision, which should be based on whether they get along with and enjoy the person's company. It should not be based on whether Doninger or Brand would label the person as an upstanding citizen.\nDoninger said student athletes should be held to a higher standard than normal students, but don't they labor under that burden already? Are they not expected to go to class, get good grades and muddle their way through all the normal college student problems, in addition to playing a competitive sport in front of a national audience? \nNow, the athletics department has heaped yet another responsibility upon these athletes. Not only must they behave at higher standards, but they must ensure all their friends do, too, so they don't appear improper. This newest demand puts too much strain on already pressured athletes. \nBe a perfect student. Be a moral role model. Be a perfect player. And by the way, make sure all the people you associate with do the same.\nThe code is perfectly within its bounds to demand that players adhere to a higher standard of conduct in their own actions. It is true, to some extent, that these players represent the University to a national audience. But the code oversteps the athletic department's rights of jurisdiction when it stretches that rule to encompass student athletes' associations, instead of just their own behavior.