EDITORIAL: Athletes should be held to higher standards, evaluated on more than just sports prowess
While athletes are held to higher standards than most other college students, that does not excuse them from getting into trouble with the law or athletics' obligation to hold them accountable.
CM Life reported on Friday that senior defensive end Kashawn Fraser is serving nine months of probation after being convicted of domestic violence.
According to court documents, Fraser grabbed his girlfriend of three years, a former CMU women’s basketball player, by the shirt and dragged her around the bedroom floor of his residence on Jan. 9. He pleaded no contest more than a month ago.
Fraser’s legal troubles did not end there, however, as three days before his plea he was pulled over and charged for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
While these incidents fall squarely on the shoulders of Fraser, they illuminate a need for schools to keep a closer eye on athletes.
Students on scholarships are held as some of the best and brightest and athletes help carve the image of a university. These nationwide ambassadors have privileges that other students do not, with special computer lab hours, days away from the classroom for travel and early registration.
This latest incident is just another in a rather lengthy list of CMU athletes to get into trouble away from their respective teams.
In 2004, four CMU football players were charged in the beating death of Demarcus Graham outside a Mount Pleasant bar. In 2008, basketball players Marcus Van and Chase Simon were charged with felonies for stealing credit cards. In 2009, basketball player Jacolby Hardiman was released from the team after being arrested for similar charges. Wide receiver Darren Martin III was charged, among other things, with attempted sexual conduct in the third degree, resisting and obstructing a police officer and possession of marijuana in January 2009.
To be fair, CMU isn’t the only school that has had its share of problem athletes. Several Michigan State University football players have been arrested in the past year for various reasons. Chris L. Rucker, who served 10 days in jail for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, was kicked off the team and later reinstated.
But regardless of the nature of the arrests or where they occur, it is imperative that the athletes CMU recruits are thoroughly evaluated, not just on how fast they can sprint 100 yards down the pitch, how fast they can whip a ball to second or their shooting average behind the arc, but their moral characteristics as a person.
If CMU wishes to better its athletic programs with quality athletes, recruiters must take strides to ensure the candidates will bring more than just physical talents to the campus.
