For someone that has been a fan of Michigan and the Big Ten for years, as well as someone who lives in the Dr. Phillips area and whose children have attended Dr. Phillips, I for one am embarrassed by this entire situation and have no earthly idea why the administration at Dr. Phillips and the administration within Orange County Public Schools has not stepped up to the plate and put an end to all of this.
Everyone (players, coaches, administrators, and students) knows the football players roughed up the young man, Darion Denson, and these rituals have been happening for years. Any school official and/or reporter just needs to track down former DP football players from previous years at Dr. Phillips to hear the stories of what has gone on when any player, who is not a senior or a starter, walks through the front locker room doors. The coaches know it, administrators know it, parents know it, the players know it, and they have the rule, "what happens in football, stays in football"... only this time, the players doing the hazing got out of control and hurt someone. If the Dr. Phillips administrators and OCPS had stepped up and told the truth, punished the students who were involved, apologized and made reparations to Darion Denson and his family, and inacted new rules in the locker room to prevent this from happening again, all would be well and these students could go on with their lives. But the administrators and coaches chose the current path, which has brought more rain down upon them. Living in the Dr. Phillips area, right down the street from where Tiger Woods lives, you would have thought that DP and OCPS would have learned a lesson from Tiger. Cheating, lies and cover-ups lead to one thing, a dismal, embarrassing downfall and a loss of public support. I feel bad for Chris Gallon, being hung out to dry by the school and OCPS, while the adminstrators have known all along where he lives and what went on in the locker room that day. What cowards would put a child in jeapardy? They recruited him, just like they attracted the rest of the student players that are not zoned in the district or not currently in one of the school magnets. Chris needs to stand up and tell the truth, and hope the truth counts for something...that is what a true Wolverine would do.
Students are learning and they will make mistakes along the way, but to be guided and pushed in the wrong direction knowingly by an adult, teacher, coach and/or administrator is wrong. The improprieties taking place across college campuses, where winning at all costs trumps character development and ethics in collegiate athletic departments, have mentored high school sports administrators that winning is the key measure of success. Young men and women are learning from adults that coverup, circling the wagons with a party line is valued life lesson.
The solution is not punish Chris for his error in judgement. The solution is to tell the truth and show him the truth and valuing intergrity in athletics is what true sportsmanship is about. It is to teach him how to stand up for what is right, help him correct the situation and punish the adults for endangering the careers and lives of these young student athletes.
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For someone that has been a fan of Michigan and the Big Ten for years, as well as someone who lives in the Dr. Phillips area and whose children have attended Dr. Phillips, I for one am embarrassed by this entire situation and have no earthly idea why the administration at Dr. Phillips and the administration within Orange County Public Schools has not stepped up to the plate and put an end to all of this.
Everyone (players, coaches, administrators, and students) knows the football players roughed up the young man, Darion Denson, and these rituals have been happening for years. Any school official and/or reporter just needs to track down former DP football players from previous years at Dr. Phillips to hear the stories of what has gone on when any player, who is not a senior or a starter, walks through the front locker room doors. The coaches know it, administrators know it, parents know it, the players know it, and they have the rule, "what happens in football, stays in football"... only this time, the players doing the hazing got out of control and hurt someone. If the Dr. Phillips administrators and OCPS had stepped up and told the truth, punished the students who were involved, apologized and made reparations to Darion Denson and his family, and inacted new rules in the locker room to prevent this from happening again, all would be well and these students could go on with their lives. But the administrators and coaches chose the current path, which has brought more rain down upon them. Living in the Dr. Phillips area, right down the street from where Tiger Woods lives, you would have thought that DP and OCPS would have learned a lesson from Tiger. Cheating, lies and cover-ups lead to one thing, a dismal, embarrassing downfall and a loss of public support. I feel bad for Chris Gallon, being hung out to dry by the school and OCPS, while the adminstrators have known all along where he lives and what went on in the locker room that day. What cowards would put a child in jeapardy? They recruited him, just like they attracted the rest of the student players that are not zoned in the district or not currently in one of the school magnets. Chris needs to stand up and tell the truth, and hope the truth counts for something...that is what a true Wolverine would do.
Students are learning and they will make mistakes along the way, but to be guided and pushed in the wrong direction knowingly by an adult, teacher, coach and/or administrator is wrong. The improprieties taking place across college campuses, where winning at all costs trumps character development and ethics in collegiate athletic departments, have mentored high school sports administrators that winning is the key measure of success. Young men and women are learning from adults that coverup, circling the wagons with a party line is valued life lesson.
The solution is not punish Chris for his error in judgement. The solution is to tell the truth and show him the truth and valuing intergrity in athletics is what true sportsmanship is about. It is to teach him how to stand up for what is right, help him correct the situation and punish the adults for endangering the careers and lives of these young student athletes.