By Paul Casey Gotham
Placards on lamp posts around the Xavier campus read “A Better Education For A Better World.” The weekend’s events provide the Jesuit university with the opportunity to fulfill that motto.
Saturday’s 79th meeting between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers unraveled into a disappointing display of testosterone-driven “one-upsmanship.” Subsequent press conferences and suspensions have fueled public commentary and opinion.
Fans were left to wonder about the culture of the Xavier locker room. Players chosen to represent the university in Saturday’s post-game press conference used the opportunity to portray the Musketeer team as “gangstas” who don’t back down.
Twenty-four hours later, Chris Mack referred to the press conference as a mistake. That the players should not have been given the opportunity to speak.
A mistake?
The truth cannot be a mistake, and for those young men the words chosen represent their perception of reality, their truth. The conviction in their voices left no doubt. Like it or not, it is also Xavier’s reality.
Hiding from such assertions ignores an opportunity that the Jesuits have encountered for centuries: the chance to teach, to nurture.
Those words brought out into the open a harsh reality facing society. There is a growing number of young people who approach daily challenges with this survival of the fittest mindset.
It doesn’t have to be that way. There are alternatives, and the simplest lesson that can be taught is one at the very core of the Jesuit mission: “Turn the other cheek.”
Many will scoff at such a notion – a further indication of the problem.
From Sunday’s briefing it appears the process has started. Apologies were expressed. Words recanted. Sure, these admissions were scripted, rehearsed and lacked the temerity of the previous day’s contention. Timing was of the essence. Learning will require a process.
Those outside the locker rooms can haggle whether or not the suspensions equal the infraction. The true test of these judgments will come the next time a similar situation arises.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times challenge and controversy.”
Xavier didn’t need to go far to find its challenge and controversy. The Jesuit university found these residing in its own locker room. The lesson that can be taught will make the world a better place.
Nice take, Paul! It is most shocking that the brawl was made more ugly by those who should act like Christ. Time will tell if the Xavier team realizes what their school really stands for and shows some true contrition. I also know that it is perhaps indicative of the sad state of a lot of the basketball world. That which Mr. Naismith intended to be a gentleman’s game at time descends to a ghetto/tribal mentality. I wish that it could rediscover its foundational ethos, using the game to unite people in friendly competition, even as Jesuits attempt to influence conflict-ridden areas to serve their Creator. The Jesuit mission CAN jibe squarely with basketball, if both institutions are on their game.
Eric – thanks for the read and kind words. Everything happens for a reason. For centuries, the Jesuits have done mission work in foreign lands. Now, the work has come to them.
I have confidence that the leadership at Xavier will turn this into a positive. School president, Fr. Michael Graham, is as fine and genuine a man you will meet. Moments before Saturday’s game turned ugly, the student section, as they do at every home game, broke into their FA-ther Gra-HAM (rhythmic clapping) cheer. Graham is well known to all and frequently seen in and around the campus. He lives on the top floor of one of the residences. Students who live in that complex are treated to dinner at Fr. Graham’s place. Our daughter speaks highly of Fr. Graham, and the meal she and her suite mates shared with their school president.
The school is important to him, and he will not let this incident pass without turning every stone in an effort for reform.
The next morning I attended mass presided over by the man affectionately known as Father B. Prior to Saturday’s game, I saw Fr. B., as he does before every game, walk up to the student section waiting for admission and greet them with his familiar: “Hello Saints!” I watched as the student in unison greeted him with a round of applause. On Sunday, Fr. B. spoke of the healing that can take place from Saturday’s disgrace.
Saturday’s incident will not get overlooked.
I think it’s been made well-known that I am very disappointed in the display of our school this past weekend. I think this shows the consequences of recruiting players that don’t understand fully the image they have to uphold during the game because they don’t understand what they represent. Players at bigger programs like Duke basketball and Notre Dame football would never act like this, and I believe it’s because they know they have a lot to lose and it is engrained into their minds what they represent. Unfortunately I think a lot of players, Holloway in particular, think that their programs would be nothing without them. While this may hold some truth, it doesn’t mean that you can’t push your pride aside. Seeing how little control Mack had over Holloway at the game was very disappointing.
I’m also sad with the student body here. I thought most of the student body would hold a lot of the same feelings as me after the incident, but many are looking at it as a joke. Recently, a billboard near campus that advertised a hotline for Xavier and UC tickets was decorated with big blue ‘X’s’ all over the UC player. It’s a shame that such a fun and intense rivalry has come to this.
Also an interesting read –
https://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/41834/sean-miller-leaps-into-xavier-cincy-fray
https://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/7348955/xavier-cincinnati-brawl-strikes-nerve-kansas-state-wildcats-coach-frank-martin-college-basketball
Abb,
So are you glad now that Sean Miller left X? I sure am. Hopefully his brother doesn’t have the same outlook.