Adam Epstein Epstein is a fan of all kinds of
stuff. Are you? If so, e-mail him at [email protected].
Consider me one whose dreams have been stifled and repressed,
held back by forces that are totally out of my control and
tragically unfair. I attend a school ““ no, a university
““ that has not allowed me to reach a goal I have long
desired, a goal that has played out in my mind since my raucous
junior high days. I now feel it is the duty of this university, as
well as all others, to finally fulfill the wishes and cater to the
dreams of myself and people in my situation. It is time for the
athletic program to impose a more equal recruitment process.
You see, I have always wanted to play NCAA Division I College
Basketball. More specifically, I yearned to be the starting point
guard for UCLA. The tradition, the championships, the free books,
the groupies, the “tutors,” the sport utility vehicles.
To start a fast break in Pauley Pavilion and hear my name being
chanted while a replay of a brilliant play flowed on the Jumbotron.
Once I learned that I had been accepted to UCLA, I was elated. I
was, after all, a high school varsity basketball player in a highly
competitive and well-regarded league. I always had the desire. I
figured that was enough. I was wrong.
As I have come to learn, the basketball team at this school does
not accept anybody who wishes to play on the team even if they
really, really, really want to. I find this not only to be
disappointing but a travesty of justice, a grievance that must be
attended to. Hear me out.
I have endured trying circumstances in my life in terms of
basketball. My cultural heritage, the places that I have lived and
the resources that I have had available to me throughout my life
place me at an obvious disadvantage when it comes to my level of
basketball skills.
Brought up on the East Coast, I was prevented from logging in
sufficient hours on outdoor courts by winter weather. If I wanted
to make the trek to an indoor hoop, it took at least 15 minutes to
defrost the car’s windshield, get the motor warmed up and
shovel the driveway ““ 15 minutes! In their temperate climate,
lucky West Coast children never had to suffer through such
blatantly unfair situations, allowing them to take the lead in
terms of their basketball progression.
When I moved to California, things did not get any better. The
housing association that controlled my neighborhood with an iron
fist did not allow basketball hoops in the front yard. Practice was
hard enough in the snow, but it was next to impossible with The Man
holding me back. I was forced to ride my bike 10 minutes to get to
the nearest court ““ 10 minutes! Once again, those who were
allowed to have hoops in their front yards progressed to levels I
could never match.
Illustration by HINGYI KHONG/Daily Bruin I reasoned though, that
at a university such as UCLA, where issues of
“diversity” are shoved down our throats and everyone so
strongly desires admission numbers to reflect, or at least attempt
to reflect, the population as a whole, my lack of practice and
inferior skills should have no bearing. I should have no problem
making the team. Not counting Brandon Lloyd, how many short white
guys have been on the team in recent years? How many Jewish, short
white guys have laced up their Adidas sneakers in preparation for a
big game? Why aren’t our numbers being represented?
The last time I checked, white males under six feet tall made up
a sizeable percentage of the population and those applying to UCLA.
It is time that our numbers are represented on the Bruin basketball
team. The current system of athletic admissions has held us back
for far too long, saying such ghastly things as, “We only
want players who meet our requirements. Seriously, Mr. Epstein,
please stop appealing our decision.”
I have discussed this problem, this biased system of athletic
admissions with some of my peers. Shockingly, many of them do not
share my sentiments. “Won’t allowing you and others
like you to play on the team compromise UCLA’s athletic
integrity?” “Won’t people lose respect for UCLA
as a whole if they admit people on the team who are less qualified
than others?” “Shouldn’t those who are most
qualified make the team?” Such stinging comments and
prejudiced mind-sets have made my quest for fair basketball
admissions quite a difficult endeavor.
As you may have guessed, I was not admitted to the UCLA
basketball team. My dedication, determination and previous
experience in high school was just not enough. But I am a proactive
individual. I may not have made the team, but my persistence in an
annoying ability to never stop whining will most definitely
persist. I have put this personal injustice behind me and am now
focusing on the future and community as a whole, making sure that
the short, ground-bound males out there are not turned away from
the team merely because they are less qualified.
I have a proposal that the athletic admissions department and
the university as a whole should consider: When evaluating who
should be on the basketball team, cultural background, religion and
location of one’s upbringing should play a more crucial role
than actual athletic skill.
Sure, there might be those who are more qualified to be on the
team who are left out, but that is the price we must pay for
athletic diversity. The athletic department must recognize the many
individuals who have been held back due to circumstances beyond
their control. Now is the time for years of unfair athletic
admissions to be righted. Now is the time for the UCLA basketball
team to represent the cultural make-up of the community as a whole.
The program I have proposed must be implemented. Those who feel the
way that I do will not be silenced. The program I have proposed has
a name. It shall be called “Positive Undertakings.”
Keep in mind that those who do not agree with Positive
Undertakings shall be viewed as insensitive, ignorant and possibly
even bigoted. I’m sorry, but that is the way it is going to
be until the university and the athletic department implement
Positive Undertakings and allow the process of healing to
begin.