Today, writers from the Daily Bruin and Daily Trojan debate the
suspension of ““ and controversy surrounding ““ UCLA
tailback DeShaun Foster  Greg Schain Schain
thinks he’s right 110 percent of the time. How about you? E-mail
him at [email protected].
I am deeply troubled by the way DeShaun Foster has been
portrayed by the L.A. media lately.
J.A. Adande of the Los Angeles Times bashed DeShaun in this
manner:
“Wonder if he had it hooked up with the 20-inch rims
““ or that other fashionable UCLA car accessory, a
disabled-parking placard.”
And last Friday’s editorial in the Daily Bruin had the
following to say about DeShaun Foster:
“And even if Foster becomes a millionaire … he’s
lost the respect of the nation and the UCLA community”
Sometimes I think these columnists feel as if the path to
righteousness comes directly from God’s mouth into their
ears.
Columns like the daily editorial in this newspaper, and
Adande’s column are examples of newspapers putting
player-hating over journalism. Columns and editorials should not be
written until the facts are verified, or else they are a waste of
space and a waste of the reader’s time.
Why am I dissing the Los Angeles media?
Because it deserves it. The garbage these papers write about
DeShaun better describes their own columns rather than our star
running back.
Give DeShaun a break. All the facts of his case aren’t in
yet.
And until they are, there needs to be a presumption of
innocence.
Here’s all we know: He was allegedly seen driving the car
of a man that used to be on the TV show “St.
Elsewhere”.
That’s it.
For all we know, this former actor could just be a friend of
DeShaun’s, and nothing else. Or a guy who gets sexual
gratification out of watching other people drive his car.
We don’t know whether or not he’s an agent, or
associated with one. And until we do, it isn’t fair to bash
DeShaun or blame him for anything.
And you know what? So what if this “St. Elsewhere”
guy is an agent? Is it DeShaun’s fault that he gave into an
overwhelming temptation?
President Clinton did it, and he didn’t get suspended from
his job.
After all, this is America. The land of the free. The home of
the brave. And the granter of second chances for all who wish to
obtain them.
In fact, if this former actor is an agent, good for DeShaun. He
has a capitalist spirit. Nobody in America should ever be penalized
for seeking economic gain.
That is the style of the Taliban, not the stars and stripes.
What the NCAA needs to do is not blame DeShaun, but rather look
itself in the mirror and take a serious look at all of the
temptations it allows to exist for college athletes.
UCLA football head coach Bob Toledo referred to agents lurking
in the stadium tunnels to “congratulate” and schmooze
with the players after games.
In addition, they are calling the families of the players,
secretly luring them with the promise of big bucks after
college.
Agents are ubiquitous in college sports, even though they
aren’t allowed to do business with players.
Yet, if it is even suspected that an agent buys a player lunch,
the player is automatically suspended.
“It’s hard to say no when people want to give you
things,” Bruin defensive end Kenyon Coleman said.
He’s right. If the NCAA is serious about keeping agents
out of college sports, it shouldn’t put players in a position
where they have to face them on a daily basis.
It’s like going to a strip club. You can look, but you
can’t touch. I had to learn that lesson the hard way (Sorry,
Bunny). And now, unfortunately, so does DeShaun.
Until the NCAA changes its policy of allowing agents to tempt
players, we’re going to have to keep putting up with the B.S.
that UCLA and many other universities have to go through almost on
a yearly basis.
And we’re going to have to keep putting up with the
propaganda that the L.A. media feeds to the public.