Oopsie for RV

MootPoint · July 22, 2003

Web posted Tuesday, July 22, 2003

8:16 a.m. CT

Other Opinion: UNT athletic director makes a gaffe and a half

By Greg Sagan

Opinion

Some people ought to stay away from a microphone.

One of the first to whom I might suggest this is the athletic director at the University of North Texas.

My wife, my stepdaughter and I spent three days on the UNT campus in Denton two weeks ago for freshman orientation. This was a whirlwind of information, tours, food and entertainment during which we were able to soak up the philosophy of this institution and to gain firsthand knowledge of the activities and resources available to students.

They did a really great job of it, too. The incoming freshmen were grouped with upper-class student guides who were thoroughly trained to answer questions and get the new students integrated into the Screaming Eagle community.

We heard the word "community" a lot over those three days. UNT goes to extraordinary lengths to make students and parents feel a strong bond to the school. The idea is simple: If everyone is here for the same thing (i.e., getting these students to graduate on time and go on to successful careers), we stand a much higher probability of success than if we work as though we're all in this alone. As it happens, I agree with this philosophy.

Part of the method for this orientation involved having parents hear from a wide assortment of UNT faculty and staff in both small and large sessions. We were encouraged to ask questions and to make comments, and the staff fielded them all with respect, dignity and good information. Heck, on the evening of the first day, there was a mixer outdoors where we could meet university staff members over a beer while music students put on a great jazz show. My wife and I spoke with a young woman, Katie Lee Gossett (who runs the university's Learning Resource Center), for almost an hour during which she patiently went over all the different programs they could apply to help students succeed. We were thoroughly impressed.

Right up until the end.

The evening of the second day was supposed to be the climax of the orientation. All the parents and children attended a dinner together, after which we heard from the president of the university and some of his senior staff members. There must have been about a thousand of us in the stands of the coliseum ready to hear the senior leadership put the cherry on the sundae.

And so it did.

Right up until the athletic director took the mike.

And we got a face full of what's wrong with our heavy emphasis on football in this state.

In a nutshell, this coach raved about sports at UNT ("When I got here two years ago, our football team sucked! Nobody even knew who UNT was until we started winning football games!")

OK, just some bombastic hype. He is, after all, a coach. Then he started in on his version of community - that on Fridays everyone should wear UNT shirts and hats. No problem there. Then he made his gaffe.

"If I'm walking around campus and see you wearing one of those Texas Tech or Longhorn shirts, I'm going to make you take it off right there and I'll give you a UNT shirt to wear. . . . Uh . . . unless you're a girl. If you're a girl, you'll have to come to my office and change."

The crowd was stunned. Then we laughed.

Not in fun, either. In derision.

The AD, still holding the hot mike, turned to the university president and other staff members and asked, "What did I say?"

Here, my friends, is a working example of clueless.

Naturally the boys in the audience started thinking of ways to get on the AD's staff. But the girls in the audience sat in shock, and the parents reacted with muttered comments to the effect that if this clown got our daughters in his office and forced them to change their tops, we'd sue that sporty s.o.b. until his hair bleached white.

So much for community.

I have a serious suggestion to all the coaches in our state who may, from time to time, address the people who pay their salaries. When you're talking to the booster club, it's perfectly acceptable to don the persona of Gen. Patton and to talk in blunt terms about kicking butt.

But when the audience is made up of complete strangers, many of whom may have absolutely no interest in sports, it's time for some tact and refinement.

Not all communities will make pets of their sexist pigs.

Nothing's Shocking · July 22, 2003

Hmmm. Sounds like someone needs to remember to bring their sense of humor to the university next time they visit. The article claims to be an "opinion". Is it? Or, is this article an attempt to stain the growing reputation of a successful athletic department competing with it's Big 12 and Conference USA neighbors?

Stan R · July 22, 2003

Pretty bad judgement, Jeesh.

grad88 · July 22, 2003

Web posted Tuesday, July 22, 2003
8:16 a.m. CT
Other Opinion: UNT athletic director makes a gaffe and a half
By Greg Sagan
Opinion
Some people ought to stay away from a microphone.
One of the first to whom I might suggest this is the athletic director at the University of North Texas.
My wife, my stepdaughter and I spent three days on the UNT campus in Denton two weeks ago for freshman orientation. This was a whirlwind of information, tours, food and entertainment during which we were able to soak up the philosophy of this institution and to gain firsthand knowledge of the activities and resources available to students.
They did a really great job of it, too. The incoming freshmen were grouped with upper-class student guides who were thoroughly trained to answer questions and get the new students integrated into the Screaming Eagle community.
We heard the word "community" a lot over those three days. UNT goes to extraordinary lengths to make students and parents feel a strong bond to the school. The idea is simple: If everyone is here for the same thing (i.e., getting these students to graduate on time and go on to successful careers), we stand a much higher probability of success than if we work as though we're all in this alone. As it happens, I agree with this philosophy.
Part of the method for this orientation involved having parents hear from a wide assortment of UNT faculty and staff in both small and large sessions. We were encouraged to ask questions and to make comments, and the staff fielded them all with respect, dignity and good information. Heck, on the evening of the first day, there was a mixer outdoors where we could meet university staff members over a beer while music students put on a great jazz show. My wife and I spoke with a young woman, Katie Lee Gossett (who runs the university's Learning Resource Center), for almost an hour during which she patiently went over all the different programs they could apply to help students succeed. We were thoroughly impressed.
Right up until the end.
The evening of the second day was supposed to be the climax of the orientation. All the parents and children attended a dinner together, after which we heard from the president of the university and some of his senior staff members. There must have been about a thousand of us in the stands of the coliseum ready to hear the senior leadership put the cherry on the sundae.
And so it did.
Right up until the athletic director took the mike.
And we got a face full of what's wrong with our heavy emphasis on football in this state.
In a nutshell, this coach raved about sports at UNT ("When I got here two years ago, our football team sucked! Nobody even knew who UNT was until we started winning football games!")
OK, just some bombastic hype. He is, after all, a coach. Then he started in on his version of community - that on Fridays everyone should wear UNT shirts and hats. No problem there. Then he made his gaffe.
"If I'm walking around campus and see you wearing one of those Texas Tech or Longhorn shirts, I'm going to make you take it off right there and I'll give you a UNT shirt to wear. . . . Uh . . . unless you're a girl. If you're a girl, you'll have to come to my office and change."
The crowd was stunned. Then we laughed.
Not in fun, either. In derision.
The AD, still holding the hot mike, turned to the university president and other staff members and asked, "What did I say?"
Here, my friends, is a working example of clueless.
Naturally the boys in the audience started thinking of ways to get on the AD's staff. But the girls in the audience sat in shock, and the parents reacted with muttered comments to the effect that if this clown got our daughters in his office and forced them to change their tops, we'd sue that sporty s.o.b. until his hair bleached white.
So much for community.
I have a serious suggestion to all the coaches in our state who may, from time to time, address the people who pay their salaries. When you're talking to the booster club, it's perfectly acceptable to don the persona of Gen. Patton and to talk in blunt terms about kicking butt.
But when the audience is made up of complete strangers, many of whom may have absolutely no interest in sports, it's time for some tact and refinement.
Not all communities will make pets of their sexist pigs.

I think I know what school/dept this fellow would fit into...can you all read my mind from former posts?

Some people are just too good/intelligent/cultured and just above the rest of idoits, who would have such a lowly existence as to actually be interested in college sports or anything resembling such notions as school spirit or pride.

I met enough folks like this guy in a certain department to last a life time--hope I never meet him..it would be a real bore. <_<

UNT96 · July 22, 2003

first of all, thank you for the article.

I don't care what this over sensitive writer says, that is abolutely great of RV to be so proud of the athletic department and to try and instill a sense of pride. We have been lacking this for so long that I will take RV making a couple of bad humour comments over the past any day. The writer walked away with one major thing in his mind; North Texas has a commitment to a winning football team. The boys in the group are going to remember that speech and brag about the school that they are going to. They will make a point of going to football games rather than retreating tio their hometown evry Saturday to relive their High School Glory days. ....And where the boys go will be followed by the girls. It is about time we had someone scream out the pride in the athletic dept, even if he made a couple of off color comments. Knowing RV, I bet he regretted that statement the second that he said it, let's cut the guy a break here, he is working his butt off trying to get this to the next level. We haven't seen this kind of passion since Hayden or maybe Corky, it is welcomed by this fan.

MeanGreenTeeth · July 22, 2003

Ummm....... they misintrepreted his statement. He said they would have to come to his office to change because he wouldn't want to make them change right there in the open. That's why he acted so clueless to the response.

grad88 · July 22, 2003

Pretty bad judgement, Jeesh.

I don't think it was bad judgement-just impromptu speaking which ended up in a hilarious faux pas. It was funny and the people were laughing at his mistake which he turned into a great joke. No one thought he was remotely serious--they were laughing with him. Have people gotten that stiff that such a thing actually offends? Ridiculous.

OXatUNT · July 22, 2003

"If I'm walking around campus and see you wearing one of those Texas Tech or Longhorn shirts, I'm going to make you take it off right there and I'll give you a UNT shirt to wear. . . . Uh . . . unless you're a girl. If you're a girl, you'll have to come to my office and change."
The crowd was stunned. Then we laughed.
Not in fun, either. In derision.
The AD, still holding the hot mike, turned to the university president and other staff members and asked, "What did I say?"

Obviously he assumes that RV wants to watch....

Man he was just trying to say that girls need privacy to change unlike men.

People need to take a chill pill and stop taking everything so dang literally.

This was a waste of newspaper space..... trying to create a story about nothing.

does he work for the Inquirer......?

Brent · July 22, 2003

Maybe someone's angry someone else didn't chose Tech....

Seriously...how sad is it when you take a misspeak and turn it into chovenism? I guess if he wants equality most of the guys around here wouldn't mind.

Geesh.

JRoo · July 22, 2003

Knowing RV, I bet he regretted that statement the second that he said it, let's cut the guy a break here, he is working his butt off trying to get this to the next level. We haven't seen this kind of passion since Hayden or maybe Corky, it is welcomed by this fan.

Indeed. Surely, he should have refrained from saying what he said and yes, it could have been interpreted in different ways. Unfortunately we live in a society where people overact to everything and we are politically correct to the point where you basically have to think hard before you say anything in public. The author here had every right to say what he wanted, but right off the bat he's trying to give his own stepdaughter's school a bad image. I wonder if he thought about it that way.

Nothing's Shocking · July 22, 2003

"The boys in the group are going to remember that speech and brag about the school that they are going to. They will make a point of going to football games rather than retreating tio their hometown evry Saturday to relive their High School Glory days. ....And where the boys go will be followed by the girls."

I think it's the other way around...'least it was when I was in college...and today, for that matter...

Stan R · July 22, 2003

OOOHH. I get it. I missed what he was meaning there. Yeah, they were laughing at him because he made a mistake not a chauvenist comment. Big deal.

IronMan4 · July 22, 2003

I can't believe he said that. 1-AA here we come!

Also, this can be traced to LeBron James.

Edited July 22, 2003 by IronMan4

GMoney · July 22, 2003

There is not a reasonable person out there who is going to read this article and come up the same asinine conclusions as this writer. What a tight@#$! The old lump of coal and get a diamond reference applies perfectly to this editorial. Hopefully his daughter is not near the (I wish I could say what I'm thinking) as the father is! Heck, the daughter probably can't wait to get away from her parents!

BTW, where is the sexist pig part of what RV said? He didn't demean anyone or say one gender is superior to the other? He had a slip of the tongue in trying to correct a statement that someone might have found offensive.

Edited July 22, 2003 by GMoney