Wheaton College’s football program made a bargain with the devil, as have many other college football programs. It strayed from its academic and faith mission and allowed football to become “king.”
For big-time top-tier university football programs, football is a cash cow, generating huge revenues at over-the-top stadiums. For smaller schools, like Wheaton College, it seems to have to do more with prestige and satisfying the expectations of out-of-shape, beer-swilling alumni and fans, who seem to need a vicarious triumph to brighten their dismal, everyday lives.
The alleged immature and sadistic behaviors of the five Wheaton players did not come out of the blue. One has to ask the question: According to what values and principles were these boys raised? Moreover, it speaks to the hypocrisy of college football. Potential players are recruited with inducements not available to general students. The hypocrisy extends to the term, “student-athlete.” Students? Really? It is hard to accept that a bone-crushing brain-damaging violent sport can really teach “life lessons.”
— Ronald Kallen, Highland Park
