Pubdate: Fri, 16 Feb 2007
Source: Gonzaga Bulletin, The (US WA EDU)
Copyright: 2007 The Gonzaga Bulletin
Contact:  http://www.gonzagabulletin.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3963
Author: Steven Sandberg
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

Sandberg On Sports

HEYTVELT AND DAVIS NEED TO LEARN FROM CRUCIAL ERROR

In my column last Friday, I wrote about how Bulldogs' center Josh 
Heytvelt should be the focal point of the team's offense. Now, due to 
a shameful turn of events that transpired just hours later, it looks 
like we're not going to see if that strategy would've worked for the Bulldogs.

By now everyone has heard the story. Needless to say, Heytvelt and 
freshman Theo Davis have been suspended indefinitely from the team 
after being arrested for possession of marijuana and psychedelic 
mushrooms last Friday.

At the moment, they have not been convicted of anything, and both 
players are claiming innocence. However, the damage has already been done.

And still, I believe they deserve a second chance.

However, I also know that no one gets off scot-free, and first the 
two players need to understand the far-reaching effects of simply 
being in a situation where you are around these drugs, regardless of 
whether the allegations are true and the drugs actually belonged to 
these players.

Just by being around the drugs, Heytvelt and Davis let down their 
teammates, as the suspensions mean that the Bulldogs chances of 
making the NCAA tournament will be judged based on their performance 
without the conference's most dominating center. A star player needs 
to be a leader on and off the court, and just as a team would never 
tolerate it's star player giving up on his team during a game, that 
star player also can't allow his off-court actions to affect the 
future of the team.

Also let down were their coaches, who were teaching them to be not 
just great basketball players but great men as well. Gonzaga coaching 
staffs have had a long tradition of expecting excellence from their 
players both on and off the court and Mark Few and company are no 
exception. He respects his players and instills a sense of respect in 
them, so that they become better men off the court. Before the press 
conference announcing the arrest, I had never heard coach Few ever 
say he was "shocked" and "disappointed" by a player's actions.

Heytvelt and Davis also let down the university. They brought 
negative attention to a school that strives to teach its students to 
go out and make the world better through imagination, intelligence, 
and moral judgment. When two players on the school's nationally 
famous basketball team decide to risk being around illegal drugs, 
they make a mockery of the school's mission statement.

But mostly, Heytvelt and Davis let themselves down. Davis, a redshirt 
freshman, put his future with the team in serious risk. Heytvelt in 
particular put his future as a basketball player in jeopardy, as now 
he could be viewed as a player with a checkered history.

And yet, through all the whirlwind of emotions that have swept up the 
school, I really hope Heytvelt and Davis get a second chance from the 
community. They made a mistake, and now they have to go through the 
consequences of that mistake; I would expect nothing less. I'm not 
saying they should be let off, in fact I believe they should be 
punished if the claims are true. No one should get a free pass. The 
key here is that they learn from the effects of what they did wrong. 
They'll learn from their punishment and, most importantly, they won't 
do it again.

Everyone makes mistakes, and while the high profile nature of these 
two young men made this situation all the more public, what matters 
now is that they atone for their mistakes.

The Gonzaga community may have been shocked, appalled and 
disappointed by the events, but what needs to happen is for the 
community to let go of the anger and to move forward to make the 
situation right.

These two young men are still our brothers at this school. They may 
have fallen, but now the community needs to let them know why they 
fell so that they don't do it again and then lend them a hand to 
bring them back up.

If we can't do that, then what does that say about us?
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman