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society

This Country’s ‘Entitlement’ Has Me Doubting Our Civic Processes

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DFW Metroplex – Been a while since I’ve hit the blog but all of this malarky of how people are dealing with the recent election has me up blogging before 0600 and I need to get these thoughts down before I put in ‘that work”.

Let’s begin the Tuesday ‘bitch session” shall we?…..

Here…WE…GO!

America…YOU HAVE AN ENTITLEMENT PROBLEM.

There I said it.

Fight me if you want but it’s time we talk about this ugly elephant in the conversation.

And NO, I’m not talking about the Grand Ole Party specifically although politics is definitely the diet this beast thrives on as a favorite snack.

But we need to talk about this because people need to understand that we have a systemic health issue in this country and this damn disease just permeates everywhere and on EVERYTHING.

Let me repeat…WE HAVE AN ENTITLEMENT DISEASE.

For anyone to think that it is perfectly okay to have the current POTUS, a man who is headed out the back door in American politics, to be able to pick up the phone and call state elected officials during one of the most important times of our democracy believes that WE are entitled to just interrupt a process that makes this country the greatest country in the world. They feel this man is ENTITLED to do this and it’s okay with them.

It’s not okay and if you think it’s okay, then you feel entitled to interfere in matters that are out of your control.

Oh sure, a person who is entitled will slap all kinds of ‘reason’ labels on their actions and we all know the usual stuff that is going around right now in the political climate. But if you cannot reasonably ascertain put together viable evidence that can hold up to honest scrutiny in the public sphere, then you will continue to go down the path of thinking everybody else is wrong and you’re right.

More on that thought process in a bit.

If you think that your first amendment right to peacefully protest means you are going to walk up to a person’s house and start screaming at them through a megaphone as if they are the “problem”, then again you are thinking you are entitled to just do what you please without any consequence or forethought as to what may not be okay. And I don’t care if you are walking through the private streets of a neighborhood in St. Louis or down a public street in Detroit; it’s actually a bad idea on so many levels; namely, there is no line of demarcation and now ‘protests’ are free game on any street.

While I’m at it…burning down buildings, threatening elected officials, putting those who are simply doing their jobs in a position where they are fearing for their personal safety, it’s wrong. Full stop.

But do you know why it happens?

ENTITLEMENT. That’s why.

The way we are handling this election, the way we react when a 17 year old is charged with a heinous crime, the way we rationalize irrational actions of grown people who are “in power” of some sort, is telling in this country.

We will sweep practically any bad behavior from said individuals under the rug if the ends justify the means; or at least what we think are the “means” of said actions we believe.

What sad is that many of us do not realize that instead of allowing our own upbringings guide us to good, rational, logical conclusions, we allow ourselves to be influenced in some really bad sectors of the ‘techknosphere’; aka ‘social media’.

Our compulsion for gobbling all things social media actually provides so many the unhealthy diet of what is called the illusory truth effect. And it is that steady diet of misinformation, wild stories and an unwillingness to believe that sometimes what you see is not real, combined with thinking that ‘my way is the right way’ process brings us to why I said we have an entitlement problem.

WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE AN ENTITLEMENT PROBLEM…and we’re on the wrong side of this.

“We” need to realize that we have some stinky draws, breath and body order as a collective country.

Sure we are definitely the place to be if you want to make your dreams come true. For millions of people in this world, we are that shining beacon on the hill.

But that shiny beacon needs to clean the spheric glass in front of that lightbulb.

We need to change out the filter we have in front of the glass.

We need to switch out this new age LED bulb and put back in the old fashioned regular filament type that may not have had a great shelf life but allowed us to every few years swap it out for a new one because we did a self check on our “righteousness”.

Let me close with a story that many may not relate to but a few of us had.

In case many don’t know, I LOVE spending time in London. Heck actually thinking about how to make a pilgrimage there for a few months out of the year.

It was during a fairly recent trip across the pond, during the last week in October of 2018 when the Jacksonville Jaguars were taking on the Philadelphia Eagles at Wimbley stadium, I was downstairs at the hotel bar chatting up with a gentleman who was from my second home, Cincinnati. We were chatting it up with a few InfoTech consultants from various companies.

What we were discussing was an issue that just troubled us all; the entitlement of the American citizen.

One gentleman said that sometimes he feels so ashamed about how ‘we’ act overseas that he has to apologize for something that he didn’t even do.

And he’s not alone.

I’ve got plenty of friends who live overseas and this isn’t the first time that haven’t heard an American “apologize for the rest of us”.

And then it hit me today after just responding to one of my friends on social media.

He nailed the problem; the American Entitlement.

The reason why this makes perfect sense is that when I start piecing together my own conversations with others from around the world, how I field questions when they ask about why certain things in this country are what they are, I too find myself wanting to say outwardly, “forgive them for what they do not know or do”. Sometimes I too want to apologize for the dumb shit we just do in this country.

Let me circle back to that beacon on the hill I mentioned.

The beacon has a mirror lens in it and while it may project out this really bright light that beckons any all, on the flip side we have some really big scratches that are stopping us from being who we really use to be; almost ‘pristinie’ in our beliefs in our systems.

This entitlement that we have is blocking that once brilliant process of acceptance of fact.

It’s denying a true ability to see the flaws for what they are, fix them on the next go round and continue to be evolutionary in portraying the ideals that are essential to that beacon drawing the best and the brightest to us; even if they just want to come work here.

It’s this warped sense of entitlement that has really come to fruition in the last four years or so.

Don’t get this twisted. This entitlement I speak of has been floating around for the last two decades or so but its brashness has only come to prominence right now. And ironically it has a really ugly side of it; or side effects as my medical friends would say.

I’m not here to pass a judgment on anyone but I definitely want to raise an awareness that is seeping out past these shorelines.

Our democracy is on FULL DISPLAY right now and if you don’t think there are those in other countries talking about how we are handling this matter, you’re dreaming.

And if you don’t think that matters, then you haven’t traveled outside this country.

You’ve heard too many people on your favorite broadcasts talk about the standing of this country on a world stage.

Whether you like it or not, the reflection of that world stage starts with how WE as a nation handle our civic trepidations, issues, etc.

This entitlement bug we got is making us look like we are the biggest brats in the world.

And while WE MAY be just that, it shouldn’t be so damn obvious.

I’ve often said to folk, “if you are going to sell me dog food, you need to be eating that brand you selling”.

It’s another way of saying, “if you gonna talk that talk, you have to walk that walk.”

With how many of us have embraced conspiracies and not wanting to let logic dictate the thoughts one may have, the illusory truth effect becomes your compass and the ugly American entitlement is your foundation to justify a lot of things that would normally make no sense.

Let me repeat this…WE HAVE AN ENTITLEMENT PROBLEM people and it goes beyond our politic squabbles.

It has seeped into the very core of this country as to who and what we are.

As a collective body we need to go “clean the beacon” while we still can or else our world stage may be our final curtain call.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gregory Moore is a former syndicated columnist and managing editor of a weekly newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. Now residing in the DFW metroplex, he occasionally dusts off the typewriter and espouses his views of just society at large.

Politics, society

Black America Has Been Making Clarion Calls on Racial Injustices for Decades…WHY Are You Willing To Listen Now, America??

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By Gregory Moore

DFW Lockdown – We’re in some harrowing times right now and there are a lot of questions being thrown out there from all parts of society.

However there is one segment of our community that have been trying to get America’s attention for decades if not centuries; the Black community.

Day after day…year after year..decade after decade, this community has seen countless members of their community be hanged/lynched, burned, shot, mutilated, raped and set up for being the perpetrator of the afore mentioned crimes I just mentioned.

And before I go any further on this silique, let me correct something. That’s MY COMMUNITY that is going through this and I need to make sure that this in the first person because it affects me on an every day basis. Some days, these events are just body blows and no matter how strong you may be, you have to take a mental stress day. Since the death of George Floyd, I’ve taken my share.

But this isn’t just about how I’m dealing with this…it’s about why America now thinks it is ready to tackle this problem.

The actor George Clooney said something profound today. In a post, I saw where he stated the following: “This is our pandemic. It infects all of us, and in 400 years we’ve yet to find a vaccine.”. For more on what George wrote, you can read his piece here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/george-clooney-on-the-murder-of-george-floyd-americas-greatest-pandemic-is-anti-black-racism

What’s troubling is that America has known about this ‘pandemic’ and instead of finding a way to resolve it, it has been shoved under various rugs (presidential administrations and congress sessions et al) and has been ignored by a vast majority of this country as ‘no big deal’.

Don’t believe me? Let’s go back not even 20 years for proof. Let’s go back just in the span of TEN years.

In the ten years prior to Floyd’s murder, the following members of my Black community have died and this list is just off the top of my head:

Philandro Castile

Freddie Gray

Eric Garner

Sam Dubose

Jamar Clark

Alton Sterling

Walter Scott

Tamir Rice

Botham Jean

Atatiana Jefferson

Breonna Taylor

Like I said, off the top of my head but if you want a complete database, go to the Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States#Lists_of_killings


As you will see in that list from Wikipedia, that’s a lot of citizens who died and many of them didn’t deserve to die in police custody.

But why is Floyd’s murder the lynch pin here for America to “wake up”? Why this one?

THE BLACK COMMUNITY BEEN YELLING THIS WARNING FOR YEARS…..

I ask the question why this murder because this isn’t the first time we’ve read a story of a Black man dying at the hands of police.

It’s not the first time we have had a ‘national’ conversation about how there is a discriminate disparity between how many officers handle Black citizens.

And this isn’t the first time the Black community has been yelling at the top of its ‘lungs’ saying, “Hey!!! The back porch is on fire!!!”

Current and former athletes of the ‘modern’ era have been trying to get this country’s attention and it has fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes.

Again, just coming off the top of my head, here are the athletes I can think off that have been jumping up and down:

Colin Kaepernick

Eric Davis

LeBron James

DeWayne Wade

Malcolm Jenkins

Martellius Bennett

Michael Bennett

Marshawn Lynch

I’m sure I’m missing all kinds of people BUT like I said, off the top of my head listings here so not trying to slight anyone out there.

Those players listed and many more have been trying to get the attention of the leagues they play for, fans, congress, hell whoever would listen to what they are seeing and what needs to stop before the house goes up in flames.

I mean the most NOTABLE on the list, Kaepernick, has been shunned by this country because of what he wore and everyone who has shunned him are now saying, “well how did we get here?”

You know damn well how we got here…don’t play stupid and coy on social media. Own up to the eff up and say, “I shot a messenger.”

Civil rights leaders have been screaming for years about police brutality in many cases and what has that gotten the black community?

A few bread crumbs scattered here and there but NO REAL policy changes.

So I ask again, WHY is this death the catalyst for a new change in our country?

WHY is George Floyd now the face of a systemic problem that has been going on for so long that many just think of it as a ‘normal’ occurrence in their lives?

The only answer I can come up with is HOW he was murdered.

A brave teenager by the name of Darnelle Frazier shot that video footage of Floyd’s death.

From all reports, she’s needing therapy and she deserves every bit of help she can get because no teen should be witnessing this type of butchery.

But that’s the reality of the situation here.

In order for America to get ‘upset’ there has to be footage of wrongdoing and that is usually shot by every day citizens.

But even with footage of previous killings, THIS ONE moved people so much that everyone is talking about it and it appears that everyone in this country, or at least everyone that actually cares about others, is ticked off.

Look, that’s all well and good. It really is.

But understand something here, Black America has been going through this shit since the day our ancestors’ dusty feet touched the Massachusetts’ soil back in the 1600s. The sordid history of we as a people were treated is well documented and debated on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, a lot of the gains other minorities may have gotten in this country came from Black America.

But that’s not to digress and access blame here…that’s already been done in other circles.

What needs to be answered is that simple question: Why is this death the Clarion Call for this country in 2020 when there have been other Clarion Calls for almost some 400 years.

Why are you willing to listen now, America?

Can somebody answer that for me?

About the author: Gregory Moore is a former Black journalist that has written for several sports and culture websites. He has also appeared on numerous tv and radio programs discussing Black sports and the Black community in relation to society issues.

society, sports

The Question to Really Ask Is…Why Haven’t Black Families Pressed The Issue?

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By Gregory Moore

black athlete exploitation

DALLAS, Texas – Jemele Hill wrote a sports piece entitled, “It’s Time for Black Athletes to Leave White Colleges” for The Atlantic and I have to say, or at least what I want to say, is that I see where she is coming from with her piece.

Now many are out saying that she’s wanting to split the country and that’s just a ludicrous stance without even diving past her own words.

As we all know, and as I have said many a time on this blog, the majority of America doesn’t want to face its ugly truth: we are still a racially discriminating group of people.

We are.

From how we deal with politics to how we deal with sports. We are a discriminating bunch of folks.

Now that doesn’t mean we aren’t redeemable because that too, would be a lie.

But to ignore the biggest elephant in the room shows just how much many want to sweep this topic under the rug.

What topic is that?

Why HBCUs can’t garner top tier talent.

In preparing for this entry, not only did I read Hill’s piece a few times, but I also read a great piece of work by a young man named Joe Perry, “Exploitation of African-American “Student-Athletes”. [Side note: I used his graphic for this story because it was so fitting]

Now you may think that neither of these two articles have any similarities but they do; mainly, they talk about how the NCAA has monopolized and used so many talented African American athletes to the point to where they can be considered throw aways. And that’s not being harsh. As a senior writer for Blackathlete.net back in the day, my colleagues and I consistently mentioned this phenomenon back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

And it still goes on to this day.

If that were not the case, the two articles I mentioned wouldn’t be so high up on the google Boolean search results page.

But here’s my question to everyone: why haven’t African American families pushed for their star athletes to go to these HBCU schools and basically not look at going to a Duke or Ohio State as the holy grail?

The answer, believe it or not, revolves around money; pure and simple.

MONEY IS THE ROOT TO ALL OF THESE ISSUES

For a star African American athlete to not consider going to one of the power 5 conferences is basically telling that family “Money can’t solve your problems”.

Let’s really be honest here: the ONLY reason Black Athletes are not going to Howard, FAMU, Grambling, etc. is because of the money.

It’s the money these kids look at if they perform well on the field.

It’s the money of endorsements…..shoe deals…and anything else you can think of.

It’s the chance to play in front of a big audience and be seen.

To practice at a top-notch training facility that is almost as good as the NFL or NBA; and in some cases, it is that good.

It’s the chance to show the sports world who this kid is.

Sadly, that’s just not there for any HBCU school.

Does that mean that these athletes don’t have a chance at being professional athletes?

No.

And that is where I think Hill was driving at in her piece.

The families of these athletes need to look beyond the obvious and think of the possibilities.

While an HBCU may not have the fancy workout spaces or have some really famous alumni rolling through on a summer day, what they can do is produce some Hall of Fame talent. Talent like Steve McNair, Michael Strahan, Jerry Rice and others.

[Check out the HBCUBuzz article,  HBCU Athletes Picked In The 2019 NFL Draft, for a list of 2019 NFL draft picks from HBCU schools]

There’s plenty of talented HBCU players out there and sometimes it’s those kids who do better than the athletes who went to the Top 5 powerhouse schools.

EQUAL PLAYING FIELD….IN AND OUT THE CLASSROOM

Finally let me take this one step further than possibly what Hill and Perry were trying to get to. In order for African American athletes who are the top of their respective “games” to even consider going to an HBCU, there has to be an equalization not only on the field and in the weight room but also in the classroom.

Remember when I said money is the root? It’s the root here as well and that “racial” discrimination point I was making actually is a mask; it’s more of economic discrimination than racial here.

Basically, the haves and the have nots.

That’s the reality of this conversation and if it isn’t pleasant for some reading this blog; it wasn’t meant to be.

There is a reason why there are tiers in the NCAA when it comes to the economic streams of the NCAA. Power conferences rule; weaker conferences get “pay days”.

Power conferences get big time alumni support while HBVU schools struggle to sometimes even stay open; let alone do alumni fundraising.

Power conference schools can get big time shoe and tv deals; HBCU schools are just trying to make sure their kids are successful.

That’s not saying an HBCU education is devalued or not as good as one coming from a Texas, Ohio State or Baylor. Sometimes the best and brightest are those who did graduate from a school like East Tennessee State, North Carolina A&T or Morehouse.

So, before you go judge Hill and her work on this subject, check your bias against her at the door.

If you dig deeper into the subject matter what you will find is that where she is going is a spot that big time schools don’t always go to.

And sometimes that spot isn’t the “obvious” one you think you already know.

Gregory Moore is a former sports columnist and editor of a weekly African American newspaper in San Antonio, Texas as well as being a routine guest on various national sports radio and sports programming.

society, Uncategorized

Aunt Becky Just Doesn’t Get It…And She Probably Never Did

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bad parent

By Gregory Moore

DALLAS, Texas — I’m not going to front…I liked watching Full House.

Then again, I was a Growing Pains, James at !5, etc kind of dude too.

Yeah I was a little “weird” but who didn’t like shows that kind of gravitated to them.

But just like I have said about Bill Cosby a while back, I can say the following about Laurie Loughlin aka “Aunt Becky” now.

See I can admire the work of an artist without issue. I loved I Spy, Fat Albert and the Cosby Show and I still watch them on occasion. That does not equate me to co-signing what Cosby has done to women. It was wrong. It was criminal. He deserves jail time.

And so, I can sit down and watch episodes of Full House and even Fuller House but that does not mean I am down with how Loughlin and her designer husband cheated to get their two daughters into a prestigious university to the tune of $500,000.

It was wrong. It was criminal. She and her husband deserves jail time.

Now some are going to say that my thoughts are a little harsh for this type of activity.

Are they?

Let’s really break this down and I’m going to compare what Aunt Becky did to what “Josephine” did in getting her son to play for a stellar football team in another school district.

See, BOTH WOMEN are wrong and here’s where the similarities lie.

In the case of “Josephine”, she’s using the address of her friend, co-worker or family member and saying that she and her son live at the address so that he can play an elite position on the grid iron, in a school district that is known for winning almost every year.

Damn the ramifications if the UIL gets wind of the scam…it’s all about her baby.

Right?

The same set of criteria can be held here.

In order for Loughlin to get her way and her two girls admitted into USC, she had to concoct a gargantuan lie; both her girls were crew members on an “elite” rowing team in South California. Oh and we’re going to pay a half a million dollars into some fund to ensure that they get in.

The bottom line is that cheating….is cheating.

Doesn’t matter the economic class or the reason.

Whether it’s to make sure you kid has a shot at a scholarship OR to ensure your kid gets hand picked despite earning a scholarship, if you are willing to pay for that access in some shape, form or fashion, you’re guilty of cheating.

In the example given…BOTH are guilty.

So let’s get back to reality and Aunt Becky and her brood.

Why am I advocating jail time like a decade or so?

Because it’s $500,000.

See what Loughlin and her husband did is so far beyond the Josephine example it actually makes the example look like a dang saint.

And why is it different than what St. Francis Academy’s Biff Poggi. Is doing.

Oh there’s a big difference: Boggi is actually bankrolling the football team from soup to nuts to getting kids to college.

See that’s not someone who is paying a school via bribe to let his kids play.

He’s the bank that’s putting the money into a program to make it available to kids who want to be there.

Yes that’s a HUGE difference and is not an illegal ponzi scheme or whatever it is that these parents were doing.

If “Josephine” wanted her kid to play for Poggi, guess what? If he was good enough, he would be playing there and Coach Poggi may be bankrolling that tuition cost.

But that’s not Loughlin or her hubby.

They tried to cheat the system and got caught.

And as enjoyable as it may be to watch Aunt Becky do her thang on Netflix or Hallmark, she’s a cheater.

Her husband’s a cheater.

Her kids are cheaters.

End of story.

Somebody needs to own this mess and take the consequences.

So let’s go Aunt Becky……trade in the trendy clothes for the jumpsuit.

Do your two years per $100k spent.

It’s only fair since you tried to take scholarships away from deserving kids.

Gregory Moore is a former sports and opinion writer who now makes his bones in the IT world. From time to time, he remembers his password and still writes about social issues that bother him. Tweet at him @nbascribectx. He may actually tweet back at you.

 

Politics, society

He’ll Never Understand…So Why Bother?

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So it’s been awhile since I’ve pontificated on my blog. Funny how an art just “leaves” when you don’t do it often enough.
But I’ll save that for another day.
Right now, I need to just get some thoughts out…on Donald J. Trump.
I’m not afraid to admit it….I’ve never liked DJT.
Not in the 1980s (late 80s mind you).
Not in the 90s…or the 00s.
Really didn’t watch The Apprentice and the one time he was on one of my favorite shows from the History Channel, it was the last segment.
I didn’t like him when he started pushing the birther movement.
Didn’t like him then…and I don’t like him now.
He’s a big mouth.
A show boat….a narcissist.
A womanizer.
A borderline bigot of all flavors.
And he’s the President of the United States.
Fine.
I have no problem accepting that because it’s our election process and he won; fair and square.
But that doesn’t mean I have to accept the fact that he is actually good for this country.
I am just going to refuse to do that one.
Why?
Because he’s everything I just said above and more.
DJT is all about himself. Seriously; he is definitely all about himself.
Rarely do you see him put others in front of him on anything of importance unless it feeds his ego.
Don’t believe me?
Then let’s go no further than last night’s little stomp rally at the Jamboree.
Yeah you read right…the Boy Scouts Jamboree.
Instead of DJT going out there, with Rick Perry aka Gov. Good Hair as he is known in these parts, and telling some 30,000 impressionable young men why it is important to live up to the BSA oath, he made a political speech out of it.
Why?
Who was that audience for?
And the speech was condescending to a former Scout member (Ole Barry).
It was degrading to Tom Price.
Why are those two a part of your jamboree speech?
And if you listen to it or read it, that speech should piss you off as a “stock holder” of this company we call America.
But for many, they’re fine with it.
For some, it’s okay….he’s speaking truth to power.
Okay fine. I’ll let the 40 percenters have their cake but I’m not eating any of it.
The way DJT acted yesterday in West Virginia was appalling to me; and I’m not one easily appalled.
And while I should be incensed that others don’t seem to share my anger at a man who continually sets a low standard being POTUS, I’m not.
I’ve gotten over that disappointment a long time ago.
You see, maybe it’s just me.
Maybe I’m the lone idiot who thinks he sees that the problem is.
What’s the problem?
Donald J. Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass about this country or how we are perceived by others.
That’s the problem.
For DJT, it’s all about the big win. He’s the big chief now at 1600 Penn and by golly he gonna “right” the ship that he saw as the Titanic hitting that iceberg.
But in reality, with this latest speech now in the damn archives, all he did was show the world why he’s Mr. Petty; and no, I’m not talking about being a relative to Kyle or Richard either.
For me, I understand why he does the things he does because he fits so many classic psychological profiles that you read about.
To me, being POTUS means you are even keeled in public.
It means that why you may disagree with your political opponents, you don’t forget that you are all still on the same team; Team America.
And that’s the sad thing.
I don’t think DJT understands that.
John McCain does.
All the POTUS’ before DJT do.
I bet those 30,000 boy scouts last night do.
See to make America great again, you have to first not be so quick to beat up on people because they piss you off.
You have to be willing to compromise where it hurts knowing that your sacrifice is to help others down the road.
That trying to re-write history because you have ill will towards a predecessor is not how things are done.
And I say about the sentence above because DJT is going to need President Obama, Bush and Clinton LONG before they need him.
He’s never been POTUS; they have. All three have had two terms.
He may be lucky getting out of this first one and if he makes it to the second term, then somebody got in his ear.
But I just don’t see it.
I don’t see DJT understanding that being pig headed because that’s how you ran your empire is going to get you anywhere.
I don’t see him changing and why should I even begin hoping that for the betterment of this country he would.
He’s not.
He won’t.
He doesn’t care.
And you know what? I’m okay with it.
Because what that tells me is that come 2020, I need to find somebody who ISN’T that guy.
Maybe that’s how I get my understanding.

 

society, sports

If I had a child wanting to go to Baylor, I’d just tell them no

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DALLAS, Texas – We all are very aware of the fact that Baylor University is in the limelight again and has been for almost a year now.

We are all also acutely aware that Baylor’s head football coach, Art Briles, is on the hot seat from outside sources.

But what we don’t know is whether Briles, BU President Ken Starr, the board of trustees and other higher ups understand why parents could be very concerned about a culture at a Baptist school and at least sitting over here, I don’t think those afore mentioned really care what those parents think right now.

Let’s face it. If you’re a parent who has a child wanting to go to Baylor, would you let him or her go right now? I mean at a cost of almost $40,000 in tuition and fees per year, what as you as a parent getting as assurance that your child is going to be protected from a sexual predator?

Now I know that may seem to be a stretch for some in my assumption but is it unreasonable?

Young men and women on college campuses are going to come across these sort of societal ills; that’s just a part of our society now. But you, as a parent, are hoping that should a prominent student be accused of such a heinous crime, that the university take the appropriate measures and ensures that the due process of justice is done so that the rest of the student body feels protected.

In Baylor’s case, I just don’t see that happening.

I don’t see Briles taking this issue head on like he would ask his players to do in a tackling drill.

I don’t see Starr understanding just how damaging the Outside the Lines report is to the internal audit that is going on.

Where is the accountability of those school officials whose tasks and/or duties as authority figures to not only report any claim of sexual misconduct but to ensure that a transparent investigation is done on all sides?

Where was any coach or athletic administrator when the allegations of misconduct first rang out from the campus and why wasn’t a full court press put on a year ago to not only remove any person who is being investigated but also to protect the victims and ensure their rights as students according to the Baylor code of ethics?

Forget about Title IX ramifications; how about the ramifications of students who are victims basically getting victimized by not only their attacker but by the very school and governance system that they and/or their parents put their faith in?

Where is that reassurance that DESPITE the accuser being a star athlete, he or she is not above anyone and they are actually in a weaker position because they do represent the school?

I’ll tell you where…..Never Never land. That’s where.

Parents now have to add to their plate of worry schools that are in the news for the wrong reasons.

Twenty to thirty years ago, parents had to worry about kids experimenting with drugs, goofing off at college, and just doing some things that were perceived to be a “normal” experience.

Today, the very parents who made their parents worry about them twenty to thirty years ago now have to worry about whether or not their child will not be a victim of a sexual crime on campus.

I can’t imagine how those parents must feel who are either Baylor alum or who have kids going to the school. I’m sure it’s just sickening to read about or hear about it on the news.

But if I were a parent who had a son or daughter who wanted to go to Baylor, I’d have no problem telling that son or daughter they weren’t going to go.

It’s not that I wouldn’t be able to trust my child; I just couldn’t trust Baylor or its current administrators.

The administration at Baylor needs to understand that there are parents who are concerned and if they can’t clean up a program that brings in millions, then those parents have a right to guide their children to a school that puts character and student safety above wins and losses.

It may not be realistic as a parent, but that’s closer to a reality for students than having a system just flat out ignores your claim of being a victim on campus because you don’t score on the field.