Cal robbery scandal: A free first-rate education isn't enough?

October 22, 9:18 PMCal Bears ExaminerRob Calonge

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Punk #1 - Gary Doxy

Maybe I'm too old.  I must be out of touch because pro and student athletes continue to amaze me with their stupidity.  All right, so maybe I'm being a little too general by using the term 'stupid' to describe some of these guys.  How about if I use the term arrogant?  It's hard to attribute unexplainable actions to arrogance all of the time, so why don't I just say that they are looking a gift horse in the mouth?  Nah, I think it's all three.

In the latest of 'stupid', two former Cal football players decided that it would be 'smart' to break into a dorm room and steal a laptop computer and a wallet at gunpoint -- a BB-gunpoint.  The victims were two athletes on the Cal men's crew team.  Now that's school unity!  Here's the kicker -- they robbed the wrong guys.

Let's go back to the beginning, shall we?  There was a party full of athletes off-campus.  At this party, a white member of Cal's crew team was on the front porch allegedly making racist remarks.  The context of the remarks isn't known, but I think that you could label him as idiot number one in this story.  Whatever it is that he said, he offended a black female Cal athlete.  A few days go by, and somehow these two bozos find out about what idiot number one had said.  So what is it that these guys deem as the most logical thing to do?  To them, It wasn't logical to file a grievance with the Athletic Department, seek the trangressor out and tell him to keep his mouth shut.  Or go to idiot number one's head coach and tell him to do something about it.  For these guys, it was much more logical to go rip him off at gunpoint, only their IQ's got in the way and they forgot to get his address first.  That's probably enough to tell you what these two couldn't figure out -- they broke into the wrong dorm.

The disciplinary steps taken against the implicated student-athletes should be viewed as an initial step. It is now my responsibility to make sure that every member of our athletic program fully understands the extent to which these behaviors were, and will always be, completely unacceptable.
- Sandy Barbour referring to idiot #1 and punks #1 and #2

First, let's talk about the racist remarks and racism as a whole pertaining to UC Berkeley and athletics.  It's a sad fact that racism exists - even sadder that it exists on a university known as a champion for civil liberties to many.  When I say racism, for your reference, I don't talk solely of white racism.  I can tell you first-hand that racism isn't race exclusive.  I don't condone any of it by any means, but has anyone ever heard of the old 'sticks and stones' saying?  As with the F-bomb or any other derogatory remark, it's just a word!  Don't give the word power by letting it affect you!

Before you start in on the history of racism in America and the world at-large, I'm well aware of the history.  Let's talk about now.  We are a country on the verge of electing a man of color to the office of the president.  Win or not, the historical precedent is set.  The landscape of America is littered with people of all races in positions of power.  Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods are amongst the richest entertainers/athletes in the world.  History, in this case, is just history.  You should never forget it, but you should also stop living in the past.

Punk #2 - R.J. Garrett

Secondly, let's talk about the actions of the two punks.  What world are you from that dictates when another person offends you, hurts your feelings, or makes you mad, that it's perfectly acceptable to get a gun, break into their abode, and jack their computer?  Anyone?  How does that even compute?  Maybe that's why they wanted the computer.

The two punks never even heard the offense by idiot number one.  They took second-hand information and concluded that committing armed robbery was the answer!  Is that the type of thinking higher education is teaching?  Two students of a school that touts its Nobel prizes should have learned something in their two or three years at the institution.

There are some that would say, "C'mon Rob!  You know that Div I football players don't have to learn anything!"  I would answer that with another question - so that makes it right?  Have we forgotten what the difference is between right and wrong?  Maybe we've shaded too many areas grey to tell the difference.  When it comes to certain things, there are NO shades of grey.  What's so hard to understand about that?

I'm not trying to pretend that I'm perfect.  I've gotten away with speeding down the freeway.  It's a law, and I've broken it, but the consequences won't be 15 years in prison or a lifetime of stupidity.  No, more than likely I'll have to come up with some extra cash to pay the fine and lose a day of my life at traffic school.  I guess, that's what makes what these two punks did all the more insane.

That brings me to my final point of contention.  All involved are living a dream.  They get a top education because they row a boat or catch a football or tackle someone very well.  This education, which most people couldn't afford without help, is free because of their athletic talents.  A graduate of Cal has written their ticket as long as their degree isn't underwater basket-weaving, which apparently, these guys must have been working towards.  Why throw it all away by doing something you already know is wrong?  What point could be made by spewing racist nonsense or by committing a felony?

If you have a great spouse, don't cheat on them.  If you have a great job, do it well so you can keep it.  If you have a great friend, be a great friend in return.  It's not hard to figure it out.  If you can't appreciate the 'good' in your life, you are destined to lose it eventually.  Unfortunately, for these guys, that's a lesson given too late for them.