moses choi

My friend Kyu, a proud graduate of UCLA recently wrote to the LA Times regarding academics and athletics in American universities and here is his email.  I’m putting it up here because I think he brings up very valid points and sheds some light on what some may regard as the excessive commercialization of collegiate sports in the US.

Subject: Academic standards vs. Athletic performance

Dear Mr. Kurt Streeter:

I am a UCLA alumnus and an avid supporter of UCLA athletics as well as academics.  I am in absolute agreement that we should have a balance of academic standards and athletic performance and that college athletics should not be solely based on wins and losses.  Although winning will bring in revenues for an academic institution, I do not believe academic institutions have to sell college athletics for the all mighty dollar.  This is one of the problems we face in this society and I am in full support of your fight to bring ACADEMIC standards to ACADEMIC institutions.

I really hope that UCLA can sell itself as an academic institution, first, which also has a quality Division I athletic program and not the other way around.  I do not want UCLA to become an institution where the major source of its publicity comes from its athletic programs.  That means an institution like a Cal, UCLA or a Stanford must have higher standards on their student-athletes and I am not only talking about on-the-field performance.

I’d rather UCLA produce individuals like a Jackie Robinson, a Arthur Ashe, a Kareem Abdul-Jabber, than a Michael Vick or a Barry Bond.  Men and women of character, who uses their God-given talents as a tool to put them on stage to make a positive statement in society.  If those are the individuals that UCLA is producing under coach Karl Dorrell, I am fully supportive of that effort.  Because, as you and I know, it takes years to build a reputation of a school and an athletic program, but it takes only one scandal to ruin a reputation.

(On a side note, I do not advocate for a coach like a Nick Saban, who happens to be a great football coach but also compares college athletic catastrophes to historical tragedies.)

I really support your efforts to bring that to the forefront and I hope you can continue to write about such subjects with a passion.  I really hope you can write about a student-athlete being a student first and an athlete second, and not an athlete first and who also happens to be a part-time student.

(Also, a side note, yes, I think the statistics on minority coaches in Division I must be addressed, because it seems like there is equality on the field–as in the proportion of black, hispanic and white athletes–but that has not been translated onto the management ranks of the coaches or athletic directorship.)

Respectfully,

Kyu Sin

UCLA alum ‘05