The tragedy of the University of Washington's athletic department

As the courtroom proceedings in the Neuheisel suit against the UW and the NCAA continues, it becomes more and more clear how likely it is that he will win.

And it's too bad.

It is clear that he acted unethically and perhaps even illegally. But it is also becoming clear that the misactions of UW officials gave him permission to act up, like a kid who knows that his parents may express disappointment but will do no more than frown.

The "wink wink nudge nudge" relationship between Barbara Hedges and Rick Neuheisel is only one indication of an organization out of control. Rick Neuheisel, coming from a program in serious trouble at Colorado, needed restrictions and close supervision.

It appears that the UW is taking steps to clean up its act. The tragedy, however, is that the two people most responsible for the mess, Barbara Hedges and Rick Neuheisel, will never have to face up to their responsibilities.

Rick Neuheisel vs. the University of Washington and the NCAA

You know, between the stupidity of Bush's privatization of Social Security proposal, and the Neuheisel suit, I am in a permanent state of annoyed these days.

For now I will spare you my thoughts on privatization.

But this is the thing I continue not to get about Dana Richardson. She's a lawyer who has a job as a compliance officer for an NCAA university. I infer (correctly or incorrectly?) that she would have some interest in sports and specifically collegiate sports and the NCAA rules to even want to apply for or take the job, which is basically lawyer to the athletic department. Theoretically it would follow that, as a lawyer and a compliance officer she would have knowledge of other NCAA matters that have taken place around the country.

Now given all that, I knew that it is wrong for a coach to place any kind of bet on any kind of collegiate sporting event. How could she not know that? Wasn't it her job as a lawyer to interpret lawyer speak? Wasn't it her job to say things like "To be on the safe side don't do it"?

Of course, one also has to wonder, what the heck was Barbara Hedges doing as the AD if she didn't read the memo completely? Wasn't it her job to have final say on those things? Or did she just trust the lawyer? Or did she (even more insidiously) purposely not read it to avoid that responsibility?

I still think she and Neuheisel had a weird connection like Condi Rice and Bush have. This lawsuit is more like a nasty divorce settlement than a job dispute.

And what is so stupid about this are two things:

1. Neuheisel, who improperly gambled, will win a big lawsuit because of the stupid way (no surprise of course) the NCAA handled the investigation and the stupid way the UW handled it.

2. Hedges is living on a fat retirement without accountability when she should have been fired and should be the center of all of this.

Of course, at least a court case gets out all that stuff a lot of people knew was going on but couldn't get to. I hope that THIS time around the UW can face its warts, clean up its act and finally put together an athletic department that is actually ethical.

The Tsunami

The tsunami that hit the coast of India, Pakistan, and numerous small islands is a devastating natural disaster. As are, I suppose, all natural disasters. But so many, many lives have been lost in this one, and the number is growing.

Reading about a mother choosing which son to let go of is almost too unbearable. Although he was found later alive and unharmed is secondary. For a parent to be put in that kind of position is frightening, reminding me that all of us who are parents and, therefore, protectors of innocence, are really no less vulnerable than the rest of the people on the planet.

I feel helpless. Prayer and donations to relief organizations, while the best choice, don't seem to be enough. A failure of my faith? Perhaps. I don't doubt that, given enough resources, people can be helped. But it doesn't not return the feeling of security that had been ripped away with 9/11 and has just tentatively started to rebuild.

I expect that the apocolyptic Christians will point to this as a sign of the end times. Maybe so. But one can argue that we have been in the "end times" since the ressurection and ascension of Jesus. Certainly the writers of the New Testament epistles felt that we shouldn't try to figure out when the end would be here, but instead be prepared daily. In the meantime, we cannot waste our time thinking about when the final battle might be fought, but instead look to take care of humanity now.

Which brings me back to what we can or cannot do for the survivors of the tsunami. I am too chicken to volunteer my time to go help, so the best I can do is pray for support for the brave souls who do go take care of anyone suffering.

If you're reading this, pray. Donate to whichever relief organization you feel comfortable with. I suggest starting with the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, or Lutheran World Relief. But there are so many giving relief, and none of them can do it alone.

And maybe some day I will get over my lazy protectiveness and go do something about it myself.

On being a liberal progressive, a Christian, and anti-war

So we have a president who is a Christian fundamentalist. Many of the people who work for him are Christians as well.

I am a liberal progressive. I am also a Christian.

Since when is going to war a Christian value?

The Christ I worship said in his final commandment to his apostles before he ascended, "Love one another." No qualifications, no limitations, no exceptions. In fact, he cautions his followers to treat everyone as if they would treat him, because they will never know when they are having an encounter with an angel.

Where does war fit into this picture?

Yes, of course, there is always war. People fight for power, and people get hurt.

But Christians are caretakers, not destroyers! And that includes every life.

How ridiculous it is that on one hand we have people who are zealously trying to protect the unborn, even unconceived, children, yet think nothing of taking people who are already here and sending them off to death.

Fight your war, if you want to. But don't you DARE call it a righteous war, or one that God condones.