COLUMN: Case must be seen in context

From Mik Silver's, "Master of My Domain," Fall '98 From Mik Silver's, "Master of My Domain," Fall '98When put in the frame of college athletics, the Marrow incident does not appear so atypical. From Mik Silver's, "Master of My Domain," Fall '98When put in the frame of college athletics, the Marrow incident does not appear so atypical.Whether one read about it in The Philadelphia Inquirer or heard about it on ESPN's Sportscenter, there is no doubt that the controversy surrounding senior football star Mitch Marrow's academic ineligibility last semester has caused quite a stir on campus. The unfortunate incident has resulted in the forfeiture of five of our football team's six victories and sparked debate about the relationship of academics and athletics at Penn. In our analysis, we must be careful not to focus on narrow aspects of this scandal -- such as claims of anti-Semitism and devious press leaks. Rather we must place this situation in the larger context of bigtime college athletic trends and scandals. Every year, across the nation, countless players are declared academically ineligible by their universities. Even athletic powerhouses with equally strong academic reputations, like Cal-Berkeley and Michigan, have not been immune to scandal; coaches resigned in the last two years at both schools because of recruiting violations. The question seems to be "How far will some schools go to win at all costs?" Two years ago, Long Island University offered a basketball scholarship to convicted rapist Richie Parker, who proceeded to lead them to an NCAA tournament appearance. And football coach Tom Osborne of Nebraska allowed running back Lawrence Phillips -- at the time under indictment for brutally throwing a former girlfriend down a flight of stairs -- to be reinstated for the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, conveniently just in time to help his team win a second consecutive national championship. Seemingly impervious to these distressing trends nationwide, Penn has been running a successful and clean athletic program for years. And in this one transgression, the University did the right thing by voluntarily forfeiting the games in which Marrow inappropriately participated in -- though the results of the investigative committee, which labeled the actions of the Athletic Department as "inadvertent" and placed most of the blame on Marrow himself, may be questionable. We should evaluate our balance of academics and athletics -- and if need be make reforms to the academic support system for our University's varsity athletes. But before we call for the firing of every athletic and administrative official and lament the downfall of the sanctity of college athletics, we must remember Penn's previously clean record, which refutes the notion that a pattern of impropriety exists. And more importantly, in the modern day context of college sports -- where felons and rapists lead their teams to titles and top-20 U.S. News institutions can't escape NCAA sanctions -- does this scandal really seem that terrible? Additionally, our University is held to a higher standard than athletic powerhouses like Penn State or UCLA. This is clearly due to our elite status within the Ivy League, the only Division I conference that refuses to kowtow to the popular trend of bestowing scholarships upon its athletes. Since its inception, the league has struggled to reconcile academic integrity with athletic success. The media loves scandals that involve this conflict. So should we really be surprised if reporters lick their chops and revel in our follies? Frankly, with regards to athletic success, our University's reputation is vulnerable. An August 31, 1995 Sports Illustrated article detailing Penn's Ivy League domination was rife with subtle charges by fellow schools that Penn had taken advantage of loopholes and relaxed their admissions standards. Since Penn had made two NCAA basketball appearances and enjoyed a 24-game football winning streak between the years 1993 and 1995, they concluded we obviously had to have been cheating. How else could we have been so dominant? While those unfounded allegations in SI were likely motivated by jealousy of our success at the time, situations like the one involving Mitch Marrow can only legitimize such charges of impropriety. But we should have more pride in our University than to bow to attacks by other schools who resent our success. So before we mourn the death of our school's academic integrity, let's take a step back, place this whole situation the proper context. By doing so, we can set a better precedent for dealing with any future scandals that threaten to sully our University's fine tradition of academic and athletic excellence.