Just this past weekend, Ball State men's hoops coach Ronny Thompson & his coworkers got not only the shock of their lives, but something no one should ever have to deal with: letters with racist & demeaning comments.
And yet this issue is not solely about racism. It is also about humanity & dignity & how the person/persons responsible for these letters thought that it would be awesome to take both of these things away from Ronny & his staff. As anyone would agree, there is no formal place for racism at all on campus & to think that it does belong at Ball State only provokes further prejudices, misgivings & fears toward the university community. But for what reasons?
Obviously the language which these cowards used to get their point across is inexcusable & unacceptable; to be painfully honest, it's not very adult. If they were at least willing to be open about their beef toward Ronny & his colleagues, they could have said it to their faces personally. Then again, these same individuals are lacking decency & respect by venting their views with racist slurs.
Whether it's in the classroom or in the field of sports, such behavior is totally untoward. Yes, Ronny & his team had a lousy season, filled with underachievement & other whatnot. Yes, they've got NCAA violations to deal with. Does this mean that the Ball State men's basketball program has to face the indignity of one/a few hateful uneducated minds? No.
Ronny, his staff & his team deserve the common courtesy which is expected from all of us day in, day out. And they surely deserve than a faceless tongue-lashing from a source who chooses to tuck his tail in between his legs & stay anonymous. They deserve a work environment which is safe, free from panic & unwarranted fear. What purpose these letters from source unknown are serving is beyond me but what I do know is that they are only creating more fear & distrust toward the Ball State community, two things which we do not tolerate along with racism itself. We all deserve so much more than this.
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