Welcome to Rye Country Day's Economic Blog. Here you will find perspectives by students taking Economics at Rye Country Day School. It is meant to be a forum where students can openly express their ideas and take positions on relevant economic issues. I urge everyone to participate in presenting their own ideas in an open manner so that we can all learn from each other. Regardless of whether you are currently taking Economics, everyone is invited and encouraged to comment on articles and get involved. Feel free to e-mail me, Alex Osborne at alexander_osborne@rcds.rye.ny.us , with comments or suggestions.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Featured Entry - Melé in Miami



I can agree with the belief that emotions and ethics should not get in the way of economic thinking. What I cannot agree with is that the lure of financial gain should not get in the way of moral judgment. After the brawl that took place between Florida International University and Miami University's football teams just over three weeks ago, punishments were not appropriately handed-down. The images of brutality and thug-like behavior on the field should have been enough for Miami's President to harshly punish the team for such conduct. The President should have made a statement and layed down harsh punishments to set a precedent and discourage similar behavior in the future. So why didn't she? Miami has not missed a bowl game in over twenty years. Her thinking was that she was not about to let that streak end now. The lure of that paycheck from sponsers of the bowl game was too much too tempting. Miami depends on that income from bowl games to help its program. Now suspending key players for more than a game would jeopradize their overall record and likely keep them from a good final record and therein bowl eligibility. She missed out on a big opportunity. Those players have not learned a thing from this incident, excuse me, one thing: athletes can get away with anything. Behavior like that can be expected now in future years because no example was set. One losing season back in 2006 then will not seem as bad alternative as what the future holds for Miami's football program.

- T. A. Canning

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was probably one of the most brutal fights in football ever. Miami players will stomping on players and acting like delinquents. Suspending players for more than a game and missing a bowl game would greatly effect funding for the University of Miama. But as Alex said there as no lesson learned. If the university of Miami wants to turn around their football team they should have made an example out of their players. THe question on the bowl game is that yes schools make alot of their funding from it, but many private doners are probably turned off from contributing from the fight. Who wants to give money and support a program that lets players act like "thugs". So I personally think college football should have made an example out of Miami and suspended players more than a game. Short term Miami is benefiting, but ignoring this savage act of the team will only hurt the team in the long run

Unknown said...

That fight was definitely one of the fine examples of preferential treatment for athletes. I learned that “there are no ethics in economics,” but this is the type of situation where good ethics now can result in better economics later. Like Canning explained, the players will not learn from this situation, and likely the organization behind the team will be viewed as being soft for not carrying out a punishment (especially for a situation so deserving of one). If this type of brawl goes unheeded, then what’s to say that when high school athletes with bad attitudes are looking at colleges, they won’t look at Miami as a place where they can get away with anything? For the most part, the NFL has it right, as it always does its best to preserve the sanctity of the game by placing suspensions on players (ex. Albert Haynesworth stepping on an opponent’s face, Shawne Merrimen taking steroids, one of many Cincinnati Bengals committing a felony). I’m pretty sure that the NFL is racking in some serious dough too. So the front office people at Miami may have thought that bad ethics would save the present time with their actions (which, to their credit, at least worked, as Miami played in and won the MPC Computers Bowl), but the future of the program is at stake, as Miami is likely on a now slippery slope downward to the point where the sponsors they were trying to keep will leave because they don’t want to represent such a scandalous organization.