If you haven't read the “This has gone TOO FAR - D2 School suspends top athletes for.... Practicing????” post (found here:
https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=10442096&page=2
). I really think you should, and come back to read my take on this situation.
To preface, I am a long retired collegiate runner who often spends his Friday nights like the rest of you degenerately reading letsrun up and down. I am not an active member of Saginaw the team nor am I an alumni. However, I ran in the late 2000s in high school with some eventual Saginaw Valley Cardinals. I have reached out to some of the alumni I know, and they are all steaming from the situation. This continues to reflect the disrespect they all faced while at the university, one that is leaving them full of discontent with their alma mater. We all know in this community how disrespected distance running is in the athletic community. Running continually takes a back-seat to new football locker rooms or school budget cuts. Athletic directors and the administrative big-wigs never even give us a second look. And this is another blatant example.
I believe those at the top deserve to hear from the community of runners who stand with those athletes who are being refused due-process. The athletes who set-records and bring great attention to the university. We all know the pride we put into the thousands and thousands of miles just to have the opportunity to compete a few times. Because of this, I decided to do some digging and have found the emails of those in the admin and the head-coach:
President, Don Bachand:
AD, John Decker:
Head Coach, Rod Cowan:
Deputy Athletic Director, Angela Pohl:
And I have sent the following email - Please feel free to copy and send yourself --
TO:
;
;
;
To whom it may concern,
I hope this email reaches you well.
I came across a recent incident with your Cross Country/Track and Field program on letsrun.com, a website that provides the larger Cross Country/ Track and Field community with a place to share news about their sport. I believe the treatment of these student-athletes was unfounded and cruel.
These athletes were denied due process and not given an appropriate place to practice their sport. Administration forced them to run inside yet provided them little to no avenues to practice their sport. They were punished on rules made up on the spot and given no warning. This situation was novel to both sides and could have been handled without getting the president of the university involved and handing out draconian punishments without warning. This shows the lack of respect administrators show Cross Country/Track and Field programs all around the country, as their programs are cut without warning and their budgets are slashed. It is disheartening to see, as our wonderful sport is the best example of diversity at work. Student-athletes from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, and body types have a place for them to pursue excellence. Administrations around the country refuse to accept this.
While no student-athlete is above the law, the actions of this University show once again this lack of respect. Those who were punished has just set national marks and an 12th best all time performance in the 5000m, bringing great honor and esteem to the University. Any University would love to have this positive press. However, by punishing these student-athletes without warning and due process shows a complete ignorance of these achievements and yet another example of general incompetence by this university, as numerous NCAA infractions committed by your University have been brought to our attention.
I am writing this email as a concerned member of the Cross Country/Track and Field community. This wonderful sport gives young men and women of all backgrounds the opportunity to pursue their best and the behavior of administrations like yours shows a complete lack of respect for this. I hope you reconsider your actions.
-- A concerned member of the running community
I encourage all of you to take similar action to defend these athletes from having their rights stripped and conference meet taken away.