Mike Lafferty, the opinions editor of the Orlando Sentinel and a UCF alumnus, has
accused the Rattler Nation blog of “committing a logical disconnect” by
comparing the death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion to the death of
UCF football player Ereck Plancher.
“John Hitt was not warned repeatedly that UCF’s workouts
were putting students at risk,” Lafferty wrote. “Ammons, on the other hand, was
made aware time and again of the FAMU band’s culture of hazing, yet he failed
to address it. At least, not enough to save Robert Champion.”
Lafferty, once again, failed to address one of the most important
points that Rattler Nation made in its Wed., May 16 editorial. This blog wrote that “Plancher died while
under the supervision of an athletics program that has had many years of
scandals that show a lack of administrative control.”
UCF’s athletic program was out-of-control before Plancher’s
death in 2008 and Hitt should have stepped in make sure that it was being
operated properly.
Hitt trusted Athletic Director Keith Tribble, whom he hired
in 2006, to address the problems that resulted in the NCAA probation and Plancher’s death in 2008.
Last year, Hitt fired Tribble after another NCAA scandal.
The Orlando Sentinel’s editorial board wrote the following
on Nov. 13, 2011 (six days before Champion’s death): “Tribble stands accused of
getting mixed up with an ex-felon in improper efforts to steer top recruits to
UCF's football and basketball teams, and lying about it to investigators.” It
added that “UCF aspires to be among the nation's prestigious academic
institutions, and has made strides toward that goal. But what kind of culture
would lead its top athletic official to so brazenly flout the rules?”
The UCF athletic program and Marching 100 both had rule-violating
cultures that weren’t successfully addressed by senior administrators before
student deaths happened. Hitt was wrong to trust Tribble for five years and
Ammons was wrong to trust ex-band director Julian White for four years.
But the Orlando Sentinel editorial board still wants Hitt to
have a second chance.
“We’ve not always been crazy about John Hitt’s handling of
the Plancher death and have said so in editorials,” Lafferty said. “But what’s
happened at FAMU under Ammons’ watch is a much different critter.”
The loss of the Plancher family was every bit as severe as
the loss of the Champion family. A civil jury found UCF negligent and ordered
the university’s athletic association to pay $10M.
UCF wouldn’t have a $10M negligence ruling hanging over its head if the university president
had done everything he should have to run the athletics program correctly. The
Orlando Sentinel editorial board is wrong for its different treatment of
Hitt and Ammons.