Wildcat ignores deserving athletes

Editor:

I am writing you because I'm fed up with B.S. that is printed in your paper. I am a graduating fifth year student/athlete who has faithfully read the Wildcat, cover to cover, for the past five years, day in and day out. My complaint was evoked when I opened the March 20 issue and began reading cover to cover, as I have been doing the past five years. I got to the sports section and no other than Damon Stoudamire had a picture the size of Texas covering the front page. A picture of him wearing street clothes, watching yet another UA double overtime loss to ASU. The point being that as common as it is to see UA basketball and football players on the cover of the sports section, I continued to read on. I got to the sports shorts, where I read that Ashley Tappin was the first UA swimmer to become an individual PAC-10 champion and NCAA champion, since Christy Ahman-Leighton, a 1994 Olympian. Only a sentence or two giving her any sort of recognition. Please, this is an outrage, give credit where credit is due. She is the best collegiate swimmer in the 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle in the entire United States of America and she received a sentence for her efforts in your so-called newspaper. On the other hand, Damon gets a write-up and a huge picture for losing and getting suspended for so-called, not knowing about the purchase of an airline ticket. Please.

I've seen this time and time again, with such talents as Martin Keino, Chad Carvin, Seth Pepper and many others that have gone on to become Olympians. You give them little to no recognition for their achievements and I find that appalling. Everyday I see the trials and tribulations that all student/athletes got through, being around McKale Center, for the good portions of everyday for six to seven days a week. You have no idea who the real success stories are in this university and you definitely do not know who to praise and who not to for their achievements and failures. While you are at it, you might as well get a new writing staff for the sports section because they haven't a clue!

I realize that media and money are the sole demons behind this sort of favoritism. Without football and basketball, other non-revenue sports would simply be extinct. Sad but true. But there are still other sports out there and you best start realizing it. Give credit where credit is due!

Bryan "Stokes" Winters

Interior Design Senior

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