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KANSAN.COM
SPORTS
3B
CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP
Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart (2) looks for a receiver under pressure from South Dakota State defensive back Je Ryan Butler (22) during the second half of game on Saturday, South Dakota State won 41-38.
Brew: Should KU attempt to shield athletes from criticism?
MATT HOFFMANN
@MattHoffmannUDK
None of the fortune and all of criticism — that's the dilemma of modern collegiate athlete. While professional athletes are paid, which has to make condemnation easier to swallow, collegiate athletes on national TV can be criticized just as freely as their professional counterparts.
The prevalence of social media has brought fans closer to athletes than ever before. Fans often interact with players and coaches with encouragement and excitement, along with disdain.
Some colleges have taken steps to minimize athletes' exposure to the disdain, even going so far as to tweet out messages, such as this one from Arizona State.
Follow
Sun Devil Athletics
We know Sun Devils are passionate. Please refrain from
tweeting criticism at student-athletes and send them our way
instead:
10:02 PM - 5 Sep 2015
662 ☆ 775
But does it work? Can the athletic department really shield student athletes from harsh comments, or do tweets like Arizona State's just make the situation worse?
Simply looking at the responses to Arizona State's tweet, the "passion" of NCAA fans is evident.
Sun Devil Athletics 5 Sep
@TheSunDevils
We know Sun Devils are passionate. Please refrain from tweeting criticism at student-athletes and send them our way instead.
DrinkHard Racing
© DoomHardRacing
@TheSunDevilla Novelles play calling SUCKED
10:03 PM - 5 Sep 2015 - Chandler, AZ, United States
@TheSunDevils over rated GARBAGE. Say goodbye to top 25 for the rest of the year
10:12 PM - 5 Sep 2015
Taco President
@Taco, President
The responses to the program's official Twitter account got me thinking: If fans will tweet disparaging messages to the team, what would they say to the players?
Over the weekend, Kansas football lost 41-38 to South Dakota State, a team it was favored to beat by two and a half points. It's not just the loss that stung Jayhawk fans, it was the way in which the team lost: fumbling the snap in an attempt to spike the ball which ran the clock out, negating any chance to tie the game with a field goal.
For a football program that has seen its share of hardships the last few seasons, I couldn't imagine the reaction was all that positive on social media, and I was curious how far some fans would go in directly criticizing the collegiate players, all of whom are unpaid.
A search of junior quarterback Montell Cozart's handle brought up a plethora of tweets. Many praised the way he handled the media following his blunder in the final moments. Some told him to "keep his head up." And then there were these responses:
It's easy to see why athletic programs across the country would want to shield athletes from criticism. Both Arizona State and Kansas football are heavily invested in keeping team morale up, and it's interesting that the Sun Devils would have to publicly ask for fans not to criticize athletes.
This open disdain toward 18 to 22 year olds certainly doesn't reflect well on fan bases across the nation, and colleges' attempts to change this behavior may just be making it worse.
Edited by Dani Malakoff
KU volleyball nears record win streak after a sweep
AMIE JUST
@amie_just
Tiana Dockery came through on her approach. The words "Match KU" rang out over the PA system. Kansas had just won its sixth straight match and twelfth straight set.
The current six-straight match 'streak' is tied for seventh best in Kansas volleyball history. In the 1998 and 2011 teams also started out the season with six wins in a row. The longest win streak to start a season is nine in a row.
Two teams, both coach Ray Bechard's teams, from 2000 and 2001 started out the season with nine straight wins before suffering their first loss.
"The goal is to come out and play our best every game," junior libero and Kansas Invitational MVP Cassie Wait said on Saturday. "We talk about how controlling our side of the court is such a big part of the game. When we do that, we give ourselves the best opportunity to come out and win like we did this weekend. It's pretty awesome."
Are they going to lose at all this season? In the words of Wait: "Hopefully not."
In Kansas' first match of the Kansas Invitational, the jayhawks handsely defeated the Western Illinois Leathernecks in three sets (25-14, 25-16, 25-6).
Sophomore right side hitter Kelsie Payne, and eventual member of the All-Kansas Invitational Tournament Team, hammered out 14 kills to lead both teams. Sophomore setter Anise Havili registered 34 assists, three kills and seven digs. Wait sprawled all over the court for 14 digs.
["Her performance] was awesome" senior outside hitter Ashlyn Driskill said after the match "She's brought so much energy to the team."
Payne's energy continued over into Kansas' second match of the day. The Jayhawks faced off against the
Duke Blue Devils, the only team Kansas had faced that received votes in the AVCA poll, collegiate volleyball's version of the AP Top 25.
Despite Duke being Kansas' most talented opponent, the Jayhawks handled the Blue Devils in three sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-23).
The third set proved to be the most difficult for Kansas, as it couldn't seem to put Duke away.
"The third set was a bit of a struggle, but we found a way to get some things going late against a good team," Bechard said. "I really liked the offensive balance. The kids game planned extremely well."
During the Duke match, Payne recorded 10 kills, the top mark of anyone on either team. Havili totaled 36 assists and Wait tallied 14 digs.
And after a day of rest, Kansas had one more opponent on its radar: UMKC.
Payne continued her dominance, adding 13 kills to the Kansas offensive unit, as the team won in three sets (25-17, 25-23, 25-16). The UMKC match was the first game of the tournament where Payne didn't lead in kills, but it wasn't by much; Dockery edged Payne out with 14 kills.
Havili notched her 16th career double-double against the Roos. She recorded 44 assists and 11 digs in the win. Next up for Kansas is the Pistol Pete Showdown in Laramie, Wyo., which will take place on Sept. 11 and 12. And it's not going to be a cakewalk.
In last week's AVCA poll, both Marquette (5-1) and Wyoming (3-2) received votes. However, Kansas' third opponent in the event, Northern Colorado, has a 2-3 record.
Edited by Emma LeGault
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