6B the university daily kansan
sports
tuesday, may 4,2004
PROFITS: Student-athletes should not profit from jersey sales
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The same goes for Langford. Heis playing college basketball in hopes of being selected in the NBA Draft and having more money in his bank account than most people could ever dream of. In a way, it's the same thing. But there are differences.
there are unlikeness. Keith comes from a strong family that has done a great job getting him to where he is today. However, his education is completely paid for, he receives stipends (aka spending money) and even gets a per diem allowance while on the road. And, oh yeah — he's also a celebrity. At a lot of places in town, the basketball players don't have to pay for their meals or drinks. Owners figure if they give them free stuff, the players will keep coming back, and in turn, their establishments will become places to be. Academically, if Keith's away from Lawrence, he never has to miss a beat in classes.
Tutors are always available and a lot of professors are willing to bend. He has it made.
My parents work their butts off so I can come to school. And when I fall behind in a class because I have to travel to a game, I don't have the benefit of academic assistance to cater to my every school-related need. Hence, my grades are not so hot this semester.
Aside from comparisons, there are the logistics of the argument.
are the logisticians There are two providers of Kansas basketball jerseys. Nike is the equipment provider for the team, and holds the same distinction for many of college basketball's top programs. Each year, Nike produces replica jerseys bearing the number of the team's top player or two, as well as team shorts. The jerseys have only the player's number, as Nike is not allowed to benefit financially from the player's name. This year, Kansas had three different jerseys produced
by Nike, featuring numbers 5,11 and 23. Say Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Wayne Simien — whose numbers are being represented — were to receive profits from those sales. What do you tell to guys such as J.R. Giddens, David Padgett, Michael Lee or Jeff Graves, whose contributions to the team this season held just as much importance? Even worse, what do you tell the football players? Nike produces only one jersey every season per football team it supplies for in replica form. This year, Bill Whittemore would have been the only guy to receive a cut of the profits.
the proxies.
Jerseys sold in the concourse at men's basketball games and on www.kusore.com with players' names are profiting only the athletic department, as it is the only entity allowed to profit from the players' names. Those jerseys bear the same design as Nikes, but without the "swoosh" logo. The separate production allows
the making of jerseys of every member of the basketball team, but that income is used to fund athletic department things such as scholarships and, perhaps, Jayhawk cheese.
Giving college athletes cuts of jersey sales would strip college athletics of its purity. The greatest part of college sports is that while it is a business, the money does not run through the athletes' hands. It's what makes college athletics better than the pros. Instead of worrying about cars, cribs and signing bonuses, the majority of college athletes compete for love of the game. If college basketball and football players were all of a sudden able to get money from jersey sales, it would begin a snowball effect that would eventually sink college athletics to the mediocre and shallow level of the money-minded, pompous pros.
Greene is a Vernon Hills, Ill., senior in journalism.
ITSU: Dedicated members continue to train outside of class
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The smaller, weaker competitor could win because the sport uses submission ground fighting
"In this sport, size doesn't matter," said Robert Riley, Lawrence junior and club member.
Club sessions, which occur four times a week in the Student Recreation Fitness Center, begin with intense warm-up and conditioning involving somersaults, crawling on the floor and push-ups. After members have started to sweat, Durnil teaches new techniques to improve their fighting. There is always something new to learn.
"You're never going to know everything," Durnil said.
For the last part of the club meetings, the members spar. They use everything they have learned to take their opponents down.
Because Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu primarily uses ground fighting, sparring matches begin with the opponents kneeling face-to-face. The competitors stare each other in the eye, their faces intense and grimacing. The club members use
arm locks, hyper extending the elbow or twisting the shoulder and chokes, which cut off blood supply to the brain, to defeat their opponents. A competitor wins when the opponent submits using the tap-out rule.
McClure said Brazilian Jiu-
Jitsu consumed him in his every-
day life.
"In class, you're visualizing moves," he said. "You're thinking about how you want to tear someone up."
Though the Brazilian Ju-jitsu is an intense and brutal fighting discipline, members don't walk out of the martial arts room at the fitness center with black eyes or dislocated shoulders.
dislocated shoulder.
The club practices two nights wearing gis, traditional clothing worn in martial arts, and the other two nights in street clothes. Fighting in street clothes helps to simulate a real fight, because in a street fight a fighter will grab onto anything to take down the opponent.
"I like to take licks, and I like to take hits," Riley said.
Members have no false bravado or machismo, and they
check their attitudes at the door. McClure said.
The club, which costs $40 a semester to join, often attracts female onlookers, who peer through the glass to get a look at the action below.
"I think they get disgusted and walk away," McClure said.
Though the club is male-dominated, Durnil said he encouraged females to check it out.
Club member Elizabeth Ault, Topeka sophomore, has been a member of the club since last semester. She said she came to fight because it was the best stress reliever she had ever found.
"I hope they won't dumb it down because I'm a girl," Ault said.
But she doesn't need to worry about the men in the club letting her off easily — she fights as intensely as any of the male members.
McClure said. The club now has about 15 members, but last semester as many as 35 came to practices.
"We never, ever let her win," McClure said.
myas 35 came to protest
the club recently joined the
Gracie Barra Association, an internationally recognized and respected academy for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As part of the academy, members of the University's club can learn from black-belt fighters and move through the ranks.
Professional fighters come to the club to teach new techniques and to promote members to higher belts. Higher ranked belts allow members to judge their progress in the club.
progress is in the making.
"It's a higher standard than rolling around in a garage," Durnil said.
Club members consider themselves athletes. When they aren't practicing in the martial arts room at the fitness center, members are also dedicated to cross-training in other martial arts techniques, wrestling, weight training and cardiovascular training.
But it's not about athletic prowess, Durmil said, it's about dedication.
"If you want to fight, come here," McClure said.
- Edited by Louise Stauffer
GOLF: Team approach is crucial
competing, with one additional person competing individually. This one player's individual score cannot count toward KU's team total. Out of the "starting lineup," the best four scores are taken each round, with the highest score dropped.
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This relates the common thought that the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back. The front of the jersey represents your team, while the back of the jersey represents the individual player.
"With the team aspect, I may play towards the fat of the greens and make my pars," junior Kevin Ward said. "When you play as an individual, the only person you can hurt is yourself, so I may play a little more aggressive then."
When Hall and Ward talk about playing golf aggressively, they are referring to many parts of their games. This could mean hitting driver off the tee, as opposed to the safer 2 or 3-iron, for instance. Players will also take
direct aim at a pin on their approach shot to the green when playing aggressively.
playing aggressively. Team preparation is crucial for the Jayhawks before each tournament. Success in the game of golf coincides with a player's mental approach, which ultimately generates confidence off the tee box and on the greens.
"A lot of the team preparation comes at the practice round," freshman Tyler Docking said. "We'll hit a couple of shots off the tee to get the right feel. We look for confidence that way and say, 'Yeah, you can hit that shot.'"
The No. 24 KU men's golf team has put its name on the map this year, winning two tournaments and finishing runner-up in two more. These accomplishments have come from the 12 men who play for the University of Kansas. They have succeeded this year as a team.
KU golf resumes action May 20 to 22 at Purdue University at the NCAA Central Regionals Tournament.
Edited by Collin LaJoie
MOULAYE:Recruiting continues
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"Even though we hoped this would happen, I wanted to give Moulaye ample time to sort through this decision," Self said.
Kansas now has two available scholarships this off-season.
Basketball notebook
Basketball notebook
■ Hairston Update — Malik Hairston, the top recruit on Kansas' radar, has now indicated that he will most likely have his decision made by the end of the week. Hairston, from Detroit's Renaissance High School, made one final visit to Michigan on Sunday and his final decision will be between Kansas, Michigan and UCLA. Michigan's edge is that it is close to home, and four players from his high school have gone there in the past three years.
The 6-foot-2 swingman is one of the top-two high school seniors still left to make decisions for next season, along with Randolph Morris from Atlanta.
Visits - Kansas has scheduled
three recruiting visits as coach Self begins to look forward to next year's class. Three recruits will be in town for visits the weekend of May 14. In town will be Micah Downs, a 6-foot-8 shooting guard from Bothell, Wash., Terrence Williams, a 6-foot-7 combo guard from Seattle, and Mario Chalmers, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Anchorage, Alaska.
guard from Anchorage.
Williams is from the same high school, Ranier Beach, as C.J. Giles, who Kansas is currently in pursuit of for next season.
Chalmers is ranked right now as the No.25 recruit from next year's class, and his dad said he was very pleased with coach Self's visit to Anchorage. Chalmers list of three schools right now includes Wake Forest, Arizona and Kansas.
Even Further Down The Road — Kansas has also started to hint at some recruits for the class of 2006. One who Kansas really likes is Jon Scheyer, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Ill.
—Edited by Kevin Flaherty