Out of Bounds | Injuries should not destroy team's season

There is nothing more devastating to an athlete than missing a season due to an injury. It's a terrible experience, especially after having worked so hard in the off-season and then having the opportunity to play taken away from you. However, this experience can be even worse when another person's injury causes the end of your season. Although rare, this can happen, primarily in tandem sports. Last week, however, it happened for an entire basketball team.

After injuries reduced their basketball roster to just six team members, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, an all women's school competing in NCAA Division III athletics, took the unprecedented step of canceling the remainder of the team's 2009-2010 season. To make matters worse, the cancellation came after the first game of the season, a 73-19 loss to Goucher College. The result is that what would have been a 24-game season has now been halted at 0-1, and whatever hopes these girls had of turning around their first game's misfortune have been dashed by the College's Athletic Department and administrators.

In an official statement on the basketball team's website, the Director of Athletics Michael Spinner stated that "[injuries had] depleted [the roster] to the point where continuing the season would put the health and safety of our student-athletes at risk." It's an interesting statement seeing as the school had allowed their student-athletes to compete against Goucher and then suddenly did a double take. Moreover, the statement pledged that basketball would return for a full season in 2010-2011, despite the subsequent resignation of the head coach.

To this end, Notre Dame announced that Kristen Russell, the soccer team's head coach, would be named the interim head basketball coach, as the team tries to reorganize and recruit for next year. Although such a move is potentially great for the future of the program, it seems like little thought was given to those who had currently fallen through the cracks.

Through all of this, two seniors have lost their final seasons, and several upperclassmen—who worked their tails off during last year's season in preparation—will now also lose their only chance to play this year. And just to pour salt on an open wound, the administration responsible for the cancellation then stated that this was all done for the health and safety of the athletes involved.

As unfortunate as they might be, injuries are part of physical activity, and student-athletes who sign up to compete in any sort of athletic competition know full well what dangers are associated with them. For Notre Dame to suddenly claim that injuries are a greater possibility because there are fewer athletes is nonsense. After all, last season no one came down from the administration to rule that all players would share equal playing time so as to limit the injury risks of the team.
Similarly, nobody disagreed with the fact that just five players played all
25 games last season, thus putting the central players at much greater risk for injury due to the excess strain on their bodies. This season's decision on behalf of the Athletic Department is bogus because if citing medical issues was the true concern, then why did some players play so much more last season and inherently put their bodies at a greater risk for injury?

This sudden decision, suspiciously following Notre Dame's worst loss in years, makes no sense under the given explanation. After all, the team as it stands now has enough players to compete and register for competition, and the school owes it not only to the active players, but also to the injured ones for the season to go on as planned. Continuing the season is the only way that the Athletic Department can give the injured players an opportunity to return and play once again.

To make arbitrary and unsubstantiated decisions, with ramifications as serious as these, is wrong. If the administration turns its back on a team, like Notre Dame's did, an ugly situation arises. Luckily, this has never been the case at Vassar. Although some of the Vassar Athletic Department's cuts may not be in everyone's best interest, we should at least respect the way it has stood by its teams throughout difficult seasons and trying times.

The impact that these decisions have on the players—the message it sends to them—is so overwhelmingly negative. In essence, it becomes a statement that when times are tough and the odds are against them, it's better to find a reason to quit then to persevere regardless. It also shows that the administration—those who are meant to fight for the student-athletes and stick by them—are more willing to let them sit out entirely than be there to support them. These girls gave their all when they wore "Notre Dame" across their chests, injured or not; for the school to come and snatch that shirt right off their backs after just one game is both wrong and completely contrary to the very ideals that the Athletics Department tries to instill in its student-athletes.

—Nik Trkulja '11 is editorializing on social issues surrounding sports outside of the Vassar athletics realm.