The NYU Sports and Society Program, part of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, hosted its inaugural event yesterday evening Nov. 18 at Rosenthal Pavilion in the Kimmel Center for University Life.
The event, titled Integrity of the Game: Ethics and Today’s Athlete, featured panelists who hailed from a variety of fields — sports management to journalism and professional sports. Among the 13 panelists were former New York Giants linebacker Harry Carson, radio talk show host Mike Francesa, executive vice president of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. and U.S. Appellate Court Justice Robert David Sack.
The discussion was free-wheeling, with moderator Arthur R. Miller selecting situational vignettes out of a bowl to spark the conversation.
In the first vignette, panelists put themselves in the shoes of a father whose son is undersized. The hypothetical son wanted to play baseball, but would not likely be able to compete with boys who were the same age, and the panelists were faced with the question of whether the boy should sign up for his age group or a younger division.
Steve Greenberg, managing director of Allen & Company, said he would not put his son in the lower division.
“Rules matter,” Greenberg said.
Panelists went on to discuss questions facing the sports world — the role of parents in youth sports. Francesa disapproved of youth sports culture.
“Parents are the problem,” Francesa said.
He said parents are observing and supporting less and are “becoming agents” to their children, constantly trying to push them to the next level.
“Kids can’t be kids anymore,” Francesa said.
The panelists also discussed ethics of athletic eligibility, paying college players, allowing athletes to forego a college education to seek financial gain.
Fred Wilpon, former chairman of the board of the New York Mets stated that the biggest failure is how universities treat their athletes.
“My problem is we’re not educating many of these people to go on with their lives,” Wilpon said.
SCPS dean Dennis Di Lorenzo was pleased with the event, particularly the intelligent conversation the panelists presented.
“This is just the beginning,” Di Lorenzo said. “This kind of deep discussion is great. It goes in depth into the issues that this program is all about.”
A version of this article appeared on the Nov. 19 print edition. Sean Billings is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
ceraunograph • Nov 19, 2013 at 11:07 am
Seriously? They let Fred Wilpon discuss ethics and integrity? The same Fred Wilpon who has destroyed a proud baseball franchise and relies exclusively on favorable bank terms, real estate swindles and rampant cronyism from the commissioner just to keep his claws on the Mets? Fred Wilpon? He is a complete and utter failure.