Oklahoma women's basketball Courtney Paris says she'll return her scholarship money if the Sooners fail to win the national championship. Do you think she should? And should other athletes do the same?
I respect her passion and her willingness to put a stake in the ground, but she, like many other student-athletes, needs to be protected from making foolish mistakes - like offering to pay back her scholarship if the team doesn't win the national title. There are lots of games to be won between now and then, and any loss would not mean she didn't give it her all. The University should quickly come out in public and commend her on her offer but politely turn it down.
#1 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 4:08 PM EDT#1, I couldn't have said it better. When she made the promise she was letting her heart take over. If basketball were played one-on-one, it might be different, but they will live or die as a team and no one person can take all the credit or blame whichever way it turns out. I wish out politicians and business leaders would even come close to the level of accountability Courtney tried to show.
#2 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 4:15 PM EDTNice gesture, but the univerisity should not accept it. Seems to me that it can be construed as a form of gambling on an NCAA game/tournament. She should find some other words of encouragement to motivate her team that will not have such a large personal risk involved.
#3 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 4:23 PM EDTI was thinking along the same lines, the only difference being that the rest of the team needs to feel the same way she does, after all, she does not play the game by herself!
Squiggy, I couldn't have said it better. She was speaking with her heart....if basketball were a on-on-one game, maybe things would be different -- OU will live or die as a team, and no one person can accept all the credit or be assigned all the blame no matter which way it turns out. If only our politicians and business leaders would show have the accountability that Courney tried to show.
#4 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 4:23 PM EDTI too respect her passion, etc. However, being 'protected from making foolish mistakes' is contrary to real life. If you are going to run your mouth, be prepared to back it up. This is a basic tenet of life. Who is going to 'protect' her when she gets a job in the real world? If I make that kind of statement in my job, I am expected to follow through. We need to quit 'protecting' the student athletes, allow them the discomfort of making the mistake (or the public comment, as it were), being forced to step up and take ownership of said mistake, learn from said mistake, and walk away a better person for having owned up to the responsibility.
Point being, if she is adult enough to make the brash comment so publicly, then by all means, if she thinks she can single handedly manage to pull off the win, then she should be forced to pay back the money. It's time to get back to "your word is your bond".
#5 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 4:25 PM EDTMs. Paris neds a dose of humilty shoved up her ass. It's colege dear. You're a student. Play B'ball, GO TO CLASS, and shut up.
Gino T., you and the Lady Huskies shoudl kick OU's ass.
#6 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 4:37 PM EDTI love how you tell her to GO TO CLASS and your post is littered with misspellings. She simply took the mic and told the crowd what a wonderful experience she had at the university. She promised the crowd that if they didn't win a title, she would repay her scholarship no matter how long it took. There is nothing to be upset about. She is a wonderful girl and will go down as one of the greatest women's college basketball players of all time. She has a double-double record that will never be broken. She's been a model student and person in her 4 years at Oklahoma. You should have something shoved up your ass for being ignorant.
Apparently, Robert is another fine product of the Maryland Public School system (excepting parts of Montgomery and Howard Counties).
Her dad is a former pro football player; they probably don't need the money. With that said, I still don't think it would be legal to take the money back from her even if she offered it. Unfortunately (because I can't stand UConn), I don't think they can beat the Huskies if they made it to the end. I would LOVE it, but I don't think it will happen.
#7 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 4:42 PM EDTAwesome!!! Go girl !
Hopefully, it is refused, but the gesture is great!!
#8 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 5:00 PM EDTI don't think she made a foolish statement, nor do I think she was being "brash." My daughter played in the AAU Nationals last summer, which were held in Norman, and Paris spoke at the opening ceremony. I can tell you now, that young lady is anything but brash. She sounds like she loves the university enough to want to bring a title to them so badly that she'll feel like a failure if she doesn't do so. I do agree that OU should politely turn her down - especially since she's done plenty for the school in the way of recognition - which will only help in recruiting. Even being a lifelong Jayhawk, I have nothing but respect for Courtney Paris and I hope they do win it all.
#9 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 5:09 PM EDTOU's president, David Boren, will surely decline her offer. Courtney had a great 4 years at Oklahoma. She paid for her education by providing many, many memorable moments.
#10 - Mon Mar 9, 2009 10:34 PM EDTShe is stupid considering there's an undefeated uconn team who theyll have to get past eventually. what a ridiculous claim!
#11 - Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:25 PM EDTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
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I agree with what Squiggy said!