Search Results for: art challenge

Weekend Reprieve

Today, I’m hopping off the Fast Draft Express and heading up to UCLA for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. So many panels, activities, and authors to choose from – I’ll be in writer heaven! I snagged tickets for two sessions about writing memoir, plus a panel discussion called “Nonfiction: Humor and Attitude.” Much of the time, however, I’ve left open for open-stage readings and booth browsing.

 

Snark alert: I’m not the slightest bit interested in seeing Mitch Album interview Phil McGraw. Not that I’m enamored of Dr. I’ve-Had-My-Fill anyway, but surely I’m not the only one who took umbrage at this program note: Dr. Phil McGraw will only sign hard cover books following this session. When I read that, I rolled my eyes so hard I probably altered the Earth’s position on its axis.

 

Next posts, I’ll talk about the Festival, toot my horn about my Fast Draft progress, and try to find something positive to say about my purple bracelet experiment. 

Oh! And one last thing: Anyone want to join me in a Summer Shape-up challenge in May? The overall goal would be to whip our Works In Progress into submission-ready shape.

Site Meter

Act now! Quantities limited!

Last April, I blogged about the panel discussions I attended at the L.A. Times Festival of books. I liked a couple of sessions so much that I bought the DVD recordings. One that might be interesting to some of you is “Young Adult Fiction: Rites of Initiation.” I also have a very entertaining recording of Mitch Albom interviewing Frank McCourt. I’m happy to mail either one to you if you will, in turn, pass it on when you’re finished and/or make copies for other people who might also want to see them. First come, first served; I only have one copy of each.

(In cleaning up my office, I’m discovering all sorts of junk buried treasures! I seriously need to rent a dumpster hold a garage sale.) 

UPDATE: [info]artistq is the lucky first-round winner. She’s agreed, however, to pass them along to you when she’s finished. Interested? Send her an email at the address she’s provided in the comments.


Left to Right: John Green, Per Nilsson, Andreas Steinhöfel, and Markus Zusak

Una palabra, no mas

bluemalibu started this meme — a challenge to our writerly vocabularies because it involves one very restrictive rule. Namely, you’re supposed to leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me.*  It can only be one word. No more.

Got that? Now copy & paste this in your journal so that we can drop off a word that describes you.

*Bilingual, I’m not. If I’ve butchered the Spanish in my header, I hope you’ll correct me on my error(s).

Finished? Here’s three more things to think about:

Please hold all good thoughts for our own  bostonerin, who’s waiting on some potentially exciting news!

Oh, snap! Brent Hartinger on Brent Hartinger: “I’ve always been a productive writer. I think that’s because I’ve supported myself from my writing since 1989 and if I don’t write, I don’t eat. So when I talk to writers who tell me it takes them three years to write a book, I think, “Really? Um…why?” I mean, maybe if you’re talking War and Peace, but a 250-page teen novel? What exactly do these folks do all day? They always make me feel so guilty, like I’m doing something terribly wrong.”

Poll Limbo, aka How low can you go? President Bush’s approval ratings fell to a new low of 28% today, according to a CBS poll. Other things with 28% approval ratings: boxer briefs, porn, reptiles, body hair on guys, a wall along the Mexican border, and cottage cheese (courtesy  of D.C. Confidential).


Site Meter

Can I get a witness?

Several of my writer friends are on pins and needles, waiting for word from editors, agents, critique partners…you name it.  

A close friend tricked me into reading GLASS CASTLES, austensibly as a diversion from my own waiting  “Here, read this instead of obsessing about submissions for THAT’S HAUTE,” she said, thrusting the memoir into my hands. “Seriously,” she added, “you need to write your own story next.”

The more pages I read, the more I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, I will write about my own childhood adventures as the daughter of a tent revivalist. There are good reasons to write such a book, and there are also drawbacks to taking on this challenge. I am not sure I want to put them into words right now, but I’m mulling things over and putting out a few feelers about the topic. 

[info]bostonerin

 offered to send me materials from an adult ed class on memoirs she teaches, but if you also have suggestions or feedback, I’d love to hear from you, too. I’m looking for outstanding memoirs as models, and I’d also appreciate your thoughts on the topic and recommended resources for writing in that genre. 

Image credit:

[info]lizjonesbooks 

created an artistic rendition of THAT’S HAUTE that includes this and other images from my childhood.

Six Degrees of Separation

In 1990, American author John Guare wrote Six Degrees of Separation, a play that catapulted an obscure academic theory into popular culture. “I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people,” Guare wrote. “The President of the United States, a gondolier in Venice, just fill in the names. I find it extremely comforting that we’re so close […] I am bound, you are bound, to everyone on this planet by a trail of six people.” 

Last July, however, psychology professor Judith Kleinfeld swept that theory into the dustpan of disproved hypotheses. “The pleasing idea that we live in a ‘small world’ where people are connected by ‘six degrees of separation’ may be the academic equivalent of an urban myth,” she said.  

Rather than tackle the pile of papers on my desk, I thought it might be fun to procrastinate do my own experiment with the Six Degrees of Separation hypothesis. So here’s my attempt to connect you, me, and six celebrities. 

1. Let’s start with former President Gerald R. Ford, who, at age 93, died yesterday at his Rancho Mirage home. I didn’t see President Ford himself, but I waved at a small group of his Secret Service men as I drove past his desert home in a Rolls Royce golf cart last spring.

2. President Ford loved outdoor sports altogether, but he was especially fond of skiing, as is our California governor. Unfortunately, Arnold Schwarzenegger was forced to terminate his ski vacation in Sun Valley, Idaho after breaking his right femur – just a few short days after sending me a holiday greeting card that featured a Christmas fir tree he’d painted himself. The tightly-structured letters in his signature look identical to the ones he wrote when he signed my legislation into law back in September, but the card’s also signed by his wife, Maria Shriver.

3. Back in October, Arnold Schwarzenegger put the kibosh on critics who tried to associate him with President George W. Bush. “To link me to George Bush is like linking me to an Oscar. That’s ridiculous,” the Governator told Jay Leno. But a serious discussion about the potential extinction of polar bears may require Bush to cozy up to Arnold and other environmental advocates.

4. President George W. Bush is an avid bicyclist, and apparently, Paris Hilton’s now taking up the sport. After her DUI back in September, she reportedly traded in her silver car for a bicycle. (Fact-checker alert: Last time I drove down her street, Paris had a Bentley parked in front of her house, not a Benz. And hello, reality? Does anyone besides me have trouble seeing Ms. Hilton using a bicycle for anything other than a prop?) 

5. I’m certainly not BFF with Paris Hilton, but we do have a few things in common.  On at least a couple of occasions, she guest-starred on the hit series, “The O.C.,” the SoCal county in which I live. Also, Paris says she’s trademarked her oft-repeated phrase, “That’s hot.” However, I openly admit that I’ve co-opted and up-marketed the phrase, and that I’m using it as a title for my nonfiction book, THAT’S HAUTE. Finally, Paris Hilton’s appeared many times in People magazine and its sister publication, TIME. Coincidentally, I was once quoted in a TIME feature story, when I had a different last name. 

6. But You landed a spot on the cover of TIME, didn’t you? The magazine put you into the spotlight of fame when it chose You as its 2006 Person of the Year. So this makes you the sixth link in the chain that brings us all together into one united Circle of Trust.

If, like me, you’re in the mood for procrastination mental gymnastics, I challenge you to play the Six Degrees of Separation game.

More Alike Than Unalike?

Maya Angelou once noted, “We are more alike than we are unalike.” Her words are a ray of hope in these troubled times. So over coffee this morning, I challenged myself to find similarities with leaders from across the political aisle. 

When I kept my focus on writing-related connections, I discovered two examples fairly quickly, despite an incomplete dose of caffeine.

1) President Bush’s press conference notes look a lot like my own draft outlines — absolutely unintelligible to anyone but me.

2) Secretary Rumsfeld’s verbal gymnastics bear striking similarities to the mental twists and turns I take while forming chapters from my notes:

“As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know, but there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”  Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

Yes, I know my reach across the aisle was a stretch. Regardless, I’m going to keep my emphasis on the positive today, looking for examples that support Maya Angelou’s encouraging words. First, I’ll pour myself another mug of coffee. I’m hoping that’ll help. 

She Who Stands for Something

When I was a little girl, my mother gave me her own version of the lemming speech. (You know the one: “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you follow them?” ) Except hers was more a challenge than a question. “If you don’t stand for something,” she warned, “you’ll fall for everything.”

This watercolor and poem hangs on my wall, a symbolic representation of that axiom. Unfortunately, the colors are muddied in this image, but the poem’s message is clear:

She Who Stands for Something

She chooses the purity
Of truth over popularity
…everytime.
Possessing the moral courage
To make her action consistent
With her knowledge
Of right and wrong,
She knows that the choices she makes today
Will shape her into the woman
She will be tomorrow. 

This woman’s life defines
Such words as love,
forgiveness, charity,
Service, compassion and godliness.
For she knows who she is
And what she believes. 

Her integrity is founded
On unswerving principle.
She is beyond reproach,
And her courage is unsurpassed.
As she carries the banner of truth,

Everyone knows
She stands for something. 

Today, the California Assembly passed AB 2165 on a 71-1 vote, including a provision for expedited delivery to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk. I’m feeling grateful and a bit overwhelmed by the symbolic value of this final vote. Like most people, I’m sometimes unable or unwilling to speak my truth. But on this issue, I’m very glad I took a stand. 

*Image and poem used with permission of artist and author Suzy Toronto. Take a look at her beautiful artwork and inspiring poetry here.

Ode to Justice

My testimony tomorrow before the California Senate Education Committee is very high stakes. If all goes well, AB 2165* will pass one of its last remaining legislative milestones on the way to the governor’s desk.

Your continued good thoughts mean the world to me as I carry forward a commitment to my Rosa Resolution. No matter how things turn out, I want to know with a certainty that I could do no more, that I’ve given it my best.

I often re-read Maya Angelou’s poem, And Still I Rise for inspiration and encouragement on this journey. If I could, here are the parts I’d read aloud to the criminals whose actions led me to initiate and then sponsor this bill:

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries.[…]

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise. […]

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise. 

Thank you, my LJ friends, for helping me rise to this challenge. I’m so very grateful.

UPDATE: If you’re interested, I’ve included a copy of the testimony I’ll give to the Committee tomorrow (under the cut). I only have five minutes to present, so my comments have to be short.

Mr. Scott and members of this Committee, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak out today in favor of Assembly Bill 2165.

 
This proposed legislation has its origins in a traumatic personal experience. In late 2004, my son was a victim of a vicious and unprovoked assault by several members of Grossmont Community College’s football team. He suffered significant injuries, for which he required major surgery and ongoing medical attention. Thanks to San Diego investigators and the District Attorney's office, three of the assailants were identified, prosecuted, and sent to jail on felony convictions. And thankfully, my son has healed. However, our experiences in the aftermath of the assault led me to suggest, and then sponsor this bill.
 
The actual assault occurred off campus and, speaking in purely legal terms, the coach, community college, and statewide athletic associations are not responsible for the actions of student athletes beyond their participation in school-sanctioned events.
 
But you might reasonably assume that no school would want the black eye that comes of playing these violent, convicted felons on their teams. Surely, no coaches would want to put themselves in this situation, given that they’d potentially endanger other students, staff, and community members. And given the moral codes of conduct and eligibility requirements to which college coaches and athletes are bound, it logically follows that dangerous criminals who haven’t yet served their sentences would be scrubbed from team rosters.
 
We know now that none of these assumptions are true.
Instead, we experienced a complete breakdown of individual and institutional accountability in these circumstances – clearly illustrating the need for this bill’s legislative remedy.
 
Grossmont College coaches deflected responsibility.
Grossmont’s head football coach and others on his staff knew about the crime and the investigation involving their student athletes. The unspeakably violent assault was caught on video, which many of your staff members saw. And yet, after seeing video evidence of his team members’ criminal behavior, the coach still kept them on his team. In fact, two of the three felons were arrested in on campus – in front of the whole team. Nevertheless, the coach allowed them to continue playing football for the college, even after they entered guilty pleas to felony assault (in May 2005) and as convicted felons, were awaiting sentencing.
 
When asked by a newspaper reporter about his decision to allow convicted felons on his football team, the coach at first denied playing at least one of them, then said, “Maybe if it was my star quarterback, I would have paid more attention.”[1]  And in an interview with a broadcast journalist, he also said, “I guess I figured if they weren’t in jail, they were all right [to play]."[2]
 
When my son and I raised the issue with Grossmont-Cuyamaca College District officials, they said the issue “raised huge concerns,” but later asserted that their “hands [were] tied.”
District spokeswoman Susan Herney conceded to the media that there is no specific local college rule requiring coaches to notify college administrators that they have players facing criminal charges – only “an expectation and a professional obligation” that they be kept informed.[3]
 
However, and despite their immediate expressions of concern and promises to investigate, college officials later told us that their “hands [were] tied” by the absence of definitive guidelines and policies they could follow when determining whether student athletes are eligible to continue playing sports for the college after being convicted of a violent felony.
Grossmont College has submitted to your Committee a letter of endorsement for this bill, acknowledging it as an effective and appropriate legislative remedy.
 
Moving up to the next level, I contacted The California Commission on Athletics (COA). The message I received from COA officials was that, while the Commission has the authority to write standardized eligibility regulations, they chose not to do so.
 
To my surprise and chagrin, COA Board Chair Eva Conrad told me that “formal action [by the COA was] unlikely” because, in her words,
“…The existence of a code of conduct or decorum does not guarantee that individuals would adhere to these.”[4]
 
In essence, Ms. Conrad acknowledged that, while the COA is vested by the State of California with the authority to create standards and codes related to student athlete eligibility, they were abdicating that responsibility because those new regulations might not be uniformly or consistently applied.
This ambiguity about eligibility and enforcement policies has allowed a gaping chasm of accountability. In fact, my research turned up just two of 109 California Community Colleges who demonstrated a willingness to write and implement policies that expressly exclude felons from playing on their teams.
 
The NCAA takes a bye on writing restrictive eligibility regulations, as well.
An article in the LA Times reinforced what I had already been told by an NCAA spokesman — that “while it’s known for its hefty manual, containing myriad rules that cover issues ranging from uniforms to recruiting — [the NCAA] has no policy for criminal behavior.” Therefore, an athlete can, theoretically, face immediate suspension for improperly accepting a cheeseburger from a booster, yet continue playing on the team after being convicted of any one of the violent felonies listed in this bill.
 
From my encounters, experiences, and research, I have come to believe this an issue for the Legislature to take on, because it involves decisions and circumstances that California coaches and colleges – as well as the statewide Commission on Athletics and the NCAA – say they are powerless or unwilling to address.
Your ‘yes’ vote on this bill will grant each athlete, institution, and association specific legislation-supported power and encouragement to make the right choices.
This bill’s passage will also send a message to Californians that we do not support with our tax dollars any college athletic teams who harbor violent criminals. And finally, it will assure those of us who enjointercollegiate athletics that, as we cheer on our favorite athletes and athletic teams, we won’t be rooting for violent criminals as well.
 

[1] “Coach Mired In Controversy,” November 17, 2005, San Diego Union-Tribune. Article by Anne Krueger and Bill Dickens, accessed online at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20051117-9999-2m17jordan.html
[2] Video from News 8 San Diego (CBS), November 16, 2005, accessed March 20, 2006 at http://www.kfmb.com/story.php?id=28689
[3] “Coach Mired in Controversy,” November 17, 2005, San Diego Union Tribune.
[4] Email exchange between Melodye Shore and Eva Conrad, 11/03/05 and 11/20/05.
 
*In essence, AB 2165 prohibits student athletes who are convicted of violent felonies or sexual crimes from participating in intercollegiate sports at California public colleges and universities until they’ve successfully completed the terms of their court-assigned sentences.

Food for Thought

The Los Angeles Times’ Festival of Books laid out a banquet of ideas for readers and writers alike — food for this book-lover’s soul. Here are several tasty tidbits I picked up from four sessions I attended, served up by the writers I heard. 

Frank McCourt in Conversation with Mitch Albom

Left to Right: Frank McCourt, Mitch Albom. McCourt’s on the big screen.


Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes, Teacher Man):
“Before you read a Faulkner sentence, wave goodbye to your family.”
“Students’ eyes tell you if you’re reaching them; on the other hand, for a writer, it’s only you and your words, at your desk.”
Mitch Albom: “I got numerous rejections for Tuesdays with Morrie. Several editors told me I didn’t know how to write a memoir, and [one editor] told me I didn’t even know what a memoir was.”
 
Young Adult Fiction: Rites of Initiation

Left to Right: John Green, Per Nilsson, Andreas Steinhöfel, and Markus Zusak

 

On writing:
Per “made up a lie that has become the truth” about his roots as a writer. He said he started writing so he could tell his kids who he was as a 12-year-old –- how he’d spent his time “walking aimlessly while daydreaming about being a hero, an idol, a secret agent.”  As well, he wanted his son to know how he coped when he “collided with the real world,” when metaphorical “lampposts sprang up out of nowhere.”
Andreas wrote three chapters of a novel at age 16. He quickly figured out that it was “terrible,” but “that realization proved I could be a writer, that I had a keen editorial eye.”
John says “I’m good at two things: telling lies and sitting. And that’s what a writer does.” John also said that 
*Looking for Alaska, in its Dutch translation, is called The Great Perhaps. That title wouldn’t work here, John says, because “Americans are not in the business of abstraction.” 
*Defining YA is dangerous business. It’s really a matter of where publishers think books will sell. Unfortunately, sometimes publishers underestimate kids. They’re not fools. They’re not going to take any rubbish.” 
*”It’s a false premise that every idiot can write for an undeveloped person. Writers need to have a good story.” 
*“YA novels grapple with important issues. They’re different from books written for adults in that they’re usually not layered in irony; [instead], they’re written in a simple, unadorned, serious, and thoughtful way.” 
Markus said, “The books I love transcend categories. That’s what I’m striving for.” He also said that “People never come up and say “I love your junior/fantasy/crossover young adult book. I don’t care what they call it; I just hope they compliment me on the story.”

 
On writing about death:
Per: “When you’re 16, you think about things, and you carry your 16-year-old the rest of your life. If you think about your own life, you can’t avoid thinking about death.”
Andreas: “It’s a great way to get rid of characters you don’t need any more. Every death means there’s a new beginning in store.”
John: “It’s extraordinarily likely that everyone in this room will die. Historically, it doesn’t look good for us. At 16, I was aware of mortality and frailty of this state we’re in. In the face of death, we can find and sustain hope.”
Marcus: “There’s no bigger story than death, so it’s natural that we end up there as writers sometimes.”
 
The challenge of plotting and character development:
Andreas: “I love chapter headings almost as much as John loves famous last words. I make long lists of chapter headings until I feel I’m ready to write.”
Per: Writing about contemporary teens “isn’t difficult” because “it’s about having an active imagination. I’m not writing about American Idol; I’m writing about feelings. Characters and situations come out of an active imagination.”
John: “My favorite part of writing is having written. When characters are alive for me, there’s nothing like it. I keep trying to get back to that feeling.”
 
Devil in the Details: Quirky Nonfiction

Left to Right: Veronica Chambers and June Casagrande

June (Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies) gave advice to punctuation challenged writers: “Only communicate via text message. No one will know you don’t know the difference.”
Martin (Oops: Twenty Life Lessons from the Fiascos that Shaped America): “Write from the inside out, rather than the outside in. Figure out what you want to say about the topic, and then begin to write.”
Veronica (The Joy of Doing Things Badly): “Consider first writing an article for a magazine, so you can show audience interest in your topic when you decide to write a book.”
  
Creating New Worlds: Young Adult Fantasy Writing

Left to Right: Margo Lanagan, Adam Gopnik, Cornelia Funke, and Moderator Denise Hamilton

Random thoughts:

Unanimously, the panelists recommended T.H. White as their favorite YA fantasy author. They gave their highest praise to White’s Once and Future King.
 
All four agreed that the publishing industry has a slight air of condescension about YA novels; however, the positive side of writing for this genre, they said, is that authors can develop an intimate relationship with a particular age of readers.
 
These panelists emphasized the importance of developing originality in voice and plot. They warned against the dangers of “patterning” that writers might pick up in a formal writing program.
 
On writing:
Adam’s son, aged 9, is his test audience. His response to the first draft of his dad’s latest book? “It’s cool, Dad, but could you just bring the cool bits a bit closer together?” This is a constant challenge a writer faces, Adam said; it’s what an editor might say. So that bit of advice from his son guides Adam’s writing to this day.
*“To be a successful writer,” Adam says, “you must translate the mental task into a physical task. Don’t ask, ‘Can I write magical books?’ Instead, ask, ‘Can I sit for __ hours and get ___ words down on the page?'”
*Adam says “It’s important for me that my books teach kids that the dignity of logic is greater than the glory of magic.”
Cornelia: “Fantasy allows a writer to take common problems and clad them in something else. This allows readers to see them much more clearly and perhaps deal with them in a more effective and interesting way.”
“YA fantasy fiction is sometimes entertainment engineered by publishers who want something written to formula.”
Margo: “A certain amount of composting of life that has to go on before you’re ready to write.” You’re a more effective and interesting writer, she says, if you have a variety of experiences that are not writing-instruction related. “If you rely too much on critiques and programs of instruction,” she suggests, “your writing becomes circular and stale.”

And from today’s LA TImes: “[If] publishers looked to their own childhood memories rather than a spreadsheet, they’d recall that young readers, more than any others, want to be transported and shown not just other lives but whole worlds utterly different from their own. Witness the wild popularity of fantasy and science fiction among the very same kids who display the very same sensibility in their choice of video games. What could be more dispiriting than going into your room in search of escape, solace or pleasure, opening a book and reading a story about someone just like you hemmed in by the same four walls?”

A Rosa Resolution

Rosa Parks arrives at the Montgomery, AL courthouse for her trial in the racial bus boycott. (Photo Credit: AP News)

When Reverend Al Sharpton spoke at Rosa Park’s funeral, I was touched by his tribute to her courage and legacy – and I was inspired by the challenge he laid out for the rest of us:

When we leave here, we ought to make a Rosa resolution. You ought to make one commitment in her name to yourself. You ought to resolve that you are going to do something that makes a difference because we’re here because she made a difference.

On March 21, I’m headed to Sacramento to fulfill my own Rosa Resolution.

I’m going to climb the state capitol steps; I’m going to haunt its corridors. I’m going to speak to State legislators about a matter of great personal significance, while also suggesting a better path forward for the people of California. I’m going to speak with a passion born of tragedy, outlining the importance of passing a bill I’m proposing.

You might reasonably assume that no school would want the black eye that comes of playing violent, convicted felons on their teams. Surely, no coaches would want to put themselves in this situation, given that they’d potentially endanger other students and college staff. And given the moral codes of conduct and eligibility requirements to which college coaches and athletes are bound, it logically follows that dangerous criminals would be scrubbed from team rosters.

But I know now that none of these assumptions are true. That’s why Assembly Member Jay La Suer (San Diego) agreed to author this legislation, and that’s why I’m making this trip.

This legislation has its origins in a traumatic personal experience. Namely, in late 2004, my son was a victim of a vicious and unprovoked assault by several members of a community college football team. He suffered significant injuries, for which he required major surgery and ongoing medical attention. Thanks to San Diego investigators and the District Attorney’s office, three of the thugs involved in the assault were identified, prosecuted, and sent to jail on felony convictions. And thankfully, my son has healed.

Nevertheless, we remain appalled by what we learned about the coach’s conduct in the aftermath of that felonious crime.  We are still upset about the hands-off, dismissive attitude we encountered when we approached the statewide commission on athletics, asking for their advice and proposing changes.

The actual assault occurred off campus and, speaking in purely legal terms, the college bore no responsibility for the actions of its athletes beyond their participation in school-sanctioned events. But when approached by a detective about the assault, the coach came to the defense of his players, telling the detective that the “spoiled white boys [victims] probably deserved a beating.”

Two of the three felons were arrested on campus, in front of the whole football team. This is a fact, confirmed by the football coach and the criminals themselves, in sworn testimony and other settings. The criminals eventually pled guilty to felony assault. This is not in dispute. But as they awaited their sentencing, at least two of the thugs were allowed to remain on the football team, playing game after game without penalty.  Coach Jordan’s team actually won the National Championship that year, carried to victory on the backs of convicted felons!

When confronted by the news media, the coach first denied playing at least one of them, and then said, “Maybe if they were my star quarterbacks, I would have paid more attention,” and “I guess I figured if they weren’t in jail, they were all right [to play].

To my shock and dismay, I discovered that Jordan wasn’t alone in his cavalier attitude. When we approached the statewide commission on athletics about the incident — questioning the coach’s conduct and his athletes’ ongoing eligibility–officials said that it was “up to each institution” to enforce the association’s moral codes of conduct and to monitor their rules for athletic eligibility. A spokesperson for the NCAA told me essentially the same thing.

This culture of complicity apparently made it easier for Coach Jordan to shrug off the charges leveled at his athletes, and to abdicate any personal responsibility. In citing this incident among others, the Los Angeles Times suggested that this wink-and-nod behavior is supported by a sports culture that promotes winning at any cost. But I refuse to accept the status quo, going forward.

And so it is that I’ve made this Rosa Resolution: I’ll work with legislators to create a law that governs athletes’ eligibility in similar circumstances. I’ll help pass a law that requires coaches and educational institutions to shoulder their responsibilities, instead of shirking them.  In taking the matter beyond my front doorstep and to the steps of the state capitol, I’ll do what I can to help protect all citizens from situations like the one my family experienced.

Assembly Bill 2165 would prohibit student athletes from participating as a member of any intercollegiate team, or as a participant in any intercollegiate athletic event if, after enrolling in a public California college or university they (a) are prosecuted as an adult and (b) are convicted of a violent crime, such as murder, kidnapping, robbery, battery against a sports official, assault with a deadly weapon, rape, burglary, or attempted murder. I’m going to work tirelessly, fighting with all my might to ensure its passage.

I hope my Rosa Resolution is one that would make her proud.

 

Edited to Add: WE DID IT!!