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A Joyful Noise

rosa resolution

Of sports and scofflaws

October 31, 2008 by Melodye Shore

I was shocked when I read these news articles (here and here), which spotlight an apparent end-run around the California law I proposed and helped pass.*

Nobody is above the law — not athletes, not their coaches, and certainly not publicly-funded academic institutions and athletic associations. As Governor Schwarzenegger suggested at the signing ceremony, we’re all equally responsible for upholding this piece of legislation.

I spoke many times on the bill’s behalf — before college representatives and state legislators, among others. The legislative process was open to public testimony, pro and con, but I don’t recall the proposed bill being openly challenged by the individuals cited in the aforementioned articles. The final vote was nearly unanimous, in favor of the proposed legislation. (There was only one ‘no’ vote, which is almost unheard of.) And many elected officials, dignitaries, and public safety groups (pdf) gave their full support for the bill’s passage. As one legislative committee member said, “This is a no brainer, isn’t it?”

So why hasn’t this story been widely publicized? I wish the involved parties would be more forthcoming (pdf), and that the underlying issues would get broader exposure. More daylight, please, like this. And I hope an appropriate measure of accountability is meted out to anyone who’s found guilty of flagrantly violating, or surruptitiously circumventing, this law.  

*In brief, Section 67362, which was added to the California Education Code, prevents college athletes who have been convicted of a violent felony from playing college team sports until after they complete their terms of incarceration and any supervised period of parole or probation. NOTE: It does not prevent in any way their participation in educational opportunities and co-curricular events available to all eligible students.

Posted in: family, Uncategorized Tagged: ab 2165, college athletes, College sports and crime, felons, Governor Schwarzeneger, pasadena city college, rosa resolution, section 67362 california education co

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October 6, 2006 by Melodye Shore

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Posted in: family, Uncategorized Tagged: ab2165, college athetes and crime, rosa resolution, sports illustrated

More Signing Ceremony Photos and Media Mentions

September 5, 2006 by Melodye Shore


Left to Right: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Melodye Shore (me), Assembly Member Jay La Suer, and my son, David Wiens


Left to Right: San Diego Sheriff Bill Kolender, me, David, San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegge (seated), S.D. Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Pettine, S.D. District Attorney’s Office Investigator Darrell Brown

“Today, I am signing a bill that sends a strong message to criminals on campus:  If you commit a violent crime, you lose your privileges on campus until you pay your debt to society,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.


Left to Right:David, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, me, and my husband, Eric


Left to Right: Laurie Paredes, Legislative Director for Assembly Member Jay La Suer, and me

From the lede paragraph of an article in USA TODAY: “Two years after a traumatic, life-changing experience, David Wiens and his mother, Melodye Shore, on Tuesday experienced what Shore called, ‘a full-circle moment.'”The Los Angeles Times gives a brief mention to the signing ceremony for AB 2165, in the context of a larger story about a more controversial bill.Here’s a related article from the San DIego News Tribune.

SDSU’s Daily Aztec posted a story, as well. You can read it here.

CBS News has an online story and video at this link; NBC News covers it here.

ETA: We’re also in Sports Illustrated.

The Community Community College League’s Commission on Athletics responded to the proposed (not yet signed) legislation in the Sacramento Bee; it’s reported here.

Also, you can watch the Governor’s Office Web video of the entire signing ceremony (“Schwarzenegger Signs Student Athlete Violence Bill“).

Even though I’m a writer, I’m struggling to find words that sufficiently describe my thoughts and feelings about yesterday’s signing ceremony. I need time to soak it in, to sort it all out. I can say, however,  that I’m very happy to have witnessed the fulfilment of my personal Rosa Resolution in this very public, positive way.

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Posted in: family Tagged: ab 2165, College sports and crime, governor schwarzenegger, rosa resolution, signing ceremony, sports illustrated

AB 2165 Signing Ceremony

September 5, 2006 by Melodye Shore

 Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Require State Schools to Remove Athletes who Commit Felonies 

Today, I am signing a bill that sends a strong message to criminals on campus:  If you commit a violent crime, you lose your privileges on campus until you pay your debt to society — California State Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

This is the symbolic moment before my son received the legislative signing pen from California State Governor Schwarzenegger. The day I made good on my Rosa Resolution.

(Yes, I’m crying. Need you ask?)

You can access the Web video here.  Also, here’s an early-release San Diego News Tribune article and a summary of local NBC news coverage.

Want to see a few more photos? To coin a famous actor’s trademark phrase, “I’ll be back!” First, however, I’m going to treat myself to a much-needed nap.

Edited to add: More signing ceremony pictures and media mentions posted here.

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Posted in: family Tagged: ab 2165, College sports and crime, governor schwarzenegger, rosa resolution, signing ceremony

I’m Walking on Sunshine

August 29, 2006 by Melodye Shore

Yesterday, the fourth thug who assaulted my son pled guilty to felony assault. And this afternoon, I heard good news with bigger, broader implications.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to sign into law Assembly Bill 2165!  Not only that, but his staff is arranging for a special signing ceremony in San Diego next Tuesday morning, to which they’re inviting local and state dignitaries, my family, and the press.

I’m proud to have brought this very worthy piece of legislation to the citizens of California. I’m also very grateful for the symbolic closure this signing ceremony will bring to my family.*

Pictures…oh yes, there will be pictures!

UPDATE: Take a peek at the signing ceremony photos, Web video and news articles here and here.

*USA TODAY printed an article that explains my connection to this bill. It’s available here. Also, I first blogged about it here.

Posted in: Uncategorized Tagged: ab 2165, college athletes and crime, governor schwarzenegger, rosa resolution

Ode to Justice

June 20, 2006 by Melodye Shore

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.
Posted in: family Tagged: ab 2165, and still i rise, college athletes and crime, maya angelou, rosa resolution

Come Celebrate With Me!

March 28, 2006 by Melodye Shore

You are — all of you — sincerely invited to join me this evening in celebrating an important occasion.

Tonight is the night we raise a toast to democracy, to representative government, to the well-received presentation I gave to politicians and other key influentials today, and to the wisdom of the California Assembly Members on the Higher Education Committee who, this very afternoon, voted UNANIMOUSLY and AFFIRMATIVELY for Assembly Bill 2165!*

Yes, I know there are other steps this bill must travel on its journey to what I hope will be passage by all members of the Assembly and Senate — before it can land on the Governator’s desk. But tonight, I would like you to celebrate with me this one important victory, because every journey begins with a single step.

Grab a glass and let’s make a toast!

*For an explanation about all this, if you’re new to the party, see “My Rosa Resolution,” a few posts back.

Posted in: family Tagged: ab 2165, college athletes and crime, rosa resolution

A Rosa Resolution

March 11, 2006 by Melodye Shore

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!! 

Posted in: family Tagged: ab 265, Assembly Member Jay LaSeur San Diego, college athletes and crime, rosa resolution

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