A couple weeks back I worked hard to move past the doom and gloom of what Dez Wells expulsion meant to the Musketeers in 2012-2013. I tried to help turn the page to what was left on the roster and point out the opportunity that other players would now have to step up and show us what they are made of. Yesterday, everything changed and the outlook of the program on Dana Ave. completely reversed. Instead of thinking that Dez Wells made a big mistake and one that hopefully he and the program would be able to move on from, I now have to question the administration of Xavier.
Xavier is an interesting basketball school. You have a great academic university that works hard to put itself in a position to be looked at as one of the top private universities in the country. The business college is always ranked as one of the best and it is thought to be one of the best places in the country for pre-law students. There is so much to be said about the Xavier education and the pride that students, faculty and alumni have in saying they graduated from Xavier because of this superb education. The University is run by administrators that hold the Xavier, Jesuit way up as the main mission of the University. This is the way it has always been and rightfully so.
Last December, following the brawl with UC the administration was appalled by how the basketball program had put the University in such a negative light. There is no doubt the actions on the court and postgame press conference changed the way people looked at the Xavier Men's Basketball Program. Yet, this was one bad moment in a long line of seasons graduating every player and representing the University with class. Every once in a while a program has a few bad guys in it, that make mistakes, but after all is not the Jesuit mission one of compassion and forgiveness. The remarkable thing about Xavier has been its ability to take on some of the best basketball players in the country and make them better players, but most importantly better men with degrees from a prestigious University. Some of the best players are risks for a university to take on, but is the Jesuit way not to give every person an opportunity to learn and grow as human being? People make mistakes and Tu, Mark, Dez and the rest of Xavier's basketball program made them that day at the Cintas Center. They served their punishment and moved on to lead Xavier to a great run in the NCAA Tournament. Xavier's administration never did move on or past the mistake of the brawl with UC.
When Mark Lyons left Xavier, the rumors swirled and continue to swirl over how that all transpired. Most think that the Xavier administration stepped in at some extent to push Chris Mack to get rid of Lyons, to what extent they did, we will never know. This was a step by the administration to take over the program.
Dez Wells was expelled a couple of weeks back and at the time it looked like Xavier had done the right thing, Wells was in the wrong. Now, after yesterday the opposite seems to be the truth. Xavier rushed to judge a student and expelled him for something a highly thought of criminal prosecutor says did not happen. Some Xavier administration apologists point to other reasons for his expulsion, that it was more than the sexual allegations, drinking was involved. Yet, I went to Xavier and had underage friends get busted for drinking and other issues and were never expelled, just slapped on their wrists. How can I look at everything that came out yesterday and not think Xavier's disciplinary process with Wells was not flawed?
That leads us to the question on everyone's mind, why was the process flawed and unfair to Wells? A simple answer would be that Xavier was just following the Federal regulations that were put into place to a tee because of their recent issues with sexual assault cases. Yet, if they did that and it came out as it did yesterday that their conclusion was off base, whey did they not re-open it and give it another look with all the evidence the police and prosecutor had? So I don't buy that this is just about the recent federal investigation. I don't buy it at all. Dez Wells was the last of the main factors from the brawl. Outside of that incident he was viewed by students, coaches and the media as a very classy kid with his head in all the right places. Dez Wells is a good student and well liked teammate. Xavier's administration did not think he was any of these things and only looked at him as someone that had helped damage the reputation of the University. They looked at him as another basketball talent that was a liability on the court because he may do something to embarrass the school. This was their chance to remove another bad person, as they viewed him, from the basketball team. Further putting their stamp on the basketball program.
The question becomes where does the program go from here? Can Chris Mack continue to coach under an administration that is clearly questioning the players he is bringing in? How can he go out and recruit the top talent in the country and convince parents that he will have their son's back, when his opinion means little to the Xavier administration? The simple answer is he can't. Something has to give, either the Xavier basketball program that has put Xavier into an elite company major basketball programs or the Administration that seems to want to push basketball to the edge of the cliff. Here's to hoping someone has sense enough to realize its the administration is the one out of line. I am talking to you, board of trustees.
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