July IO, 2013 $3ortlanò (Observer Page 15 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Suffering Fates of their own Making A big season for falling stars D onald K aul R e v e rs a ls o f f o rtu n e c a n be breathtaking. One minute, people are riding high, surf ing the w ave o f life. The next, they tip over like capsized canoes. T ake Paula D een. T his T y phoid M ary o f the obesity epi demic m ade untold fortunes in becom ing the unchallenged cham pion o f southern cooking. H er television show s, books, and restaurants were dedicated to the proposition that the only food groups that m attered were salt, sugar, and whipped cream . And if you could figure out a way to com bine them with som ething deep-fried, so m uch the better. I once turned on one o f her shows and gained three pounds, ju st watching. But she’s a lively, by cheerful sort, and her dow n-hom e prom pted Random House to can T here’s another fallen star who charm won her hundreds o f thou cel a m ulti-m illion-dollar book recen tly p lu m m eted to E arth: sands, if not m illions, o f follow contract with her. A aron H ernandez. T his h an d ers. D een apologized. Then she some, extravagantly talented foot Until it was revealed, as part of apologized some more, desper ball player signed a m ulti-year a discrimination lawsuit filed against ately trying to stem the damage, $40 m illion contract with the New her, that she had used racist lan but to no avail. The more she England Patriots only last year. guage in the past — the “N” word apologized, the more damage there He was 23, ju st approaching in particular— and allowed racist, was to stem. his prime, and had recently be sexist, hom ophobic, and anti- Perhaps the c ru d e st blow fell com e a father. He survived a Semitic jokes to be part o f the when the pharm aceutical com rough childhood and was set up kitchen talk in at least one o f her pany, N ovo Nordisk, fired her as to live happily ever after. restaurants. Then there was that its spokesperson for a diabetes Until last month — when police cringe-worthy concept o f a “plan drug. Thus ended the suprem e arrested him and charged him with tation-style wedding” with an all hypocrisy o f D een, a T ype 2 being involved in the murder o f one black wait staff she suggested for Diabetic whose recipes are vir o f his own friends. That was shock her brother’s nuptials. tual prescriptions for acquiring ing, but pro football is no stranger The Food N etw ork im m edi the disease, getting paid to flog its to off-the-field incidents o f a simi ately cancelled one o f her shows rem ed y . (It tu rn ed o u t s h e ’d lar sort, often involving gunfire. and announced plans to sever ties known she had the disease for Usually it turns out that the player w ith h e r. S m ith fie ld F o o d s, several years but d id n ’t adm it it was simply in the wrong place at W alm art, Target, C aesar’s E n until the drug com pany hired her.) the wrong time. tertainm ent, and QVC, all huge H er fans still love her. S h e’s But as this dram a unfolded, it s o u rc e s o f D e e n ’s in c o m e , still hugely popular with the huge becam e obvious that the victim quickly follow ed suit. people who keep lining up at her hadn’t m erely been shot, but ex S h o rtly th e r e a f te r , S e a rs , restaurants. But her days as a ecuted gangland style and that Kmart, and J.C. Penney said they national figure are over. policed believed that Hernandez w o u ld sto p s e llin g p ro d u c ts W ho says there’s no good news m ight have been personally in branded with her name, which anym ore? volved. What Getting college athletes prepared for victory in life B enjamin T odd J ealous In 2011,17,500 college basketball players were reg iste re d w ith the National Collegiate Athletic A ssocia tion. T hat year, 48 c o lle g e p la y e rs were drafted by NBA teams. W hat happens to the undrafted? Som e bounce around the interna tional leagues for a few years, and a few even m ake it to the NBA. M any m ore go on to office jobs. But far too m any college basket ball players, especially players o f color, leave college w ithout an N BA contract and w ithout an other crucial ingredient for suc cess: a college degree. As we reflect on last m onth’s N BA draft, we should consider the fate o f those m any undrafted. In the student-athlete equation, being a student m ust com e first. by Then, as the story spun out, police tied H ernandez to the re cent drive-by shooting o f tw o other acquaintances after th ey ’d had an altercation with him. It w as p o s s ib le h e ’d b e e n th e trig g erm an , p o lice said. T hat m o v e d th e sto ry fro m O J S im p s o n v ille in to Tony Sopranoland. He was jailed without bond and the Patriots voided his contract. In a blink, H ernandez went from a life o f fame and fortune to facing a future in a m axim um - security prison. And from what we know, it w asn’t even for a com prehensible reason. The kill ings grew out o f tw o garden- variety barroom dust-ups. I d o n ’t know w hether these stories have a moral, but I do know this: W hen y o u ’re on top o f the world, there’s only one direction for you to go — down. So watch your step. OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, Mich. the Undrafted? In order to m ake that happen, stitute, the NAACP, and U.S. Sec year's tournam ent suffered racial top o f their academic game. One colleges need to start rew arding retary o f Education Arne Duncan, gaps o f 30 percent or more. example o f how to do this comes coaches for en couraging their the NCAA's governing body voted One solution is to change the from Xavier, which employs a nun players' grow th in the classroom to raise the m inim um four-year in c e n tiv e sy ste m fo r c o lle g e as academic adviser to make sure as m uch as their success on the Academ ic Progress Rate, effec coaches. According to a recent that students attend class and study field. tively setting a m inim um gradua study, the average bonuses for hard. Xavier has graduated ever The student-athlete relationship tion rate for team s involved in the athletic achievements are 11 times men's basketball player, black and in this country has alw ays been m en's M arch M adness tourna greater than bonuses for academ w hite, since S ister R ose Ann out o f balance. C olleges grow ment. A ccording to the new rules, ics. In recent weeks, USA Today's Fleming began advising in 1985. rich o ff o f ticket sales, television any team that fails to graduates editorial board and former M ary Colleges and universities clearly rights and m erchandise w hile h alf their players for three years land Congressman Tom McMillen benefit from their students' ath m any athletes struggle academ i in a row is banned from postseason both suggested that coaches' bo letic perform ance. They should cally and ultim ately fail to gradu play. They also lose access to nuses should be tied more strongly also push their student-athletes to ate. This crisis regained national scholarship m oney. to players' academic performance. perform at peak academ ic capac attention in 2011, when the Insti This higher standard has helped Coaches' contracts should re ity. That is the only way we can tute for Diversity and Ethics in bring the student-athlete relation flect the spirit o f teamwork and ensure that college athletes are Sport released an expose o f black ship back into balance somewhat. mutual responsibility that makes prepared for victory in life as well and w hite graduation rates on This year, 10 schools were banned the NCAA the premiere institution as victory on the court. m en's Division I basketball teams. from the March Madness tourna for young athletes. Coaches should Ben Jealous is president and The report found a gaping ra ment for poor grades, including be rewarded for effective strate ch ief executive officer o f the cial gap. Overall, white players perennial power house University gies that keep their students at the NAACP. graduated at a 32 percent higher o f Connecticut. The graduation rate than their black team m ates. rate for black players in this year's M any large colleges and universi tournament increased from 59 per ties failed to graduate even half cent to 65 percent, and the overall Attn: Subscriptions, The | $45.00for3 months • $80.00for6 mo. • $ 125.00 the black players on their teams. graduation rate inched up to 70 Portland Observer, PO Box | for 1 year (p lea se include check with fo r m ) At the University o f A kron, the percent. 3137, Portland OR 97208. m en's team had a 33 p ercen t H ow ever, the race gap still is I N ame : graduation rate - and a 33 per stubbornly persistent. The 65 per cent white team. The graduation cent graduation rate for black I T elephone : rate for black students? Zero. players this year is still 25 per I A ddress : _ In the wake o f the report, the centage points low er than the rate NCA A Board o f D irectors finally for white students. Nearly h alf o f took action. Urged on by the In- the team s that participated in this I or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com ¡S u b sc rib e I I “ “ 503-288-0033