The New York herald., 1922-02-23

that Yale and Harvard should confine
was suggested by Harvard's president
The coaching problem. Prof. Mendell
said, is one that can be remcdied by
having the coaches do less directing Of
the team while It is In actual riay, and
ne favors a rule which would require
them to take seats in the grand stand,
thereby allowing the captain and his
men to run the game themselves.
when President Lowell referred TO
football in his annual report" Prof.
Mendell saaid, "he was simply repeating
what he has consistently believed and
said for many years. In Phi Beta
Kappa address here at Yale more than
ten years ago he pointed out with elo-
quent irony the tendencies In sport
which have since so largely developed.
with his position, so far as ] under
stand It, I am entirely In accord.
Problem of Protecting Game.
"The question, however. Is not. as the
public is apt to think. whether or not
football is to be abolished as an inter-
collegiate sport Football IS a great
and valuable game. too fine a sport to
be lost The problem Is to protect 1t
against abuses which theaten its ex-
istence. OF these the most insistent
Is the professionalizing of the game.
BY this I mean not merely the transfer
into college OF men whose sole object
Is to play football but also the transfer
Of the game from the Undergraduate to
the coach.
AT this point. however. take issue
with President Meiklejohn. I would not
get rid of coaches. I would insure the
playing Of the entire game by the under
graduates after they had been trained
Just as well as possible by the best
coaches available. In the field OF schol
arship we try to give the undergrad
mates the very best that we have and
then we count on him to make use Of
it on his own initiative. Just so in foot
ball we should give the benefit of the
best possible training to all the men who
can be brought out TO play one Of the
finest games ever invented. But let
them play the game themselves.
"As practical step. therefore, to-
ward accomplishing what we Gan prob
ably agree is the object to De sought. II
seems to me wise further to restrict
the handling Of the team during the
game. Tad Jones has already spoken
forcibly on this subject. He has advo-
Gated a change In the rules which would
hands of the players. I should go fur
ther than he has gone and be In favor
of putting all the coaches in the grand
stand while the game Is being played.
CndesirnbiIity Of Tramp Athlete.
with regard to the second phase OF
professionalism. namely the undesirable
ity OF the so-called tramp athlete. Yale
suggested over year ago an agreement
by which no man who had represented
one college should be allowed thereafter
10 represent another. There is no doubt
but what some injustice might be done
70 individuals. but the situation is one
which calls for drastic action and
believe that it Is time for us to adopt
some such rule as this and furthermore.
that an additional provision should he
made to the effect that any one trans
ferring from one college to another,
even II he has not played in his first
college. shall be ineligible to play at
the second until he has passed the
standard entrance examinations. I
hope that the day will not be far dis
tant when Harvard. Princeton and Yale
ran agree upon some such practical
regulation as safeguard for true
sportsmanship.
"I am not sure that I understand
that President Meiklejohn intends by his
suggestion the abolishing or NIL boards
of control as well as all coaches. The de-
partment of athletics has become too
important a factor in our college train
ing to-day to make il wise or even pos
sible to return TO the haphazard methods
Of management which result from leav-
ing it's affairs entirely in the hands OF
undergraduates. Competitive sport Is a
real and valuable part of college ed
ucation. and the college or university
has therefore a definite obligation to
handle in the best way within Its
power this particular collegiate depart
ment. The obligation is just as strong
as that which rests upon II with re-
spect to any other department.
"In the broadest spirit of sportsman
ship believe that there Is general
agreement between faculties and players
and coaches. 1t is not difficult to point
out the ideal in view OF the existing
evils. The more difficult. but at the
same time more important. problem at
present is to find means to safeguard
the ideal against the evils"