Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1952-05-17
TRAIGHT
AHEAD"


sports editor Of the New York
Journal American last week was
awarded special citation by the
Pulitzer Committee for his ex-
posture Of bribery and corruption
in basketball,
The Pulitzer prizes are given
annually by Columbia University
out of a $2,5OO,OOO bequest by the
late Joseph Pulitzer, former pub
Usher of "The ST. Louis Post Dis
patch" and the old New York
World"
Max Kase is a distinguished
journalist and from the limited
association | had with him during
the time | covered sports in New
York, | judged him to be a fine
gentleman.
The purport Of this article is
tWotO!d: To congratulate Max, and
to call attention to an article I
wrote in December Of lest year.
1t was at time when the basket
ball scandal was at its height.
After discussing the scandals at
some length, l wrote:
"The working corps of sports
writer's ought to share some of
the blame for allowing this thing
to grow to such proportions. ! have
written before that | can recall
no instance in which a sports writ
er has earned>a Pulitzer prize -
or any other prize - for unearth-
ing a scandal, yet scandals have
broken out in baseball, basketball,
football, boxing and racing, to
name the major sports. Political
writers and those in the general
field have done much better"
Our reference to the fact that we
knew of no sports writer's having
received a Pulitzer award for ex-
posing a scandal was not challang-
ed, although the article was widely
/ printed and circulated. Obviously
| Mr.. Kasc's efforts to bare the
basketball scandal were not promp-
ted by my statement. 1t is, never
thelesS gratifying to know that he
has been honored for his fine con-
tribution, done in The noble tradi-
ton Of the profession of journalism.
No one expects every reporter
to be muckracker of the Lincoln
Steffens school, but neither is it
to be expected that any good re-
porter worthy of membership in
the press fraternity, would continue
to wing at corruption and bribery
crowding in on him from all sides.
Despite the efforts to expose
racketeering, problems of college
sports will not be solved by punish
ing those who violate the code.
There are some things, heretofore
ignored, that now must be reckon
ed with. Take the matter of pro-
selyting. 1t has been going on for
a long time. Colleges have sought
outstanding high school students
over the years in music, science and
other fields. Why not outstanding
students I sports? The music
student may not know any mere
about science than the scientist
knows about music Why, then, ex-
pect the athlete to know all about
Bach, or why keep him out of
college because he doesn't know?
He intends, no doubt, to make his
living in sports just as the must
clan hopes to make his or hers in
music. 1t doesn't take much imagin-
ing to realize how much money
Sherman White, Ed Warner and
others might have earned as pro-
fessional basketball players.
In this machine age, it IS not
necessary for college to limit them
selves to training the great brain.
1t would seem that since there are
careers in public life for athletes,
men should be provided the op-
portunlty to get an athletic educa-
ton, and colleges should provide
them such training. If scholarships
for bright students are offered in
various other fields, why not also
in the field of sports, where the
student could earn a degree after
completing courses in anatomy,
psychology, civics, and other sub
iects related to the sports field?
Agitation for a change in the
approach to the problem may not
win a Pulitzer prize, but it just
could result in making substantial
contribution to our educational pro-
gram.