Betrayal

If there is ever a post that discusses shady business, this has to be it.

If you did not know, I am a Cal alumnus and big football fan. Those unfamiliar with college football, once the season ends, the coaches focus on recruiting high school students to join the team that fall (or even in the spring if they want a head start). Each school has a recruiting strategy and many rely on their ace recruiter; for Cal, that man was Tosh Lupoi, a man who bled Blue and Gold, started as a player and grew into a respected, classy recruiter/coach. Notice the past tense.

This week, he left the team, the act of which I have no problem with. Cal does not own him, and he has every right to do what is in his best interest. The way in which he departed, however, is where my frustration stems from.

With sports as well as life, I respect people based on how they play the game (a phrase that works for both sports and life). In basketball? Box out, play defense, make the right pass, shoot if you're open. In life? Don't do anything you wouldn't want done to yourself. Be conscious of people's opinions. Stand up for what you believe in. Pick your battles.

This coach, while at Cal, preached family, loyalty, etc., all qualities which I have learned to associate Cal with, from top to bottom. Every school has their skeletons, but I took pride in the notion that Cal has fewer than many others. Simply put, we do things the right way. The article I linked to describes many ways in which this was the exact opposite.

I will miss his recruiting skills and the feeling of having an ace in the hole. But after actions like this, I can say nothing else, but good riddance.