Tyler Harper
Sports Editor
We know something is up.
Two weeks ago, a woman’s volleyball player came into the Eyeopener office and told us the team was having problems with coach Bob Chollette. As soon as we started digging, people lost their shit. Players suddenly refused to talk to us on the record and administration became defensive.
It can’t be expected that we would ignore this story, and the article above isn’t the one we wanted to tell.
We were led to believe the players wanted to go public with serious concerns about Chollette.
So when the players suddenly refused to go on the record, we came to the conclusion that either there was a miscommunication or nothing was wrong in the first place.
Instead of printing the comments of one disgruntled player, we refrained because it would neither be good journalism nor fair to Chollette and the team to write a story based on one source.
The Eyeopener is not a place for athletes to come and vent their frustrations unless they are willing to back up their words. If you have a problem with your coach, either talk to them about it or go to Sports and Rec first.
If the problem is serious and you want the Eyeopener to investigate, you are on the record and therefore responsible for the consequences.
If the players really wanted to get rid of Chollette, they just lost their best chance of doing so.
Chollette is a parttime coach with a mediocre winning record in a position that is likely going to become full-time once a permanent athletic director is hired.
But whether the team’s problem is Chollette or the players themselves is beside the point: no one is talking and for the rest of the year, we aren’t listening. There are no winners here.
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