In the days leading up to the final match between the two UConn basketball teams, a resident assistant sent a sharply worded to those who live on his floor.
The email, simply signed Derek, informed residents on his floor that any celebration of the games would not be tolerated.
“I’m on duty tonight and it’s going to be stressful, so please don’t push it on our floor,” said Derek. This request was fair enough, but what followed turned from a simple request to downright insulting.
In the end, remember that the only reason you care about the game is:
a.) because they’re wearing a UConn uniform
b.) you want an excuse to go wild
It was getting worse, but it still wasn’t that bad. Then Derek typed this next line.
“If it’s the first one, you’re cheering for laundry,” said Derek in his email.
That is beyond disrespectful, not only to the students he is addressing, but to the university and the athletes.
Derek seems to have forgotten the hours of work these athletes have put into their sport. It’s not just “laundry” to these students. It’s more than a uniform. It is a lifestyle for them.
Whether or not you agree with the hype that surrounds “March Madness,” it is impossible to deny that these students have gone above and beyond simply being student athletes. It is not “laundry” that makes it to the final game of the most talked about college sporting event. It is the blood, sweat and tears of people inside those uniforms.
The RA, Derek, seems to have really had an unfortunate lapse in judgement when he hit the send button on that email sent to all students on his floor – dismissing the UConn team as inferior, compared to whatever status he may hold as an RA. Tonight, UConn men may once again become the national champion mens basketball team in the NCAA tournament. If you have the balls to say that a team of that status is equivalent to laundry, the smidgen of clothing they wear whilst performing, then I don’t even want to delve into what the equivalent of a Residence Hall Assistant is. Derek seems to have forgotten that the UConn team, and their collective of dedicated, hard-working players, who practice ruthlessly daily, are the very same people who have brought tons of attention to Connecticut athletics, championship rings, and much more. The money the team has helped generate for UConn could be some of the same money he receives in his measly RA paychecks. Not to mention the incredible number of players UConn has morphed into star professional NBA basketball players.
Derek’s statements to his residence hall were likely well intended, yet once he deviated from his original request for students to simply not go too crazy over the game, he added a lot of insult to an already sensitive situation. Students wouldn’t take lightly to being demanded to abstain from enjoying the biggest game they may ever experience in their lifetimes, which is why Dereks plan will likely backfire, and bring him the opposite of the result he originally asked for.