INFORMED
Players shouldnÕt have been left in dark

As the cliché goes, timing is everything.

Whether the men’s soccer team should have been cut could be debated endlessly, but the real issue is the players were kept in the dark until it was too late.

Athletic Director Eric Hyman said the decision came as a result of findings by the Commission on the Future/Role of Athletics Task Force, which were published in 2000. Although the final decision to cut the team may have been recent, the process was a long time coming.

The worst part is the players were not informed until after National Signing Day, thus limiting their options. They were also never included in the process or at least kept updated as to what could potentially happen.

“We had no idea, that’s what’s so interesting,” senior defender Adam Williams said. “There was no grace period, like a year and we would be done.”

Senior goalkeeper Michael Lahoud said players got treated unfairly because it is more difficult to transfer now.

“It’s ridiculous that they announced this after National Signing Day,” Lahoud said, “because it makes it much more difficult for guys to transfer because schools already have their new prospects.”

If players had known this was happening, at least they could have planned ahead or had other schools interested in them save spots for them to transfer.

Players say they are working on a petition to save the team, but if athletic administrators don’t bother to keep the players informed, why would they even bother to hear them out now?