Our Take

Majority opinions of The Red & Black's editorial board

By:

Posted: 3/7/07

NCAAdult swim

Regulations demand college athletes get out of pools, even on Facebook

Although not all students at the University get hyped up on March Madness, we all have a basic understanding of ethical principles.

Today, we want to pose an ethical question: is it okay for student athletes to enter brackets on Facebook, even if they don't have to pay to enter? The NCAA says no.

According to NCAA bylaw 10.3, no student athlete is allowed to "Participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics or professional athletics, through a bookmaker, a parlay card or any other method employed by organized gambling."

Apparently, Facebook is now a method of organized gambling. The web site's brackets are the new equivelant of insider trading.

But being in a seemingly benign March Madness pool on Facebook is rather different from real world betting pools, right?

While Facebook pools may seem harmless because players are not fronting any money, they can still profit nonetheless. The grand prize for the Global Bracket Challenge is $25,000. There are also a dozen other monetary prizes for winning bracketeers.

It's not Facebook's responsibility to regulate these brackets. The burden of responsibility is on each individual athlete to regulate his own behavior, according to the ethical standards of the NCAA.

We believe that athletes who are truly committed to representing their colleges and their sports wouldn't dive into March Madness pools - not even the ones on Facebook.

Internet madness

Since we know how much you enjoy surfing the Web while in class...

We at The Red & Black aren't just a bunch of ruthless news junkies - we enjoy the lighthearted and offbeat news as much as the next college student. Submitted for your approval, here are a few gems we found while browsing the headlines of Digg.com and Fark.com:

The Consumerist Web site posted Tuesday a copy of a complaint filed against Samuel Oscar Gonzales for ejaculating on a fellow passenger.

You read that right: he ejaculated on her.

According to the report, Gonzales sat in the seat beside the victim and she said Gonzales touched her. During that time her shirt was moved in an awkward position. When Gonzales got up, the victim said there was a substance on her back, the side of her sweater and the seat. The victim described the fluid as "semen." But apparently the whole world isn't as easily aroused as Gonzales appears to be.

Three boys are being sued in Germany for allegedly causing a male ostrich six months of impotence by setting off fireworks. The ostrich, named Gustav, apparently suffered from apathy and depression according to the legal documents outlined in Associated Press reports. The boys, if found guilty, face a fine of $6,450 in damages - the amount that Gustav's owner believes he lost by having a limp Gustav.

Whatever the outcome of these cases, we at The Red & Black are glad to see the world has some sense of humor - even if it comes with a hefty dry cleaning bill and little less ostrich meat this summer.