University employees, especially its coaches and administrators, are prominent faces of the University and should conduct themselves accordingly. After practice Tuesday evening, men’s basketball coach John Brady told a Daily Reveille reporter it is “nobody’s business” what issues reserve guard Tack Minor needs to clear up before he may play. The Times-Picayune reported that Minor is being investigated for academic issues, quoting an anonymous University official. This manner of talking down to journalists, especially a student journalist, is not the way a public figure at this University should carry himself. Student journalists deserve the same respect as professional journalists, especially in matters concerning University life. Students make up a large fan base for men’s basketball. Brady’s disregard for his responsibility to inform his fan base is both unprofessional and unwarranted. When asked about what issues Minor needed to resolve with the University, Brady said, “Just because he plays basketball at LSU doesn’t make him open game for everybody to find out everything about him.” It may be true that Minor is a student and deserves privacy protection, but he is also a figure who represents the University to the nation. Above all, Brady acts as the prime mentor for members of the basketball team and is the prime source for honest and accurate information about issues concerning his team members. After all, Brady said he is “working with [Minor] the best he can.” Brady is out of line making these comments while The Daily Reveille and other news outlets are investigating possible academic misconduct. For him to act with such a lack of tact is not only suspicious but unbefitting of a University employee. Brady himself admitted the Minor issue is “a campus situation.” And his comments represent a larger problem at the University, one where athletic professionals and administrators display actions which show an utter disregard for students. They continue to forget that without students they would not have a place to work in the first place.
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