Dear Editor,

I realize Georgetown was put in a precarious position not of their own making in Beijing during the brawl, but despite the diplomatic delicacy of the situation, it was very disappointing that not one official from Georgetown’s administration (or the government for that matter) voiced support for the student-athletes by at least saying in public it was unacceptable.  They did not have to get into the reason the Chinese team acted that way since it is a mystery, but it is not out of the realm of possibility to suspect nationalistic and racist overtones.  They should not bury their heads in the sand as they are doing, given the dangerous situation the players were in.

Georgetown’s overarching goal should not be to promote their  ”global brand” like a company that only cares about profits, but rather to protect and promote the students who actually attend the school now. In this case, they failed to do that even symbolically and the one public relations message that is coming across is that they put their global ambitions in front of the Jesuit values they are founded upon.  Not only that, but the players and coaches seem to be effectively muzzled with no comments aside from diplomatic talking points by coach Thompson.  I hope that The Hoya will address this deafening silence since the administration and government are too afraid to say the truth.

Sincerely,

Robert Smith

Class of ’96