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The Rice Thresher
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commentary by Jose Luis Cubria for the thresher
By now most of you know the story, or at least the story according to Kalagoglu since head coach Julio Morales hasn't commented. Still, I'll rehash the main points for the benefit of those who haven't heard it. A couple of weeks ago, Morales dismissed Kalagoglu from the team because she wanted to miss practice to attend a job interview. According to Kalagoglu, she and Morales had previously agreed that she could miss practice for such an occasion. But when she brought it up, he went back on his word by giving her 10 minutes to decide between staying on the team or going to the interview. She chose the latter. Upon hearing this story, people's reactions have ranged from disbelief to outrage. In fact, I haven't heard this much reaction to something related to Rice athletics in a long time. Even people who usually don't care about Rice sports have called Morales dirty names. I, on the other hand, didn't react that way. Instead, I decided to give Morales the benefit of the doubt while I thought things through. Since then, I've looked at the situation from a variety of angles. And while I still think Morales messed up, let me say this: Things aren't that simple. Don't get me wrong. If forced to pick sides, I'd go with Kalagoglu in the blink of an eye. But I also think there are some other factors that must be considered. So let me play devil's advocate. Kalagoglu is a scholarship student-athlete, meaning she has a responsibility to her coaches, to her team and to her school to play volleyball. Does that mean it should come before school, her career and her future? It depends on your definition of "student-athlete." Regardless, I think it comes down to a very fine line, and I'm not willing to decide where that line should be drawn. I know of baseball players who miss practices to attend labs, and we've even had athletes miss championship tournaments for academic reasons. So, based on that precedent, Kalagoglu's missing one or two mid-season practices shouldn't be a big deal. But just because Morales disagrees doesn't make him wrong. Beneath the surface, there appears to be a history of tension between Kalagoglu and the rest of the team. Some teammates have publicly and privately questioned her commitment to volleyball, and Kalagoglu herself admitted that her heart wasn't completely into the game anymore. Is that reason enough to kick her off the team? That's not something I can or want to determine. If she had given up on volleyball and was just going through the motions, or if she was actually being disruptive, then maybe. And even then, only Morales would know for sure. And then there's context. At the time of the dismissal, the team was coming off a devastating weekend in which it lost two critical WAC games. So while Kalagoglu's mind was on her job interview, Morales was trying to figure out how to get his team back on track. And when one of his star players and supposed team leaders talked about skipping practice, he flipped out. And then he messed up. No, not by disagreeing with the timing of the request or with Kalagoglu's priorities. At that point, he could have done a number of things, including figuring out some other solution or taking the problem to his assistants or the other players on the team to see what they thought. Instead, he gave Kalagoglu an ultimatum and told her she had 10 minutes to make a choice. That's where he really messed up. It's not like Kalagoglu was choosing between french fries and hash browns; she was making a decision that, in one way or another, would greatly affect her future, both as a student-athlete at Rice and beyond. That's a lot to ask of someone in 10 days, let alone 10 minutes. Considering the unfortunate circumstances, Kalagoglu made the right decision. It's just too bad that Morales had to put her in a no-win situation.
Jose Luis Cubria is managing editor and a Sid Richardson College senior.
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