1. The author finds it concerning that the Athletic Director allowed a player to participate in extracurricular activities while facing felony burglary charges, as it violates athletic policy. 2. By allowing the player to play, the university is condoning criminal behavior and sending the message that star athletes will not be held accountable. 3. The decision damages the university's reputation and image with alumni and donors by prioritizing athletics over ethics. If found guilty, the Athletic Director should resign for failing to uphold the university's principles.

1. Office of the President,
In the article titled, “Moostalks’decisiontoplayTago,”I finditverydisconcertingthatour
AthleticDirectorhasbeengiventhe authoritytoallow aplayertoparticipate inextracurricularactivities
and representWashingtonState Universityinawidelypublicizedsportgiventhathe isbeingcharged
withfelonyburglary.Especially,whenitspecificallyimpliesitisagainstathleticpolicytodoso, unless
there isextraordinarycircumstancesinvolved,whichhe didnotdiscussorimply.Iunderstandthat
everyone isentitledtotheirdue process,butin mostcriminal casesa prosecutingattorneywouldnot
file chargesagainstsomeone unlesstheyhavesufficientevidence toprove theyare guiltybeyonda
reasonable doubt.Withthatbeingsaiditshouldnotbe up fordebate onwhetherthatplayershouldbe
allowedtoplayor notbecause there issufficientevidence toprove the contrary.Giventhe severityof
the incidentIfinditjustifiable tosuspendthe playerfromplayinganygamesuntil the courtissue is
resolvedandthe resultisnotguiltyorthe charges are dropped.Byallowingthe playertoplayinthe last
twogamesyou are infact sendingamessage thatcriminal activity iscondonedaslongastheyare
consideredastar athlete.
Therefore, youare playingintothe issue thatiscurrentlyplaguingthe NFLandother
professionalsportsfranchisesbecause youare creatinganattitude inthese studentathletesthatsuch
behaviorisnota big deal,andthat infact youare rewardingthemforit.Did youstopand thinkabout
howthe victimmightfeel seeingthisathletebeingallowedtoplaydespitethe damagesthathe caused
anotherindividual?Didyoustopandthinkaboutwhatimage you are creatingfor WSU’s Athletic
Departmentandthe message youare sendingAlumni thatdonate moneytothe program because they
feel itcreatesa recognizablevisibilityforthe University?Whenyoumake decisionslikethattheyshould
not be takenlightlybecause itdoesn’tjusteffectthe Football Programiteffectsthe Mission,Vision,and
Objectivesof thiseducational institutionasa whole.Iteffectshow otherssee andperceive whatit
meansto be a COUG! We COUGS have pride inthisinstitutionbecause ithasinstilledvaluesinusthat
go furtherthenwhatwe learnedinthe classroom, andevenfurtherthenthe playsthatgo on,on the
field,orthe court.It is the valuesthatbindustogetheras a familyandwhenyouallow these atrocities
to existitdisintegratesthe tiesthatmake usa unique familyof COUGSwhostandby eachotherduring
tryingtimes,andhelpeachotherup whenwe face adversities.Youdefile whatitmeanstobe a COUG
by placingfinancial gainoverethicsandprinciplesthatmake usa strongfamilythatreachesbeyondthe
bordersof thisinstitution.
ThisMr. Moos iswhat youfailedtorealize whenyouallowedthatplayertoputonthe Cougar
jerseyandsteponthe fieldtoplaythe lasttwogames.ThisMr. Moos is whatyouhave placedin
jeopardy. So,whenyousayit ison me thenI hope youcan standuponthat statementandlookthe
victiminthe eye andsay the decisionwasjustifiedwhenthe final statementisreadincourton the
player’sinnocenceorguiltbecause thatmostassuredlywillbe onyouif he is foundguiltyinthe courtof
law.The way youjustifythatitwas the robbery that wasthe felonyandnotthe assaultprovesthatyou
didn’ttake itas seriouslyasyouclaim. “A person is guilty of second degree robbery if he commits the act
with an accomplice present. Second degree robbery may also occur if the perpetrator causes injury to a
person not involved in the crime or uses a gun, knife or other deadly weapon while committing the
robbery” (Advice Legal, 2016). It is also classified as a Class B Felony by Washington Law which shows
the severity of the charge because in the Washington State criminal system Class C is the lowest class
felony, then next is Class B, and finally Class A. Since, Tago is being charged with a Class B Felony the
act would prove it was significant enough to produce irreparable harm to the victim. With that said it is not
an act that should be rewarded with a simple slap on the wrist and the thumbs up to lace up and play ball.

2. If this is the kind of decisions that our Athletic Director is going to make then once the results of the case
are in and the defendant is found guilty in the court of law, then Mr. Moos should in all respect declare his
resignation as the Director and let someone else take his place that is going to uphold the principles that
Washington State University was built upon and what every Alumnus has come to know as what it means
to be a COUG!
Sincerely,
William K. Zink III
A WSU employee and a fellow COUG
Legal Advice.(2016). What are first,second,andthirddegree robbery?Retrievedfrom
http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/violent_crimes/robbery-
degrees.htm#ixzz4W403hAAq.