Letters to the editor: On NMSU men's basketball
These letters published in the Dec. 11, 2022 print edition of the Las Cruces Sun-News.
Time for university to act
As details of NMSU men's basketball bleed out, it has become clear that men's basketball has no place at NMSU. Fire the head coach, fire the assistant coach, and fire any other staff/administration personnel who acted or did not act during or after the October NMSU v. UNM basketball fiasco in Las Cruces and/or the horrific events of the November scheduled game in Albuquerque. Expel every player who violated policies and rules in either event.
President and regents: As I read the mission of NMSU, "... to serve the diverse needs of the state through comprehensive programs of education, research, extension and outreach, and public service.” NMSU men's basketball is far outside the realm of this statement. It is time for you to act.
Thereafter, if there are any remaining sports at NMSU, perhaps staff and players will think of policies and rules as more than empty words. You say “no can do,” sports make money. I say “FIND ANOTHER WAY.”
Jean Berlowitz, Las Cruces
Cover-up worse than the crime?
My profession has taught me to always ask questions and not accept as true what is reported. Trust but verify. That said, the situation with the NMSU basketball team as reported and shown by videos has been handled about as incompetently as anything I have seen in a long time. Remember, Nixon was forced from office not by the crime, but by the cover-up.
It appears from all the reports I have seen that the NMSU administration and basketball program are coving the mess that went on like a cat in a litter box. If Peake had simply called the police instead of his teammates the matter would likely have been put to rest with his suspension for rules violations. The shooting per se appears to be clear self defense, so there is not much of an issue there.
The problem is the massive and wholly unnecessary attempted cover-up by team members and coaching staff, including the head coach. No matter what is done now, it seems to me the NMSU basketball season is toast. The team will likely be roundly booed wherever they go. A one-game suspension for after the fact conspirators? Nonsense! Season suspension seems the only reasonable punishment.
I know, basketball is a money maker for the school, but what is the price of honesty and integrity?
Steve McLary, Las Cruces
Adios, Pistol Pete
It's time for Pistol Pete to ride off into the sunset. The recent tragedy involving well armed Aggie and Lobo students and the nearly two-a-day mass shootings in this country says it's past time to stop the glorification of guns and gun ownership. Sending Pistol Pete to the last roundup would be a positive statement by NMSU.
NMSU didn't even invent Pistol Pete. We stole him from OSU. NMSU licenses Pistol Pete from Oklahoma State University for $10 a year as part of a settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit.
There is precedent for changing such icons at NMSU. In 1983 the yearbook dropped the name Swastika and became The Phoenix even though Swastika was chosen in 1907 as emblematic of Native American culture and long before the Nazis expropriated it. But politically correct at the time.
Larry Gioannini, NMSU '63
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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Letters to the editor: On NMSU men's basketball
