Why can’t KU play tournament games in Kansas City? Because the NCAA doesn’t do its job | Opinion
NCAA’s role
Why? Why will the University of Kansas not be given a chance to play in Kansas City if the Jayhawks win their first two games in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament?
Because the NCAA is vindictive. It is unable to govern fairly and independently, and as such, it’s time for the NCAA to return to what it was intended to be: an organization dedicated to providing sporting opportunities to college-age students.
Rules, penalties and judgments should be administered by an independent agency with no ties to the colleges themselves. An agency designed to arbitrate quickly and impartially is very much needed.
As for KU, it still received a No. 1 seed and still has to win, no matter its regional placement. But it just doesn’t seem fair that it plays the difficult schedule the NCAA claims has a strong influence on tournament seeding, only to witness the NCAA completely ignore that claim.
College sports has become a business, a business the NCAA is not designed to oversee. Time to move forward to something better.
- David Vanderwell, Olathe
Run the numbers
The submission of the annual budget by the president is a great opportunity for The Star to help educate its readers on the nature of the finances of our country. (March 9, 4A, “Biden budget aims to cut deficits nearly $3T over 10 years”; March 15, 15A, “Deficit reduction will be difficult in Biden’s budget”)
If the president gets all the tax increases he wants, would the annual budget be balanced? If not, how much new debt would be added?
The proposed budget would increase spending by about 8%. This is higher than the current inflation rate. What is causing the growth? What has been the annual deficit over the last six years?
This information is hard to find. The Star would do a great service to provide this information.
- Clark Lynn Israel, Pleasant Valley
I didn’t know
The student loan system is truly the most predatory lending scam in U.S. history. (March 14, 2A, “States look at student debt programs ahead of court case”) Aside from the fact that it’s much more difficult to discharge student loans than most others through bankruptcy, the federal system’s lending practices are designed to confuse and indebt borrowers for their entire lives.
It’s not explained that lowering your payment or a temporary forbearance could double the already compounding interest — there’s so much fine print. And on top of that, I have been given false information when inquiring about the process. Had I known certain things, I would have made different decisions.
Regardless, in what world is it just to borrow money and end up owing double that amount despite making payments? Those payments basically only go to the interest, so it’s a never-ending loop of debt.
Big corporations can erase millions of dollars with no complaints, but middle-class Americans who are saddled with interest double of what they borrowed fall prey to the system because there are so few safeguards to keep the Department of Education accountable.
The least lawmakers could do is return full bankruptcy protections to student debt. But at this late date, the loans should be canceled.
- Laurie Costanza, Kansas City
Give KCI time
Multiple recent headlines in The Star have made the new terminal at KCI Airport sound like a complete failure. I recently spoke with someone who delivers and picks up passengers several times a day. He said the man who reported it took him an hour and a half for a pickup had to be making a gross exaggeration. (March 10, 1A, “Passenger pickup delays tarnish experience at new KCI terminal”)
We all expect some problems to be worked through, but the condemnation in The Star’s headlines does a disservice to the city.
My contact said if you wait in the cellphone lot, like at many other airports, you can be at the gate to get your passenger in about five minutes.
We should all stay calm and give this new facility some love and time to smooth out the wrinkles.
- Jerry Kaplan, Prairie Village
