Notre Dame fails to do right thing

Published Apr. 18, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

From Cam Newton to Stanley McClover, Josh Luchs to North Carolina, Jim Tressel to the Sports Illustrated article about the criminal element in several recent recruiting classes, it’s been a rough time for college football.

Why aren’t you as seething about the deaths of two students as you were about Ty Willingham’s inability to recruit top-shelf talent? Why aren’t you as embarrassed and ashamed of how the school is trying to avoid any real blame for Sullivan’s death as you were when Charlie Weis was losing to USC year after year? And how, again, for the love of God, are you possibly able to cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame with Kelly still on the sidelines? Really, are you that blinded by the promise and potential of having a good football program that you’re going to stand silent?

I’ve asked several current and former head coaches over the last several months what would happen if the Sullivan tragedy had happened on their watch, and they all had the exact same answer. To a man, they all said there is no way they could survive it, both personally and professionally, but apparently, that’s not the way things work at Notre Dame.

Kelly will run out of the tunnel with his team on a beautiful, remarkable Sept. 3 day to kick off the season against South Florida. Jack Swarbrick will still be the athletic director, John Jenkins will still be the university president and Sullivan and Seeberg will turn out to be sad, unfortunate footnotes on Kelly’s Wikipedia page while wins over USC will be highlighted up top.

Nothing will bring Sullivan back and nothing can possibly console Sullivan’s family adequately, but for Notre Dame, it’s apparently not enough to be found responsible by IOSHA for the death in a “preventable workplace fatality.” Now, with what came out today, the school has to dishonor his memory, too.

Notre Dame, you’re a private religious university that’s supposed to do what’s right and just.

Start acting like it.