Gallaudet Athlete Program on Probation
Gallaudet is on probation for two (2) years which, during this time, means great scrutiny and accountability by the CAC
The 2005 and 2006 women’s volleyball championships won by Gallaudet are vacated.
The 2005 coach of the year award is also vacated.
__________________________________________________________________________
Office of the Provost – Academic Affairs                                                             Â
Telephone: 202-651-5085
800 Florida Avenue, N.E. Videophone: 202-651-6928
Washington, D.C. 20002-3695 Fax: 202-651-5372
To:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gallaudet Community
From:Â Â Â Michael L. Moore, Interim Provost
Date:Â Â Â Â June 12, 2007
——————–
The Capital Athletic Conference, CAC, which Gallaudet is a member of,
has investigated some several allegations of improper actions by our
athletic teams. This past week the CAC met and has imposed several
consequences specific to one of the alleged allegations for an
ineligible student-athlete during the 2005 and 2006 volleyball season.
· Gallaudet is on probation for two (2) years which, during this time,
means great scrutiny and accountability by the CAC
· The 2005 and 2006 women’s volleyball championships won by Gallaudet
are vacated.
· The 2005 coach of the year award is also vacated.
On a positive note, the CAC continues to welcome Gallaudet’s
participation in all the conference sports this year including the
championships for each sport. Provost-designate Weiner will follow-up on
this matter with a two-year review of all sports programs at
Gallaudet. I have taken steps to ensure that the Athletic Director and
coaches are thoroughly trained on all NCAA and CAC rules and regulations
and have taken steps to be sure that these rules are followed.
The decision of probation by the CAC sends a strong message to
Gallaudet’s athletic programs — improvement is not only needed but
necessary not simply for the CAC but for our students. Our athletic
programs have always been an important part of the learning process and
have provided invaluable leadership opportunities for our students.
Gallaudet stands committed to making the changes necessary to ensure our
students receive the best.
If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact me or
Dr. Weiner.
Commentary: What a shame that the Gallaudet Volleyball team lost their hard-earned championships due to the unethical actions of Gallaudet athletic director under IKJ administration. However, I feel this punishment is very fair and appropriate. This is what one gets when one violates the policy of an athletic organization and gets caught. It does NOT pay to cheat. In this case, innocent people, the volleyball team players, got hurt big time.
The list of corruptions done during the IKJ/JKF Administration keeps growing. If the press gets a whiff of this, this means more negative publicity for Gallaudet which will only hurt Gallaudet even more. I cannot help wondering if the student enrollment will be lower again this fall. Gallaudet had already lost a lot of students the last year due to the controversies. Oh, boy, what a big mess.  MZ
Mishkazena (TM)
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
Gallaudet is on probation for two (2) years which, during this time, means great scrutiny and accountability by the CAC
The 2005 and 2006 women’s volleyball championships won by Gallaudet are vacated.
The 2005 coach of the year award is also vacated.
__________________________________________________________________________
Office of the Provost – Academic Affairs                                                             Â
Telephone: 202-651-5085
800 Florida Avenue, N.E. Videophone: 202-651-6928
Washington, D.C. 20002-3695 Fax: 202-651-5372
To:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gallaudet Community
From:Â Â Â Michael L. Moore, Interim Provost
Date:Â Â Â Â June 12, 2007
——————–
The Capital Athletic Conference, CAC, which Gallaudet is a member of,
has investigated some several allegations of improper actions by our
athletic teams. This past week the CAC met and has imposed several
consequences specific to one of the alleged allegations for an
ineligible student-athlete during the 2005 and 2006 volleyball season.
· Gallaudet is on probation for two (2) years which, during this time,
means great scrutiny and accountability by the CAC
· The 2005 and 2006 women’s volleyball championships won by Gallaudet
are vacated.
· The 2005 coach of the year award is also vacated.
On a positive note, the CAC continues to welcome Gallaudet’s
participation in all the conference sports this year including the
championships for each sport. Provost-designate Weiner will follow-up on
this matter with a two-year review of all sports programs at
Gallaudet. I have taken steps to ensure that the Athletic Director and
coaches are thoroughly trained on all NCAA and CAC rules and regulations
and have taken steps to be sure that these rules are followed.
The decision of probation by the CAC sends a strong message to
Gallaudet’s athletic programs — improvement is not only needed but
necessary not simply for the CAC but for our students. Our athletic
programs have always been an important part of the learning process and
have provided invaluable leadership opportunities for our students.
Gallaudet stands committed to making the changes necessary to ensure our
students receive the best.
If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact me or
Dr. Weiner.
Commentary: What a shame that the Gallaudet Volleyball team lost their hard-earned championships due to the unethical actions of Gallaudet athletic director under IKJ administration. However, I feel this punishment is very fair and appropriate. This is what one gets when one violates the policy of an athletic organization and gets caught. It does NOT pay to cheat. In this case, innocent people, the volleyball team players, got hurt big time.
The list of corruptions done during the IKJ/JKF Administration keeps growing. If the press gets a whiff of this, this means more negative publicity for Gallaudet which will only hurt Gallaudet even more. I cannot help wondering if the student enrollment will be lower again this fall. Gallaudet had already lost a lot of students the last year due to the controversies. Oh, boy, what a big mess.  MZ
Mishkazena (TM)
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
June 12th, 2007 at 10:14 am
ok- my question:
Where are all those Pro-IKJ people now?
Still defend that corrupt administration?
Shame on them!
June 12th, 2007 at 10:20 am
So do we know what the actual offences were?
I’m just curious.
Dennis
June 12th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Oh geez,
It is going to get better… There is a light at the end of the tunnel… What comes around goes around with those people who done harm…
June 12th, 2007 at 10:21 am
In what way did they cheat on?
By letting them play even through their GPAs were lower than what they expect?
June 12th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Wow! How does it happen? For almost two years under the IKJ administration…..Ethical issue. I guess the CAC must have rolled their sleeves to investigate the allegation AFTER IKJ administration have broken up…..really strange.
Can you tell us what happened from the beginning until the end?
Is the reason why Mr. Defantso (spell?) will have to face this kind of problem?
Fill us in, please.
White Ghost
June 12th, 2007 at 10:34 am
What a shame! I wonder how the CAC got wind of the offenses - someone squealed?
Not sure we can actually blame IKJ/KJ; of course they are responsible for whatever happens on their watch.
Will this be the end of Destefano as AD?
June 12th, 2007 at 10:38 am
*whistles* I do find it odd that all of the sudden investigations are starting NOW, instead of back then. But CAC wouldn’t do this without any merit. Such a shame that Gallaudet’s reeling from so many blows!
June 12th, 2007 at 10:38 am
White Ghost- I really have no information than what is reported here. But I do want to tell you- it’s often the case that a legal body, say the NCAA, almost always investigate violations after they have occurred. It’s seemed to the case here. Someone reported the violation(s) to the authority, who investigated the situation. Nothing strange about that.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Ah…the birds have come home to roost. My sources tell me the VB players were very much aware that rules were being broken, but that didn’t matter as long as championships are won! Ethical decision making is not one of Gallaudet’s student body’s strong points!!
Don’t be so fast to pin this on the administration. There are skeletons allllll over Gallaudet, and very few people are “innocent”. I love it! I can’t wait for more dirt to come out. Maybe then the Gallaudet community can finally clean house and start the long hard road towards building legitimate respect, not tolerance just because the student are a “protected class” of citizens.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Call Cliff Griffin to come back and Charge basketball team…
bye JIMMY Destefano
June 12th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Cliff Griffin was former assistant coach with Jimmy D. Now he works in New Mexico School for the deaf..
June 12th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Cliff was the one who attacked Kevin Kovacs during the basketball game. No thanks. Don’t need another drama.
R-
June 12th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
To CyanSquirrel:
This is IKJ admin. fault. The students, accroding to one story, were being told that was ok-by IKJ people. Also, it is the job of any administartion to keep the students informed and in line with the complex rules of eligibility.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Both Debbie and Jimmy DeStefano were fired. Wonder if they were tag team and they only recently found out Debbie fixed the grades for players Jimmy wanted to play on court? Debbie was in Records and Jimmy in Athletics.
If this is the case, this goes to prove the theory that any school should not employ a husband-wife team in any administration positions. At my school, the rule is no spouse can work for the same supervisor or work in the same department. We have one such instance but one works in Special Services and another in Athletics - two totally unrelated departments. Another case whose relationship is not legal - one is in transition and another a elementary teacher. My own parents - my father was a voctional teacher and my mother a houseparent. My husband and me - I worked in girls dorm and my husband in boys dorm. BUT we did have the same Dean but we reported to different supervisors - I reported to my dean who worked the day shift and my husband reported to the night supervisor.
I think this is a good policy.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Elizabeth,
Perhaps you would consider asking for an interview with I. King Jordan? One may reach him via email: irving.jordan at gallaudet.edu. I understand that he is on the campus on a regular basis and will resume the professorship with the Department of Pscyhology this fall. If he accepts
the interview, perhaps you would request a videotape?
June 12th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Dennis and Julie, keeping an inegible player (s) in the team by grade-fixing. I seem to recollect vaguely there was a problem with another varsity team, not vb team. I wasn’t aware of the vb team until this report got released.
Old Friend, the rumor is that Jimmy is suspended. I am not sure what his current official status is.
Jean, I doubt Jordan would want to have an interview with me. I’m not exactly a ‘neutral’ interviewer, but it is a good idea, though.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Hey,
Thanks for keeping me in the loop. I am glad there is some level of “discipline” to ensure fairness. It’s too bad some people resorted to this at Gally. I hope that it doesn’t reflect the whole university and dampen efforts to get more freshmen to come to this wonderful university. I heard that a bus load of CSDF students are attending CSUN. Geez.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Hey Blues,
I hear ya, but I respectfully disagree. The students are adults. They are old enough to do the research themselves instead of relying on others to inform them of the rules. Serious athletes educate themselves on the do’s and do-not’s in their chosen sport. They find out the rules they need to abide by so their hard earned wins are not for nothing. Should Gallaudet students be exempt from this expectation because they are deaf (read: helpless, dependent, used to having others do everything for them?) To say it was the administration’s responsibility is true in a sense. However, failing to inform the players, regardless of the reason, does NOT absolve the players from a tiny bit of personal responsibility of finding out for their own information and most importantly, ASKING QUESTIONS. From what I’m hearing, they players broke many rules…and if they didn’t know they were, their teammates sure as hell knew rules were being broken.
Here’s the shortlist of rules broken…tell me where the players are NOT responsible for their own conduct:
1. Too many semesters/games under their belt.
2. Too many off season conditioning days (coaches fault more here, I admit.)
3. Participation in IM sports that give advantages over others (ie IM volleyball, which affords more practice and competition experience than others)
4. Low GPA, but still on the court (THIS rule I’m sure is in the athlete contract students agree to and are supposed to read before they sign on the freaking dotted line, so to speak. I could be wrong.)
June 12th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Again-the rules of the NCAA are very complex. That is why you have, at hearing colleges, FULL time coordinators to “watch” over the regular-student-athletics. Even then, they still get into trouble. Please don’t tell me that it should not be any different at Gallaudet. When I taught at U. of Maryland - I knew at least 3 persons (students-athletics) who got in trouble. And they have a full time person who tries to make sure that everyone follows those very complex-and-confusion rules.
You don’t seem to remember when you were young. I remember my youth very well. And I can tell you that I made many mistakes due to my youthfulness. Students are students.
In this case- if everything I am reading is correct- it fell on the IKJ adm. to supervised and step in when these problem came up. They didn’t. And now Gallaudet has yet another black eye- thanks to IKJ adm.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Blues, I remember when I was young. I still AM young, smiles. A 2006 graduate of Gally, as a matter of fact. So all of this is still very, very fresh for me. I know almost all of the people involved. And unfortunately my opinion of my peers at Gallaudet is not very high, so pardon my bristling at yet another attempt to pass the buck (in my opinion). You are correct that a full time compliance officer would have made a difference. Everything is easy to diagnose after the fact, eh?
Speaking of personal responsibility, I accept my own part in Gallaudet’s accreditation fiasco, mostly due to the fact that I didn’t do very much to improve Gallaudet’s standards for undergraduate education while I had the chance. That’s being taken care of now, thanks to a complete overhaul of the curriculum (God bless those who are doing this.) However, I could have demanded as much of my peers and my professors as I demanded of myself. I got straight A’s but I tell ya, they don’t feel like A’s in retrospect. I just finished a graduate level class at GMU, a hearing university, and I received an A- for about twice the work and research and (goodness) WRITING compared to what I had to do at Gallaudet (multiple choice tests at the 400 level, anyone?) THAT feels like an A.
Anyways, yes administrators have a fiduciary role, but it’d be great to hear that the students/athletes did everything they could without the help of the hovering parent. Then when things fall apart, they can legitimately place the entire blame on the administration. I’m no IKJ apologist; there’s plenty of manure all around, laughs. However, college students of any stripe are still adults and still expected to look out for number one, so to speak. I did it…so do many of my friends still attending Gallaudet. I fear, however, they are the minority. Making mistakes is part of the growth process, but if you take athletics seriously, I would think you’d educate yourself on the basics without the proverbial ruler over your hand. :-/
June 12th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
…I’m just sayin’. Take it or leave it. Regardless, it’s nice to discuss this with you respectfully, Blues. Thanks
June 12th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Jordan has the audicity to return to Gallaudet to teach?? If I were still a student, I’d never sign up for his class! He is responsible for bringing Gallaudet down. I fail to see how he could stroll on campus as if nothing happened and he has the perfect right to be there. I can only arrive to one conclusion - he is denying he had any role in collapse of his own administration and the protest. Talk about ego.
Any news on removing his name on the building and his wife’s name in the art gallery?
June 12th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
I want to emphasize that Gallaudet Athletics was not disciplined by the NCAAs. They were disciplined by their own conference, the CAC.
Catholic University of America has full-time position titled: Compliance Director. Its purpose was to ensure that all student-athletes, coaches and the programs do not violate the rules. I know for a fact that Jimmy DeStefano has been trying for many years to create this particular position but thanks to IKJ/JKF/CMP — they resisted his proposals for many years.
R-
June 12th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
“Making mistakes is part of the growth process, but if you take athletics seriously, I would think you’d educate yourself on the basics without the proverbial ruler over your hand. :-/”
Comments like that are not helpful here. But for the record:
I do, in fact, know what I am talking about. You see, I am a full time coach at a major local university. And i do have alot of deaf frineds. And students are studnets., It falls to the admin. to do the responsible thing- in this case, IKJ should have hired a full time complirent officer. The rules are very complex.
Ridor: CAC is part of the overall NCAA structure, in one way or another.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
I know there are many universities do have the compliance committees and directors.
I would have surprised if there is no Director of the Compliance at Gallaudet. IF, IF, IF, there is NO Director of the Compliance, then, who is the responsible to ensure all the student-athletes, coaches and the programs from all violations and drugs at Gallaudet?
There must something wrong at Gallaudet.
So, Misha, could you please research and provide us the status about the Director of the Compliance at Gallaudet?
White Ghost
June 12th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Cyan Squirrel, I see you attend GMU also? I just finished my first two semesters and am registered for the Fall semester. What’s your major?
Shame on the Gally sports probation. Cleaning up what IKJ and JKF left behind ain’t going to be easy.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Guys—think about this for a minute. Who was violating the rules? The IKJ administration or Jimmy DeStefano?
Jimmy’s role as AD is to ensure that everything is in compliance with the existing rules and regulations since there is no compliance officer.
To blame IKJ’s administration for this is kind of misleading. We are quick to defend one of our own against IKJ, aren’t we?
My point is… Jimmy damn well knew that he was violating but he did not do anything. In fact, he conspired with his wife to admit some students so they can play basketball? Do you think that’s right?
Frankly, if IKJ is to be held at fault for this, it would be because he did not fire Jimmy sooner.
June 13th, 2007 at 12:20 am
Gallaudet University continues to encounter new challenges that soon will be paving the way to making the university a brave new world for their future students.
June 13th, 2007 at 2:06 am
Name Withheld Upon Request Says–
If Jimmy’s role as a compliance director, is to ensure that everything is in compliance with the existing rules and regulations AND the role as Athletic Director, is to operate the sports, could be the conflict of interest.
IKJ administration already made the HUGE mess!
White Ghost
June 13th, 2007 at 5:52 am
This is a black eye in more ways than one. If this is an example of what happens at Gallaudet, were there similar examples of dodging the standards elsewhere?
The one about grade fixing to pass students
mentioned in the Washington Post comes to mind.
In an institution, there may be proliferation of such underhanded dealings and this may be the top of the iceberg.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Cy, unfortunately with tenure, Jordan and even Fernandes can teach if they desire. I personally feel to promote healing and goodwill at Gallaudet, they should leave, but if they want to teach, it is their prerogative.
Dianrez, that’s what I am wondering. It seems the corruption is so insidious.
Whether the IKJ administration is responsible for the actions of the athletic director, the buck stops at the IKJ administration. Had they done better job monitoring, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened. We will never know. However since this isn’t the first time they have been accused of corruption, it seems to be not unusual in that administration… I hope Davila administration will do a thorough clean up and install a strong code of ethics among the stakeholders.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:11 am
To: Name Withheld Upon Request Says
At most colleges/universities, the AD is NOT the compliance person. The AD has a lot on his/her plate. The job of a compliance person is a full time job. The rules are so complex and confusion - that is why lawyers are hired when there are investigations by the NCAA.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:43 am
I might be wrong but I think it is current procedure in some cases that conferences (such as Capital Athletic Conference) only handle infractions before NCAA takes any further action if necessary. Why? It’s a matter of delegation by NCAA to CAC. If you dare look up the NCAA database its not the first time for Gallaudet. Back in the late 1970’s the then college’s baseball team got their wrists slapped for what I believe is usage of an ineligible player. It was self-reported.
June 13th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Apologies to MZ for going off topic here and hijacking your comment thread…
Rob G., to answer your question, I’m in the graduate program at GMU for public administration, with a focus on non-profit management. I won’t be enrolled in the fall but will be back in the spring
I’ve heard of, but not seen, many deaf at GMU. I suppose you know Lloyd Carrera, then? My GMU email is jkeener1 if you’d like to discuss this more off this website.
June 13th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Blues:
Fair enough. I accept your credentials and agree you probably know more about the administrative perspective than most of us. Thank you for sharing.