So out of our 15 min conversation, the writer for this Berkeley Beacon Article only quoted me as saying "I just felt like someone who was more like a prisoner" and "I almost feel like I am not an Emerson alumnus".
Evan, I would like to applaud your efforts in giving a voice to many student-athletes who have experienced or are currently experiencing frustration with the current AD. Although, I must say, it is disappointing to see that there is no context given behind those specific quotes that he used to represent what was said during our conversation. I feel like there are some things that need to be clarified. To the "I just felt like someone who was more like a prisoner" quote, I was speaking to the FACT that during my Junior and Senior under the current Athletic Director's administration the athletes on the Men's Basketball team were given 3 pairs of athletic socks. These socks were the only 3 pair that were allowed to be washed in the laundry for our team. As an athlete, underwear and socks are necessities that need to be washed on a daily basis when there are games or practice six days out of the week. At the end of the year all of my teammates were mandated to return used socks or pay a fee of $10 to keep the 3 pairs of socks! This is the context behind the first quote he used.
To the "I almost feel like I am not an Emerson alumnus" quote, I was speaking to the FACT that during my senior night under the current Athletic Director's administration I also did not receive ANY type of communication or congratulations from her for my dedication to the Men's Basketball program or Athletics as a whole. As a student-ATHLETE, I do not feel like alumni. As a student, I have no complaints with Emerson College as an institution. I have great admiration for the education, teachers and mentors that I have acquired during my four years at Emerson. I am very proud to be an Emerson College alumni as it has enhanced my knowledge and established a foundation for me to grow both personally and professionally.
I do not dislike Kristin Parnell. I did dislike the atmosphere that was created by her in the athletics department during my 2 years under her administration and would hope that future athletes would not have to share these experiences. As I said before, I have great admiration for the education, teachers and mentors I encountered. It is unfortunate that the opportunity for her to be added to that list was never truly presented. Lets be clear, Emerson College does not have a history of being a top-notch athletic program and it hasn't been a main attraction of the institution but that does not excuse the insensitivity from the current Athletic Director. I'm sure many people do not care about athletics at Emerson either but athletes are students as well. Whether your extracurricular time is spent in athletics, theatre, film, marketing, communication disorders, etc. It is still an investment we are paying to be involved in and often times athletes have to maintain school work, extracurricular activities and athletics. As an athlete from a young age it hurt that my athletic career had to finish without any acknowledgement from the leader of that department.
I have nothing personal against Evan Sporer, I just felt like things needed to be clarified.
