I would like to express my disappointment in the column published in Wednesday’s Daily entitled “Student-athletes lack respectability.” As a student-athlete, I am extremely offended by the content of this article and the way it makes all of my fellow student-athletes and me appear.

First and foremost the article looks bad for the entire university to say that the athletes who represent you “lack respectability.” The statistics presented are from a random website that may or may not have all of the student-athlete arrests recorded from each university; to use that to say Iowa State is second in the nation in citations is most likely not accurate. There is no consideration given to the fact that the reason most athletes wear sweats to class (which most don’t do) is because they probably just came straight from practice or have practice right after class.

Athletes do not get granted “forgiveness that others would be denied.” We have to jump through hoops to make up homework and exams that we miss due to travel and are forced to try to learn on our own the material we miss when we are not in class. Finally, the majority of the “free” gear we get has to be returned at the end of the year, and the stuff we do get to keep comes at the price of hours of practice, lifting, time in the training room, team meetings, study hall hours and mandatory talks. It is unfair and unprofessional to judge our level of respectability without presenting the facts correctly.

The majority of student-athletes follow the rules, demonstrate class by donating our time to several organizations in the community, demonstrate discipline by meeting all of the demands from classes and athletics and take pride in representing Iowa State.

The article states that it “is not meant to chastise or belittle any single person or program,” but the reality is it is referring to only a few athletes and does chastise the entire athletic department and indirectly the entire university.

I hope that in the future a more accurate representation of the university will be presented in the Daily.