Sheena Johnson

I believe you must give respect where it is due. And the football team definitely deserves respect.

In past seasons, when the team was losing, they never got the recognition they deserved for their hard work and effort.

Now, they are on a winning streak and they have more fans and supporters rallying behind them.

So, congrats on your successful season thus far. I hope that people continue to give you the respect you deserve.

And while we are on the respect issue, I have a few concerns of my own.

Head football coach Rod Broadway has not been very cooperative with the Campus Echo staff this season.

There have been several occasions where he has been downright rude and disrespectful.

After last week’s game against St. Augustine’s College, an Echo staffer extended his hand to Broadway to congratulate him and he said to the staffer, “Not you man, forget you.”

Broadway then walked to his coaching staff, shook their hands, and began talking to them.

When the Echo reporter asked him a question regarding last year’s team, he said loudly: “I’m going to say this one last time. We are not the same team.”

Obviously not.

Last year he didn’t treat us in such a demoralizing manner.

Maybe he was trying to get on everyone’s good side; maybe his true colors are shining through now.

However, this was not an isolated incident.

He has made unprofessional comments to myself and to other staffers, and he refuses to give us the same respect he gives reporters from other newspapers.

Just because we are students does not mean we are not professional and do not know what we are talking about.

We are very serious about what we do, and we should be treated as professionals.

Part of being a coach means dealing with the media.

If you can’t do that effectively you risk the chance of creating a bad rep for your team.

Isn’t it ironic that the Echo covers a game every issue, but we don’t have the support of some of the athletic programs at the university?

New play in the book: