I cannot help but be appalled by
the ineptitude and lack of courtesy
shown in handling the dismissal of
Coach Blackburn. I do not think
anyone in the University
community, regardless of his
opinion of Blackie's coaching
ability, could possibly acquiesce to
the behavior of Vice President for
Student Affairs D. Alan Williams
and our super Athletic Director to
be, Gene Corrigan in handling the
matter.
There are several things which
disturb me about the whole affair.
First, why was Coach Blackburn
not given an opportunity to resign
gracefully? This common courtesy,
usually offered to coaches in this
situation, was not extended to
Blackie. Instead, he was told of his
dismissal at the same time a
Richmond TV station was
broadcasting an already prepared
release.
This brings me to another point;
why was it necessary to deliver the
news to Richmond? Unless it was
thought the Richmond TV stations
should have an exclusive scoop at
Coach Blackburn's expense, I think
it would have been much more
appropriate to have disseminated
the news here in Charlottesville.
The bumbling manner in which
the affair was handled far surpasses
any ineptitude shown by Coach
Blackburn on the football field.
This whole disgraceful matter could
probably have been prevented if
Mr. Corrigan, who is not yet even
employed by the University, and
Mr. Williams had been able to
control themselves long enough to
let Athletic Director Steve Sebo,
who was away due to family illness,
handle the situation.
Perhaps their sense of
competition is so keen that they
felt it necessary to try and outdo
Virginia Tech in the highhanded
manner in which they fired their
football coach. At least Coach
Clairborne was given the chance to
resign.
Douglas S. Hamm
Commerce III
