A Search for Truth at UC Riverside

“No Harmony on This Court” (Oct. 30) was long on opinion and short on fact. Your unbalanced report portrayed a false and misleading image of indifference by UC Riverside officials to the concerns raised by several former and one current student-athlete of the women’s basketball team. All of the issues raised have been thoroughly examined by myself and others, and actions taken where appropriate.

The Times offered no evidence that departure of players over the last three years represented a “disproportional” attrition rate. Examination of other comparable NCAA Division II programs in California would reveal that UCR has an average or below average attrition rate.

The UCR women’s basketball team has a commendable academic record. Of the 13 seniors from the program over the last three years, 12 have graduated. Athletic success, too, has been notable--the team last year posted the school’s best record and appeared in the regional playoffs for the first time.

Oh, Coach Debi Woelke was selected CCAA coach of the year for 1990-91. Your report missed that, too.

JOHN MASI

Athletic Director, UC Riverside

(Editor’s Note: UCR’s university relations department helped provide the numbers on players leaving the program. Masi told The Times in a taped interview that the attrition rate of about 25% per season was both too high and unacceptable. Despite being required by the NCAA to compile and make graduation rates public, Kathy Barton of Riverside’s office of university relations could not provide complete statistics for the women’s basketball program. Partial information given to Barton from Masi is inconsistent with the 12-of-13 figure Masi mentions in his letter.) *

The article about the UC Riverside women’s basketball program was long overdue. Being good friends with many of the athletes in the program, both past and present, I have heard many horror stories that have arisen in the past couple of years. The athletes I know have been emotionally beaten, and their personalities changed.

These individuals were the top players in their respective programs, both on and off the court, before arriving at UC Riverside. It is a shame how much talent has been wasted in this soiled program. I have seen the love of the game stripped from these individuals. That is something that probably will never be recovered.

ALAN ITO

Brea

*

It is quite disturbing to see such unprofessional and negligent reporting from what I had thought was a well-respected newspaper. Being closer than most to the situations discussed in Ms. Cart’s article, I find it important that I let you know my observations were different than those expressed by a few student athletes and their parents.

It is ironic that Ms. Cart ends her article with a question that she spent virtually the entire article answering, but I will take this opportunity to answer it for her (since that is the only question she posed to me): It’s not your side telling the truth.

SARA LEWIS

UC Riverside assistant

women’s basketball coach