By: Rico Albarracin/ Asst. Sports Director
As I walked into the press conference, the tension in the room was evident. There was a single thought on just about everyone’s mind: How was Wittels handling the pressure?
The baseball team held a press conference on Wednesday, to discuss the upcoming season and the possibility of Wittels breaking Robin Ventura’s consecutive hit streak. All the while ignoring the elephant in the room: Wittels’ allegations of sexual assault.
Leading into the press conference, the athletics department took on an ugly image as they tried to turn the media into an adversary. Making it seem as though the media was out to get Wittels. As a result, they turned the tables on themselves.
I really don’t know what the athletic department was thinking. When the Miami Herald first reported the story on Dec. 27, the university handled this situation in a horrible manner.
First, holding off the decision on whether or not to suspend Wittels, minutes before the press conference on Wednesday. Was the decision that hard to make? The university chose to let Wittels play, which seemed to be what they would’ve done for any player chasing a record.
Second, the athletic department threatening members of the media that they will get their credentials revoked if they asked any questions regarding the incident. Then, after it was clear that the media would call their bluff, they flip-flopped on their threat.
What happened to the stance on ending the conference early and removing media credentials? I don’t understand why the athletic department would threaten the people they need to become a major program. FIU needs the media to help get them where they want to go. Whether it be ESPN or a college newspaper, the school is not in a position to choose whom to give access to.
It became evident that they needed the media, as FIU opened up the questions to anything. Whether the players chose to answer the questions is a different case. The entire press conference turned into a media circus. Did the athletic department really think they could stop media outlets from asking questions about the allegations?
When the questions were fired, it became relentless. The athletic department instigated the media circus. Telling media members they can’t ask a certain question, and then threatening their coverage, would only spark a controversy.
It looked like Pete Garcia, athletic director at the university, may have quickly regretted giving free reign on the questions, as the barrage of queries about the allegations ensued. At one point, Garcia appeared to be uncomfortable. He motioned to a media relations staff member and appeared to try and have the conference stopped because of the firestorm that had been created.
As journalists, our job is to be insistent. We antagonize so that we can get information. It is not our fault that we are trying to cover a news story.
I didn’t want to know about how Wittels trained in the off-season. I didn’t want to know about what Wittels’ superstitions are. Most of the media didn’t want to know either. We wanted to know how Wittels was dealing with the pressure of juggling the accusations along with the streak.
Wittels handled the press conference well. He said the right things and probably handled the questions like any 21-year old would.
Given the situation, it would have become a circus anyway. The athletic department put themselves into a situation where they could not turn back. They went down a path that did not help them save face. The athletic department tried to protect one of their own, along with their image, and they failed.
The athletic department should have played this a different way. Allow access to the players and coaches. Don’t threaten the media, who is your only source of getting your name out. Let the press conference come along and let Wittels answer any questions with, “no comment.”
Hopefully the university learned a lesson from how they handled this, and in the case of a future incident, the athletic department will be better equipped to handle it in a professional manner. This time, they did not.
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