An article I read last week from Inside Higher ED explains how Leo Kocher, head wrestling coach of the University of Chicago supports and praises Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the House of Representatives who was charged for molesting four boys as a high school wrestling coach. As part of a plea agreement, Hastert admitted to trying to hide large payments that would cover up his acts of sexual abuse. He couldn’t be charged for molesting the boys because of statutes of limitations. Leo Kocher was one of 41 people writing letters to Judge Durkin, asking for a lenient judgement for Hastert. In his letter, Kocher praised Hastert for fighting the U.S. Education Department on Title IX and intervening with colleges that were considering to eliminate wrestling programs. He agrees with Hastert’s stance on the policy of “proportionality,” that there should be roughly an equal proportion of male athletes to female athletes. To comply with “proportionality,” many colleges attempt to eliminate all male college athletic programs (which tend to not make much money), such as wrestling. However Dennis Hastert, and Leo Kocher as well, encourage other ways to satisfy the proportionality policy that don’t involve the removal of these programs. In this case, I personally agree and think that the addition of more female athletic programs would be more beneficial than taking away students’ opportunities to participate in college athletics. Kocher doesn’t mention Hastert’s crimes, but ends his later by saying, “Denny Hastert is a good man — and is universally regarded as such by those who have gotten to know him.” An article in the New York Times stated that Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
This article grabbed my attention because I remembered feeling outraged learning the actions of Dennis Hastert. It really upsets me that he couldn’t be charged for the inhumane things he did decades ago because of the statutes of limitations. Even though Hastert was a high school coach, it’s still important to pay close attention to the indecencies that can take place in higher education. Just as I highlighted in my post regarding Donnie Tyndall and the academic fraud brought out by college athletics, it’s scary not knowing how many unexposed crimes could still be hiding within higher education.
Link to article: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/25/u-chicago-coach-tells-federal-judge-dennis-hastert-deserves-credit-fighting-title-ix
