Like many sportswriters, I've covered the range of organized athletics, from high school through college and now, usually, the pros.
And when covering student-athletes, a different sort of accountability is at work. A 16-year-old kid might wind up reading about his disappointing moment on the field in a news account, but it would be a hard-hearted sports journalist indeed who would judgmentally harp on such miscues. In contrast, the NFL or major league player who commits those same sins can expect the sting of criticism for the obvious reason: That player is getting paid to perform.
But then there is the in-between situation, meaning college athletes, especially so-called "big-time" college sports figures who, perhaps, are rewarded, in the form of a scholarship, for playing a sport. All of which brings us to Maryland quarterback Jordan Steffy.
Terps coach Ralph Friedgen has pleaded with Maryland fans not to boo Steffy, the target of fan ire in a 14-7 home win against the Delaware. Now, with the Terps coming off an embarrassing loss to Middle Tennessee State, which the senior quarterback missed because of a thumb injury, the stage is set for more unpleasantness for Maryland, and Steffy when he returns.
The strong vote here is for Maryland fans to heed Friedgen. This is still a student-athlete who is unlikely to play beyond his college years. If there is someone to be booed, perhaps it's the coach (as Friedgen himself has suggested).
But assuming the student is doing everything he is supposed do, which the coach has said Steffy has done, that fans vent their spleen on the 22-year-old senior is simply mean-spirited. Plus, it's certainly not about to make Steffy play any better. And considering that these are the last football games he is likely to play, it's unconscionable that the thing Steffy remembers most about them is being the object of scorn while fighting to do something good for his school.
