The district has become the old man down the street, standing in the doorway, yelling “Get off of my lawn!” at neighborhood kids, worried they will hurt themselves on his property.
The old man does not want to be held liable, and, of course, the kids can play in another yard; but what about the basketball players at this college?
Partially because of insurance and liability, this college has seen the loss of its motorpool, a major setback in the nursing clinic’s opening and now, our sports are disrupted.
Unable to compete against sanctioned teams because the district’s insurance carrier does not cover intercollegiate sports, games had to be cancelled.
The news came from Chancellor Bruce Leslie at the Nov. 6 Legal Affairs Committee meeting, after the start of the season — a big disappointment for players, especially at Palo Alto College, where they are petitioning to get their games back.
Not only is it a disappointment to players here, but other colleges we were scheduled to play have to change their game schedules as well. How’s that for advertising the Alamo Community Colleges? It should do great for the district’s reputation.
Why didn’t the individual colleges know about the insurance issue before planning intercollegiate games? We’ve already played against schools such as Rice University. Had something happened, there could have been a lot of trouble for the district.
What it all boils down to is the lack of communication between the district and the colleges. But, oh well, we expect there won’t be a motorpool to get teams to their games anyway.