Angered over a recent editorial in the school paper, the head football coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater has denied student reporters any access to his team this coming fall.
And of course as all such things generally do, the entire controversy ended up with a totally gratuitous shot at the soccer team.
Head coach Lance Leipold said no one from the student-run newspaper could call anyone associated with the football program unless he approved. And he said student journalists will not be allowed to answer questions from student reporters during the 2009 season.
"The door is shut," Leipold said. "Go cover soccer. I have (head coach) Greg Henschel's number. I'm sure that will be fun."
Poor Greg. How did he get dragged into this?
The paper, the Royal Purple, had a better quote however.
Leipold was angered over former sports editor Michael Daly's editorial, titled "Spoiled athletes need reality check."
"This is [expletive deleted] bullshit," Leipold said. "It's going to be a bitch to try to cover football next season."
But wait a minute: If Leipold cut off all access, how did the Royal Purple get that quote? And isn't "bullshit" an expletive?
This much is known, however: The offending editorial, headlined "Spoiled athletes need reality check", detailed an incident in which three football players tried to work out at a campus facility without showing their student IDs. The Warhawks, which play in Div. III, have won or shared the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association title each of the past four seasons.
UPDATE: Leipold has apologized to the newspaper after an apparent upbraiding by the athletic director. All is forgiven, and access has been restored.
Meanwhile, student journalism felt the sting of rebuke yet again as the Texas Christian media relations department banned broadcast journalism major Brian Smith from using their camera equipment. The edict came down after Smith criticized TCU starting quarterback Andy Dalton in an "On Campus Cam" video report.
Football Coach Bans Royal Purple From Covering Team [The Royal Purple]
Whitewater Football Coach Bans Student Reporters [Milwaukee Journal Sentinal]
TCU Bans Student Reporter For Criticizing Quarterback [The Wiz Of Odds]