When Tyrone Willingham was dismissed from his coaching responsibilities at Notre Dame, many people were shocked and upset, according to the press.
While I have the utmost respect for him, I was not one of these people. I, however, am shocked and upset by the way the media is handling this situation. For the most part, the media, including ESPN and even The Observer, has been misrepresenting the opinion of the majority. According to these news outlets, most people did not want Willingham to be fired and were very happy with Notre Dame's mediocrity in football. While I have not taken a poll of all the people who have an opinion on this subject, I feel very confident in saying the majority does not feel this way. Ask most alumni, read Notre Dame internet sites like NDNation, and you will see the majority actually was happy with this decision.
I may not be a professional journalist, but I do know a thing or two about journalism. One thing I do know is that the news is supposed to be objective not sided as it has been in this case. It seems as if they have been hunting and pecking to find the interviews that support the point they want to stress, that Willingham should not have been let go. I'm not asking The Observer, ESPN or any news outlet to just report on what the true majority feels, but on both sides. Instead of merely interviewing or printing letters from Notre Dame "fans" (and I use that term very loosely) that know little to nothing about college football or Notre Dame's football history and tradition, throw in a few that represent the other side, what I and most others feel is the true majority.
Ellen Fitzgerald
alumnae
class of 2003
Dec. 2
