Last week I published an essay asking whether UL should continue athletics. For those who read to the end, my point was that with the change in administration, there now exists an opportunity to rethink & redesign the role that athletics plays in the University, in order to advance the core mission of the institution, and to maximize the impact that UL has on our community.

I received some pushback. There were those who felt like any criticism, or disagreement, or even hard questions about UL's athletics, were a threat to the University.

Diversity of opinion is the beating heart of a university. That someone who claims to support UL would do anything less than welcome such diversity, precisely illustrates one of the greatest dangers inherent athletics. That danger is the "sports mentality."

First, understand that all athletics are "zero-sum" games. Think of Monopoly; at the beginning and end of every game, there are exactly the same number of dollars, properties, houses and hotels. Nobody walks out with anything. It's zero-sum: nothing gained, nothing lost.

The sports mindset is the same situation. At the end of every season, the number of W's must equal-- exactly equal-- the number of L's. Zero-sum.

The only outcome of a sporting event, or a sporting season, is win-loss. Think about that. In sports, there is no win-win; there is no progress.

The astute observer will note that athletics often does create progress, by the effect it has on the community. Exactly my point. If we are not crystal clear about how that can, and does happen, progress is not a guaranteed outcome, by any means. We do not have to look far for examples of this. The nation, particularly the South, is littered with strong athletic programs attached to anemic colleges, which in turn are attached to feeble, miserable little States.

Which are too often governed by sad, miserable little people... precisely because of the sports mentality, the zero-sum mindset.

As an illustration of how that mindset infects government, consider that sports dominates so much of our speech: "getting to first base," "putting it out of the park," "going for the kill," "a slam-dunk," and so on. What most people seem to never notice, is that sports equally influences our thinking.

If you doubt that, look at so much of our political problems, particularly partisan politics. Our government is one of the most important activities in our lives, so any problems we see in the democracy are likely to be reflected in lesser things. Too often there is no win-win approach in government; the opposing sides do not start from the positions where they agree, and build out from there. To the contrary, it's football game. The sports mentality is, If we don't win, then clearly, we lose.

Next, consider that every sports fan will tell you, "Defense wins championships." In the political arena that translates to, "If I can stop you, I don't have to move the ball, I don't have to commit to progress." And that's exactly what happens.

If you think my point is exaggerated, look at higher education in Louisiana. Funding for higher education is one of only two governmental services not protected under the Louisiana Constitution, because when the Constitution was written in 1973, the universities were fighting with one another: I can win, you can win, but both are not possible.

It was a zero-sum game. Except that it's not, it's much worse than that.

Because if we're playing a zero-sum game in our state, and in the rest of the country colleges are working together to move everyone forward, then we're falling behind.

So now it's a negative-sum game.

And our universities prove it. We are among the worst in the nation, because the schools haven't worked together on funding... because if the state gives us all more resources, someone else might get more than we get. So I'm going to make sure that you get nothing, even if it means that I get nothing either.

Now if the schools won't cooperate to move themselves forward, then we can be quite sure they won't cooperate on issues that will move all of education, and the rest of Louisiana, forward. Then remember, our universities are supposed to comprise the smartest, wisest, best-educated people in the state. If our universities can't overcome the sports mentality, what hope is there for the rest of government?

That's the result of the zero-sum approach.

Which brings me back to my opening comment. How, one might wonder, does the sports mentality threaten diversity of opinion? Simple. In the sports mentality, any concerns other than winning are a threat. If "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing," then your whole life is dedicated to a zero-sum game. There is nothing to be won or lost outside of winning and losing itself. So anyone who suggests that there is more to life than a winning sports program, who claims there are prizes greater than bragging rights, is clearly a heretic.

When all you see is a zero-sum game, when your only goal is winning, any difference of opinion is sedition. If the game has no meaning external to itself, if we're not going anywhere, if we're not committed to progress-- not progress of the mind, not progress of the University, not progress of our community-- then anyone questioning our goals and our methods, and actually thinking about who we are and what we want, might undermine our win-at-all-costs mentality.

Sounds like college sports programs all over the country.

Which was exactly my concern; I don't want UL to end up like other universities. We have the opportunity to design something better. We have the opportunity to build an athletic program that enriches, not diminishes, the University and the life of the mind.

Diversity of opinion is the hallmark of a healthy community, it is the sign of a nonzero-sum game. Diversity of opinion is the dynamic creativity of the free market, it is the genius of the democracy, and it is the most critical, most precious activity of the University.

So when someone suggests that by voicing a different opinion I am hurting the University, we can begin to see just how dangerous, and pervasive, the sports mentality is.