March 27, 2019

March 27, 2019

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Volume XCIX

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Est. 1929

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www.sjuhawknews.com

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The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University

‘Sucker punch’ Former St. Joe's men's basketball Head Coach Phil Martelli in front of the bench in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena. PHOTO: LUKE MALANGA ’20/THE HAWK

ANA FAGUY ’19 Editor in Chief NICK KARPINSKI ’21 Sports Editor

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n all honesty, Phil Martelli didn’t see it coming.

Martelli had received a text from Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner, J.D., the morning of March 18, asking him to join her for a 1:30 p.m. meeting in Regis Hall with University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D. Martelli didn’t think anything of it. In fact, he had prepared for it, spending the weekend making notes for what he thought was a typical end-ofthe-season review.

“I had spent all weekend writing up paragraphs and paragraphs and paragraphs and paragraphs of changing this or moving that or changing staff assignments or doing something different in strength and conditioning and nutrition and practice,” Martelli said. “So I just thought that that was what we were doing.”

Reed began the meeting.

“Dr. Reed did some historical remembrances about things that he and I had been through, and then he turned it over to Jill,” Martelli said.

Bodensteiner told Martelli the program needed a change, and it soon became

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clear to Martelli that the change was him.

“Jill said it,” Martelli remembered. “She said it. She said change is necessary, and I realized, ‘They’re talking about me.’”

Martelli said he understands it was their decision to make, to let him go after 24 years as the head coach of the St. Joe’s men’s basketball team. He’d been a part of the program since 1985 when he was hired as an assistant men’s basketball coach, rising to head coach in 1995.

But the way the message was delivered felt like a “sucker punch,” “a blindside tackle,” and one, Martelli said, that “cut my heart out.”

“The messaging that I wasn’t good enough to coach the team was what got communicated,” Martelli said. “It’s devastating. I always tried to be a good partner.

We had a lot of good partners at Saint Joseph’s, or we would not have had the success that we had. But at that moment in time, all I knew was, ‘You’re not good enough.’ And that’s a baseball bat to your gut.”

Bodensteiner gave Martelli the opportunity to retire, but he said he didn’t consider it at all.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Martelli said.

“That isn’t honorable. Kids go to school because of their coach.”

After the meeting with Bodensteiner and Reed, Martelli went straight to his car.

His thoughts immediately shifted to his family. He drove 30 minutes to his home in

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Media, Pennsylvania.

When he walked in, he found his wife, Judy Martelli, in the computer room.

There, he was forced to say the dreaded word aloud: “Fired.”

The Martellis spent the next half hour in their computer room, crying.

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t 7 a.m. the next morning, Phil and Judy Martelli arrived in the video room in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena for a meeting with the team.

Assistant Coaches Geoff Arnold ’86, David Duda and Mark Bass ’95 knew why the team was gathered that morning. Martelli had spoken to all three by phone the night before.

“It was a challenge because when I’m talking to them on FaceTime, I don’t [just] see them,” Martelli said. “I see their wives.

I see their children. I see their world, and it’s not that their world was changing. Their world was imploding. As the head coach in this situation, I feel that I have failed them.”

The players, though, had no idea what was in store. Martelli texted them frequently and they didn’t think anything of his request to meet that morning. Martelli, who rarely scripts his remarks, had written a message to deliver to them.

“I didn’t know if I could get through it if I didn’t script it,” Martelli said. “The players were shocked.”

After he made his remarks, the Martellis got ready to leave. But the 14 players were not ready to let go. They each thanked him.

They hugged him. They said they loved him.

“These are young men, and we’re not really that comfortable expressing emotion,” Martelli said, holding back tears. “But when a 19-year-old kid says he loves you, take it from there.”

Senior guard Chris Clover, one of the players in the room, said he and his teammates were stunned by Martelli’s news.

After the Martellis left, the players sat in silence for 10 minutes.

“No words were said,” Clover said. “We just went back into the locker room, and that was it.”

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t about 10:30 a.m., Bodensteiner emailed the campus community to let them know that Martelli was out and the university would immediately begin a search for a new coach of the men’s basketball team.

The Martellis were already back home by then. They sat together in a recliner for the rest of the day, waiting for sleep. But as word spread, the phone calls and emails began pouring in, thousands of them, and Martelli knew he would answer them, all of them.

“It’s always been a big deal to me that you answer everything that comes in,” he said.

SEE PG. 2

FOR MORE MARTELLI COVERAGE SEE PAGES: Martelli leaves mark on Hawk Hill

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Recruiting impacted by Martelli’s firing

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Column explores backlash against Bodensteiner

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The Hawk Newspaper

March 27, 2019

News

MARTELLI REELS FROM FIRING

Former Head Coach Phil Martelli, days after being fired from St. Joe's, said he struggled to deliver the news to his family. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

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hile Martelli had a scripted message for his players, when telling his three adult children and their spouses, he said he spoke from “my heart and my head.”

Elizabeth Jeffries ’09, Martelli’s youngest of three children, was upstairs tending to her four-month-old when she heard her dad’s voice down the stairs. While Martelli lives nearby, his unannounced visit was out of the norm. She instantly knew something was wrong.

“It really was as if I was looking at someone who didn’t know where he was or what was going on around him,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries’ thoughts immediately turned to her grandfather, Phil “Pops” Martelli Sr. Pops had been a fixture at St. Joe’s basketball games and practices. His signature gesture was to thank each player after a game, win or lose. Had Pops not passed away less than two months ago on Feb. 6, Jeffries said she would have assumed that was the reason for her father’s visit.

Martelli had waited until Jeffries’ husband, Patrick, returned from work to deliver the news. He pulled Jeffries and her husband aside, hoping the couple’s older children would not hear.

“I cried immediately, and it was just a sinking feeling, a really hard thing to hear,” Jeffries said. “It was just a whirlwind of emotions from there.”

Martelli’s eldest son, Phil Martelli Jr. ’03, currently works as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Bryant University in Rhode Island. His younger brother Jimmy Martelli is the director of basketball operations at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Because they’re so far away, Martelli used FaceTime to share the news with both his sons.

Jimmy Martelli was in the midst of preparing for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“One of the hardest things we had to do

was reach out to my son at VCU,” Martelli said.

“He wasn’t at home. He was at the office. Here he is getting involved in the greatest athletic event that a college team could achieve, the NCAA Tournament, and [we’re] here having to look at him through FaceTime. He’s alone.

He’s not with his wife. He’s surrounded by graduate assistants and other assistant coaches. He’s broken and sobbing. It felt awful, taken from the highest of joys to the lowest of lows.”

Phil Martelli was so distraught that he couldn’t bear to turn on his TV to watch the NCAA Tournament last week. On March 22, he finally tuned in to watch his son’s team play against the University of Central Florida. VCU lost 73-58.

For Martelli, the St. Joe’s men’s basketball program and his family were one and the same.

“Saint Joseph’s was part of me, and I was a part of Saint Joseph’s,” Martelli said. “That was our way of life, my family and I. That was our way of life. And now it’s a place that I worked.”

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t the top of Martelli’s long driveway sits a basketball hoop with an SJU Hawk sticker pressed on the bottom right corner of the glass. Four days after he was fired, Martelli opened the door to his home dressed in a black turtleneck, pants and socks. He looked somber, tired.

There are touches of St. Joe’s throughout his home. Hand-painted SJU Hawk logos on wine glasses are on display inside glass-paned kitchen cabinets. On the granite countertop is a stack of prayer cards—Pops’ card is on top. One room over, graduation photos of the Martelli children line the top of a desk. Next to the desk is a signed basketball in a display case.

In the right-hand corner of the living room, more memories. Martelli pointed toward where Pierfrancesco Oliva, a redshirt junior forward, once slept in a chair for two nights after dislocating his left knee during a game against Duquesne University. Martelli

didn’t want Oliva to be alone, so after Oliva was discharged from a Pittsburgh hospital, Martelli brought him back to his home to recuperate.

Judy Martelli entered the kitchen, returning from a trip to Goodwill and the post office.

She began to describe the toll the past few days had taken on the family. Even the smallest interactions had been difficult, like her trip to her favorite McDonald’s.

A fan of fountain soda, Judy Martelli has visited the same McDonald’s drive-thru for years, often interacting with the same employee, who would ask about about the most recent St. Joe’s basketball game, win or lose. But Judy Martelli was dreading the conversation she would have on this particular visit. It had been heart-wrenching to tell their three children and nine grandchildren, but it was hard to talk to other people, too. For this reason, she suspected she would avoid going to church on Sunday although her husband probably would, she said.

“They can take his job away from him, but they can’t take away the connections he’s been able to make,” Judy Martelli said.

Phil Martelli, phone in hand, sat down at his kitchen table. He had spent the week since his firing characterizing his pain to television cameras and on the radio as one that might never heal.

A usually animated Martelli was often speechless when asked to reflect on his time at St. Joe’s. That was especially true when asked about his future, both in the immediate and the long term.

At age 64, Martelli has never worked anywhere but St. Joe’s. He knows coaching for a Division I men’s basketball team again is a long shot.

“Look at the hiring practices,” Martelli said. “I’ve never left Philadelphia. And the only way that this could possibly work, the only way this could possibly work is if I leave Philadelphia.”

The Martellis have spent their entire

life in the greater Philadelphia area. Martelli grew up in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania and graduated from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and Widener University.

O

n Feb. 11, Martelli laid his father to rest after a funeral mass at St. Philomena Roman Catholic Church in Lansdowne, where Pops regularly attended the 7:30 a.m. mass on Sundays. At the 7:30 a.m. mass the Sunday after Martelli was fired, the Gospel reading recounted a parable of a fig that does not produce fruit. The owner of the tree is encouraged not to cut it down, to give it a chance to produce again. Rev. Paul Castellani’s homily that followed was about second chances.

Martelli isn’t sure what his second chance will be.

“When I wake up Monday morning, I’m a fired basketball coach,” Martelli said. “Where do I go? Where would you go Monday morning if you were me?”

Not Hagan Arena. His feelings are “too raw.”

But Martelli also isn’t going to sit and nurse his wounds. He said he needs to find a lawyer to go over his contract with St. Joe’s. He needs to line up health insurance. And he has to consider his next move.

“I can’t sit around here and wallow,” he said. “And I can’t assume that someone will call me. There might be athletic directors out there that might say, ‘Eh, he’s going to do TV. He’s going to do broadcasting.’ No. I know who I am. I need to have people that will keep my name in the coaching circles.”

What would it be like to return as a visiting coach to Hagan? Martelli mused, flashing a smile.

“Now, I will say this,” he said, “if I get an opportunity, and again, it’s a hypothetical, a hypothetical... it would be really cool. No. I would never play them. It’s too emotional. Too too emotional. Too too emotional.”

News

The Hawk Newspaper

March 27, 2019

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MARTELLI MORE THAN A BASKETBALL COACH ON HAWK HILL

Phil Martelli speaks during the youth clinic at the 2017 Family Night, an event held for season ticket holders and their families. PHOTO: LUKE MALANGA ’20 /THE HAWK

RYAN MULLIGAN ’21 Assistant Sports Editor Phil Martelli’s nerves got the of best him on a hot day in July 1995. He needed to relax and reflect. So, he drove west on Interstate 76, the same highway that now has a billboard reading “Thank You Coach Phil.” Martelli ended up at Valley Forge National Historical Park, sitting under a tree, waiting for a phone call that would change his life.

Martelli had been at St. Joe’s for 10 years serving first as an assistant under Head Coach Jim Boyle and then Head Coach John Griffin, who ultimately recommended Martelli to be his successor. Martelli had previously passed up an offer to assist Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Debbie Ryan at the University of Virginia. He wanted to be the head men’s basketball coach at St. Joe’s.

The call eventually came from former longtime Director of Athletics Don DiJulia.

On July 20, 1995, Phil Martelli became the 14th head coach in school history. Twenty-four years later, at the time of his firing, he would be the winningest coach in school history.

“Coaching at St. Joe’s was his dream,” said Jim Foster, who served as the St. Joe’s women’s basketball head coach from 1978-1991.

Foster, who is the St. Joe’s women’s basketball career wins leader, said Martelli and St. Joe’s seemed inseparable.

“The fit between St. Joe’s and Phil Martelli couldn’t have been better,” Foster said. “Phil was what Saint Joseph’s was about. I can’t think of a better representative for that university on a daily basis.”

Martelli began his coaching career the year after he graduated from Widener University, serving as an assistant men’s basketball coach at his alma mater.

Martelli then found his way to the high school ranks at the now closed Bishop Kenrick High School in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He recruited University of Connecticut coaching legend Geno Auriemma, then assistant women’s basketball coach at St. Joe’s, to be his assistant at Kenrick. Years later Martelli returned the favor, referring Auriemma to assist Debbie Ryan at the University of Virginia, the position originally offered to Martelli.

Martelli stayed at Bishop Kenrick until 1985, after which he joined St. Joe’s, where he would remain for 34 years.

“He made Saint Joseph’s, the basketball program and the university his life,” said Jim Lynam, former head men’s basketball coach and St. Joe’s Hall of Famer. “The way he did it was unprecedented, in terms of being an ambassador for the school with respect to how he

involved himself in the community.”

Martelli and St. Joe’s have become synonymous, Griffin said, as Martelli’s level of devotion and loyalty to the university grew to characterize not only him but the entire Martelli family.

“His identity, his family’s identity is inextricably linked to Saint Joseph’s University,” Griffin said. “It’s not a position where you punch the clock. You have to live it, and it becomes part of who you are and the lifestyle of your family.”

While the Hawks have not made it to the NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons, Martelli piled up a number of coaching successes in his tenure as head coach. In 2004 he was named the Consensus National Coach of the Year after coaching the team to an undefeated regular season and an Elite Eight appearance and a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. He has been named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year four times. He has almost double the wins of any other Hawks coach.

He’s brought the Hawks to the NCAA tournament seven different times and captured three Atlantic 10 Tournament titles.

According to his peers, these accomplishments do not begin to define Martelli or the legacy he will leave at St. Joe’s, in Philadelphia and across the college basketball community.

Griffin described the magnitude of Martelli’s presence on Hawk Hill, and how the most recognizable person on campus was also the

best person to represent the university.

“Phil Martelli is a person who reflects the value system of Saint Joseph’s University,” Griffin said. “I’ve had faculty members call me and tell me one of the reasons they stayed at Saint Joseph’s so long was because of the way in which they see Phil Martelli carry himself and represent the university. He embodied the spirit of Saint Joseph’s University.”

The 2003-04 season became the calling card of the Martelli spirit. On the team were soon-to-be Hawk Hall of Famers Jameer Nelson ’18 and Delonte West. Martelli and Nelson were named Naismith Coach and Player of the Year, respectively and even the Hawks graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.

In a season that Lynam dubbed “a mystical, magical story that captured the imagination of the entire college basketball nation,” Martelli had an opportunity to showcase St. Joe’s on a national stage.

Bob Hughes ’03, now the men’s basketball head coach at Rosemont College, served as a team manager during that season. Martelli affectionately nicknamed him Barney, a name Hughes has not been able to escape in the college basketball world. Hughes rose through the ranks, going from a team manager to a head coach at the college level, a position he credits Martelli with helping him achieve. He said he saw firsthand how Martelli made the essence of St. Joe’s reverberate throughout the country.

“He brought that ‘hawk will never die’ spirit to America,” Hughes said.

In addition to the records that Martelli’s 2004 team broke and the spotlight that it brought to a small Philadelphia Jesuit school, Martelli’s other passion was his leadership in the fight against cancer. Martelli served as national chair for the Coaches vs. Cancer program, which raised money for the American Cancer Society.

As co-chair with former Temple University men’s basketball Head Coach Fran Dunphy for the Philadelphia Coaches vs. Cancer chapter, the duo led a team of Philadelphia area coaches to become one of the top fundraising groups in the country. Dunphy and Martelli were honored with the Circle of Honor award in 2017 for “their extraordinary commitment to the American Cancer Society’s mission.”

According to Lynam, a Big 5 Hall of Famer himself, Dunphy and Martelli’s ability to impact something greater than basketball was unlike anything he’s seen.

“I’ve known a lot of really good people who have been good coaches over the years in the city of Philadelphia,” Lynam said. “But the way Phil went about what he did was unique.

The way Phil and Fran Dunphy went about raising money for Coaches vs. Cancer Philadelphia, it’s kind of the flagship for how you get it done, and that’s because of Phil.”

With the departure of two of its most storied coaches this season, the Big 5, according to Griffin, will never be the same.

“Big 5 basketball and basketball in Philadelphia has been about tradition, and he’s done such a great job of carrying on that tradition,” Griffin said. “Not only will he be missed, but frankly impossible to replace.”

Martelli’s career at St. Joe’s spanned five university presidents. His visage on the sidelines in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena was a constant for many fans, players and alumni.

“I just can’t imagine a world where Phil Martelli is not the head men’s basketball coach at St. Joe’s,” Hughes said.

Martelli’s predecessors, Lynam and Griffin said Martelli has left a long-lasting reputation at St. Joe’s.

“Phil will be viewed in beyond a positive light for the contributions that he made both on the basketball court, with the players and on behalf of the university over a lifetime of service,” Lynam said.

Griffin echoed that sentiment.

“He’ll go down, for a long time, as the winningest coach at this university,” Griffin said. “But 20 years down the road, I think the legacy will more so be about the person. We’re better for it, that he stayed here 24 years. We’re all beneficiaries of that because people will talk about the contributions of Phil for a long time.”

Former head men’s basketball coaches (left to right) John Griffin, Jim Boyle, Jack Ramsay, Phil Martelli, Jack McKinney, Jim Lynam. PHOTO COURTESY OF SJU ATHLETICS

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March 27, 2019

The Hawk Newspaper

News

Sustainability efforts in bloom

Student-driven community garden to blossom ERIN BREEN ’19 News Editor Planting and gardening activities for a student-driven community garden near Merion Hall and the Fine Arts East buildings are expected to begin at the end of April.

Three student organizers, Madison Cassel ’20, Karla Holmes ’20 and Olivia Connolly ’21, are working with Bill Wolff, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication studies and director of the community garden, to set up the garden as a space for the St. Joe’s community.

“The mission of this garden is to combine Jesuit ideals with the concepts of sustainability and nature,” Cassel said. “We envision this space being a place where students can go to reflect in and retreat to if they are stressed or just want a place to hang out.”

Holmes hopes the garden’s combination of Jesuit ideals and sustainability efforts will make it stand out on campus.

“We are donating all of the produce as well as making the garden a reflective space for the whole St. Joe’s community,” Holmes said.

“We want this to be a place [where] faculty, staff and students all feel welcome.”

Cassel said the purpose of the space was to be whatever students needed.

“In keeping with the new goal of a student-driven garden, we really want this to be a useful and peaceful space for the SJU community,” Cassel said. “Whether they just want to relax or use it for service hours or host events in the garden, that is what the intention of this space is.”

Wolff said he sees the community garden as having several purposes including bringing people together to appreciate nature and community and building meaningful and collabo-

Community garden organizers Madison Cassel ’20, Olivia Connolly ’21 and Karla Holmes ’20 outside Merion Hall.

PHOTO: JUL HANKINSON ’19/THE HAWK

rative relationships with community partners.

“Since the produce from the garden will be donated to members of the local community, [it’s purpose is] to provide an opportunity for members of the SJU community to give back, to provide an intentional space where members of the SJU community can step away for a bit,” Wolff said.

An earlier iteration of the garden was started in 2013 and was located between Connelly and Parris halls. That year, over 150 pounds of produce grown in the garden was donated to Philabundance, according to a now inactive Twitter account, @SJUCommGarden.

A few years later, it moved to the area behind the Career Development Center.

“We are excited to build on past successes in a new location with a new mission-focused vision, which we hope will prove to be sustainable for many years to come,” Wolff said.

Elizabeth Becker, Ph.D., director of the behavioral neuroscience program, was involved in the community garden that started in 2013. She said the idea for that garden was conceived as a social place where individuals on campus could grow food and donate their harvest. However, the location of the garden was not ideal, according to Becker.

After the garden was moved to behind the Career Development Center and the Maguire Wolfington Welcome Center, the group ran into issues planting on that particular part of the land, Becker said.

“Unfortunately, the location that was chosen had been the site of a dumping ground or out building,” Becker said. “When we tilled up the soil, there were lots of bricks and other things.”

David Erfle ’19 and Tim Tabthong ’19 came up with the idea to restart the garden last year and created a group with the intent of starting a new garden that was student and volunteer driven, Cassel said.

“Since then, a group of students and Dr. Wolff from the communications department have worked together to make this idea a reality,” Cassel said. “We started with initial proposals to facilities, confirmed a new location for the garden and are now getting reading to start the actual planting/gardening process.”

Holmes said the garden will also be a space for educational events and other outdoor activities.

“Our educational events that we plan to hold on sustainability will have an impact on our community’s thinking, which in turn will hopefully bring about more sustainability efforts both on and around campus,” Holmes said.

Wolff said he hopes the initiative positively impacts the campus community.

“I hope that it has the impact of empowering students, building relationships and creating a space that members of the SJU community can use for reflection and other intentional and meaningful activities,” Wolff said. “I also hope it helps lead to a renewed focus on sustainability on campus.”

The Hawk Newspaper

News

March 27, 2019

5

University governance structure under review Review committee to release recommendations ERIN BREEN ’19 News Editor The Governance Review Committee (GRC) is set to make a final recommendation about changing the university’s governance structure in May. The committee, which was convened as a result of the recommendations of a 2013 task force commissioned by then University President C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., first met in the spring of 2016. The committee was charged with evaluating the potential need to refine the current governance structure or adopt a new steering committee model.

Under the current governance structure, mandates are first proposed to the University Council, which is “the principal body for corporate participation of the various constituencies of the university in policy formation,” according to the 2018 Faculty Handbook.

Under a steering committee structure, mandates are instead reviewed by a steering committee, which receives the mandate, reviews it to make sure it is clear and manageable, and then assigns it to a committee.

Once those committee members have researched, created recommendations and gathered the prescribed input, they write the policy. For higher-level academic issues, the drafted policy goes to Faculty Senate for discussion, any revision and then a vote. The steering committee is ultimately responsible for passing final mandates along to the president for review and approval.

“This puts the committee in the position of researching and gathering input earlier in the process, then taking all of that research and feedback and creating a policy, rather than creating a policy then asking for input from people who may not understand the policy as well as the people who did the research,” said MaryElaine Perry, Ed.D., Title IX coordinator and co-chair of the GRC. Perry said the lack of expertise from those making decisions under the current governance structure slows down the process.

“The people who did the research and likely have the most knowledge about it do not get the final word on what is sent to the president for final approval,” Perry said. “This can take a long time and is not an efficient process.”

Ken Weidner, Ph.D., assistant professor of management and member of the GRC, said the purpose of expanding the levels of input and having it earlier in the process is to prevent the creation of “silos” by identifying early who needs to be included in decision-making processes.

Mary-Elaine Perry, Ed.D., Kristin Burr, Ph.D., and Ken Weidner, Ph.D., at the governance forum on March 20. PHOTO: DIMETRI WILLIAMS ’19/THE HAWK

“In our current system, University Council meetings are open to the university community, but the rest of the process that goes on -- whether in a standing committee or in an ad hoc committee -- is almost without exception a closed-off process,” Weidner said. “Sometimes even when University Council’s discussion included what stakeholders should be consulted by a committee, those were either lost in the process or, in some cases, ignored.”

Weidner said he hopes the new structure allows for more transparency and inclusion in university governance.

“SJU has over 1,000 employees, and the people in our university community have immense talents and valuable and varied perspectives that we don’t fully tap in to and bring to bear on the challenges facing SJU or any modern comprehensive university,” Weidner said. “I think that reforming our governance structure and process can better our odds of success and help us realize an even brighter future than the governance structure and process we have now.”

At a forum concerning the governance change on March 20, several faculty members expressed concern about implementation of the new system, including Ronald Dufresne, Ph.D., associate pro-

fessor of management and president of Faculty Senate, and Peter Norberg, Ph.D., associate provost for academic and faculty support and professor of English, who was part of the 2013 task force.

“It’s important for us to keep in mind that, no matter what the structure of our system is, the system is only as good as how we use it,” Dufresne said. “It will be up to all of us to be involved, pay attention to the issues at hand and make our voices heard.”

Norberg’s primary concern was also about buy-in.

“In order for us to have a truly engaged governance process, we need to have a culture of shared governance, and I’m not sure a structural change is going to change that,” Norberg said.

Even if the proposal isn’t accepted in its entirety, pieces of it can still be used to adapt the current process, Norberg said.

“It’s made us realize that there are practical things that we could do in order to streamline things and make things move more smoothly through the governance process,” Norberg said.

Meg Kloss ’19, a University Student Senator, was the student representative on the committee.

“If that steering model passes, then I think it will provide greater representa-

tion as well as transparency for students overall because we would be adding students to committees that currently exist within the steering model that are not currently there,” Kloss said. “To see what governance structure is doing, what the steering committee is actually reviewing, is going to create a greater awareness on campus about what is going on policy wise.”

Perry said the committee has scheduled visits with the university’s deans, Administrative Staff Council and Faculty Senate. On March 25, the committee also made a presentation at a meeting of the University Student Senate meeting.

“We are continuing to gather input,” Perry said. “We are meeting as a committee two more times to review the feedback and solidify our recommendations. In early May we will submit our recommendations to University Council for their review. We will recommend an implementation team be formed to work on the implementation of this new structure over the next year for implementation in fall 2020.”

Alex Mark ’20 and Cara Smith ’21 contributed to this article.

Department of Public Safety reports (March 15-21) March 15 Public Safety was notified of a fire alarm inside the Campion Student Center. Public Safety officers responded. Preliminary investigation revealed the alarm was activated by outside contractors working. Alarm was reset.

March 19 Public Safety was notified of a fire alarm inside Mandeville Hall. Public Safety officers responded. Preliminary investigation revealed the alarm was activated by unknown means. Alarm was reset.

March 20 Public Safety was notified of a fire alarm inside Hawks’ Landing. Public Safety officers responded. Preliminary investigation revealed the alarm was activated by unknown means. Alarm was reset.

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March 27, 2019

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

At St. Joe’s, it’s all about business Ousting Martelli is indicative of larger problem

Editor in Chief Ana Faguy ’19 Managing Editor Charley Rekstis ’20 Copy Chief Emily Graham ’20 Faculty Adviser Shenid Bhayroo Contributing Adviser Jenny Spinner Copy Editor Paige Santiago ’19 Copy Editor Kaila Mundell-Hill ’20 News Editor Erin Breen ’19 Assistant News Editor Alex Mark ’20 Assistant News Editor Alysa Bainbridge ’21 Editorial Page Editor Annie Clark ’19

When it was decided that the 2018-2019 season would mark the end of Phil Martelli’s 24-year tenure as the university’s head men’s basketball coach, he was called into a meeting via text message.

Over the next few days, Martelli would refer to the ensuing meeting with University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., and Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner, J.D., as a “blindside tackle.” Martelli told The Hawk that the firing had felt like “a baseball bat to the gut.”

The poor handling of Martelli’s dismissal is not a one-off incident; it is only the latest and most high-profile indication of significant gaps in administrative communication at St. Joe’s. It also speaks to an increasingly undeniable feeling that St. Joe’s is run as a business first and a university second.

Bodensteiner stood alone in a March 19 press conference as she made the official announcement. Reed was conspicuously absent.

The responsibility of deciding how and when to dismiss one of the university’s most significant and longest-term employees was apparently placed on one person. As Bodensteiner told those present at the press conference that she was assuming sole ownership for the perhaps “unpopular” decision.

The move to replace Martelli, as his recent interviews and the university’s rushed announcement indicate, was made with little consideration for his legacy at St. Joe’s.

Martelli was fired without any advance notice. Between the 1:30 p.m. meeting on Monday, March 18 and the next day’s emailed statement, he had less than a day to

break the news personally to his team. Regardless of Martelli’s recent coaching statistics, this was no way to treat any employee of the university.

In the emailed statement on March 19— to date. the only communication the university community has received regarding Martelli’s dismissal—basketball was referred to not as a tradition but as “an important strategic asset” for the university. St. Joe’s is indeed well-known for its basketball team, but to its community of alumni, current students and employees, basketball is a long-held tradition and a staple of life at the university.

Describing basketball simply in terms of how it serves the university’s public image does a disservice to the players and fans of the St. Joe’s team. The phrase “strategic asset” indicates the university’s lack of consideration for anything beyond its bottom line.

Martelli’s firing has received substantial attention because of the high-profile nature of his job and presence on campus, and in the national college basketball scene. Yet he is far from the only St. Joe’s employee to be dismissed so suddenly and impersonally.

Multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years have impacted dozens of university employees. The most recent round occurred quietly last May after students had gone home for the summer and affected at least 20 St. Joe’s employees. During the 2015 layoffs, 14 employees were expected to pack up their offices on the same day they were informed that their positions were being terminated.

There may have been sound deci-

sion-making processes behind these layoffs and the decision to replace Martelli. But that doesn’t mean much to university employees who are treated like line items in a budget, rather than people.

At St. Joe’s, our mission statement is increasingly treated as a selling point instead of an aspirational ideal.

We can talk all we want about how we are different from other universities in terms of demonstrating our clearly defined set of values, but recent events and decisions indicate otherwise. There needs to be increased focus on actualizing our mission statement rather than selling it.

We can no longer brush off administrative decisions as not reflective of who we are as a university. As long as administrators make decisions with the sole aim of pursuing a balanced budget, this is who we are.

—The Editorial Board This week’s Editorial Board is comprised of the Editor in Chief, Managing Editor, Opinions Editor, Assistant Opinions Editor, Editorial Page Editor, News Editor, Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editors and Photo Editor.

This editorial reflects the views of the Board and not the entire Hawk Staff.

The Hawk welcomes Letters to the Editor, typically no more than 300 words. They can be emailed to hawk.editorial@gmail.com.

Opinions Editor Dominique Joe ’19 Assistant Opinions Editor Devin Yingling ’22 Lifestyle Editor Alex Hargrave ’20 Assistant Lifestyle Editor Natalie Drum ’20 Assistant Lifestyle Editor Cara Smith ’21 Sports Editor Nick Karpinski ’21 Assistant Sports Editor Sam Britt ’20 Assistant Sports Editor Ryan Mulligan ’21 Creative Director Kelly Smith ’19 Photo Editor Mitchell Shields ’22 Social Media Manager Erin Castellano ’20 Assistant Social Media Manager Angela DiMarco ’22 Business Manager Tom Trullinger ’21 Distribution Manager Addie Guyer ’19 Assistant Distribution Manager Gavin O’Reilly ’20

BRING HOME THE CROWN One of The Hawk’s own, Assistant News Editor Alysa Bainbridge ’21, was named Miss Philadelphia 2019 last weekend. Congratulations, Alysa! We couldn’t be more proud. (P.S.–you’re more than welcome to put your new crown on top of your computer in The Hawk office).

BUGS IN CAMPION The latest installment in the Campion Dining Hall infestations saga appears to be bugs. We hope you’ve been saving your DB dollars this semester, because it looks like you’ll be needing them.

STUDENT SENATE ELECTIONS ARE COMING UP It’s almost time to exercise your right to vote on campus. Get ready for the fun campaign slogans and the candy handed out in Campion Student Center. Good luck to all of the candidates running. We are all looking forward to this election season.

MUMPS AT TEMPLE Flu season is far from over, and it just got a lot worse. One of our Philly higher ed neighbors suffered a major outbreak of mumps last week, with the total number of cases now estimated to be around 99 students. We’re wishing everyone impacted a fast recovery.

PORTRAIT OF A HAWK Graduating students will pose for their senior portraits this week, commemorating their last year on Hawk Hill. So, graduating Hawks: think of senior portraits as a prelude to your career by putting on your best business casual and smiling for the camera. The downside? It’ll cost you $60.

HOUSING RUSH If there’s anything worse than fall registration, it’s housing applications. After all, it’s much easier to get into a second-choice class than a second-choice apartment, and negotiating roommate arrangements can fracture even the most tight-knit friendships.

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

March 27, 2019

7

All perpetrators are to blame Women get the brunt of college admission scandal FAITH COWELL ’22 Guest Columnist The media exploded with news of the college admissions scandal on March 12. 50 people including actresses, business leaders and other wealthy parents were charged with college entry fraud: they paid absurd sums of money to ensure that their kids would get into their top choice schools.

The issues in question include bribing sports coaches and college officials, faking learning disabilities so a student could get a proctor for the SAT to help improve the score and plenty more.

The college students at the center of the scandal were guaranteed spots on soccer, rowing and tennis teams, as well as admission into prestigious schools, mainly Yale University, Harvard University and the University of Southern California (USC).

The list of those charged includes law firm chairmen, business executives, CEOs and entrepreneurs. Many of the people on this list are men, yet actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman seem to be the only faces of the scandal.

I’m not particularly surprised to find out that rich people treat college as just another thing to be bought. I’m also not surprised that these two actresses are taking the brunt of all of this negative attention when many wealthy men committed the same crime.

If you Google the college admissions

scandal, Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are the thumbnail picture for almost every article. The only other person getting as much attention as the two of them is Rick Singer, a “college counselor” who accepted large sums of money from parents to fake athletic credentials and help students cheat on tests to get them into their choice of top-tier schools.

I should say that these two women are also getting a lot of the attention because they are well-known. Loughlin is known nationwide as Aunt Becky from “Full House,” and

in the case, was the co-chair of a prestigious law firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, though he’s been put on leave since the story broke.

John B. Wilson is the president of private equity firm Hyannis Port Capital and a former executive at Staples and Gap Inc. Douglas Hodge is the former CEO of a huge investment company called Pacific Investment Management Company.

These are serious businessmen who are in charge of massive companies, yet I had to accompany their names with “college

I’m not saying I think Loughlin and Huffman are innocent or shouldn’t be held accountable. I actually think both them and their kids need a hefty dose of some serious criticism. But I don’t think it’s fair for these two women to be the sole faces of this scandal when men like Caplan, Wilson and Hodge did the same deplorable and illegal things for their kids.

Huffman rose to success as Lynette Scavo in “Desperate Housewives.”

It’s true that Loughlin and Huffman’s names are more likely to be familiar to those keeping up with the scandal, yet personally I find it offensive that they’re the ones mentioned in every headline.

Gordon Caplan, one of the men indicted

scandal” in my searches to see them mentioned in any news coverage as the information unfolds. They were all named in the indictment, yet Loughlin and Huffman are the center of every article.

I’m not saying I think Loughlin and Huffman are innocent or shouldn’t be held accountable. Both them and their kids de-

serve a hefty dose of some serious criticism.

But I don’t think it’s fair for these two women to be the sole faces of this scandal when men like Caplan, Wilson and Hodge did the same deplorable and illegal things for their kids.

I don’t think there’s a right way or wrong way to report a huge scandal like this. Personally, I didn’t even think rich people using bribery to get their kids into college was really a secret. I’m glad that both the colleges and the parents are being criticized and held accountable for their actions.

But how are Loughlin’s and Huffman’s crimes any worse than what Caplan, Wilson or Hodge did? Why are journalists acting like these two famous women have committed the world’s worst crime when 48 other people were charged with the same college entry fraud?

I don’t think that Loughlin and Huffman should be the only parents being consistently named in this debacle just because they’re women who were previously famous. I don’t think their crimes are any less despicable because one of them was the loveable Aunt Becky, but Loughlin and Huffman are not the only ones at fault.

Those CEOs and executives deserve to take the blame publicly as well.

What each of these people did for their children is incredibly loathsome, and all of the perpetrators deserve an equal dose of the criticism regardless of their gender.

C-SPAN fortifies active civic engagement Celebrating the network’s 40th anniversary DEVIN YINGLING ’22 Assistant Opinions Editor If you’ve ever taken any government course, even back in highschool, you may know that C-SPAN is quite the household name.

But in case you are not as big of a government nerd as myself, C-SPAN stands for The Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, and its goal since 1979 has been to provide direct insight into the daily proceedings of the national government “all without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view.”

Moreover, the network is a non-profit, and “no government or taxpayer dollars support C-SPAN, as [it has] always been funded as a public service by your cable or satellite provider" according to their website.

This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the network. But what’s the big deal?

This is just another news network, right? And if they aren’t going to televise something entertaining to celebrate the big four-o like Saturday Night Live did four years ago, then why care?

I mean, we are already programmed to form an opinion based on others’ opinions as it is now. Instead of watching the political events unfold on Capitol Hill or in the Supreme Court on C-SPAN, we tune into CNN or Fox News afterwards to hear what Ander-

son Cooper or John Stossel has to say.

“Rachel Maddow has a point, I agree with her” or “Tomi Lahren makes quite the statement, there’s no way she’s wrong on this one” are the types of arguments I am hearing more and more frequently.

I’m guilty of it too. I have to say it is definitely much easier to agree or disagree with a point someone else formulates than to form your own opinion.

So when you think about it, if you only ever tune into popular news networks to get all of your information, are you really

vice-versa.

Not to mention popular news networks operate quite quickly. Need news fast? Just check the news app on your iPhone or skim the morning headlines to get the gist of what happened while you were asleep.

This type of news consumption is all fine to do, and in fact, I think it’s better than not paying attention to the news or politics at all.

But this is why C-SPAN is that much more important. It’s at the point where too many of us are getting far too comfortable regurgitating what we hear from a network name or settling

In a world filled with talking heads and speedy headline skimming, C-SPAN is that one shining star that is reliable and unbiased; a much needed change of pace from what has become the norm of political news interpretation. understanding what happened, or are you just understanding someone else’s view on what happened?

I don’t mean to sound as though I’m bashing popular news outlets that do express a little bias. Sometimes, catching up on an event with a little bias is a good thing in order to understand all sides of what went down on the Hill. If you lean liberal, it’s best you at least try to understand the conservative side and

for monotonous headline skimming rather than tuning into the actual political event and forming opinions for ourselves.

The beauty of politics and public policy is that you get to take your own stance. You get to look at the facts, listen to the politicians or judges and think about how the information makes you feel. As long as you are factually correct with what you argue, your opinion is fully yours.

C-SPAN gives you a forum to think this way. In a world filled with talking heads and speedy headline skimming, C-SPAN is that one shining star that is reliable and unbiased; a much needed change of pace from what has become the norm of political news interpretation.

I would even go so far as to say that popular media is a harbinger of both good and evil in the world of politics. They help us to see all sides of the story while simultaneously numbing us to critical political thinking if we become too absorbed in what talking heads are saying.

With this in mind, take some time to appreciate C-SPAN if you are interested in politics. Don’t stop subscribing to The New York Times, but find a healthy balance between individual analysis and pulling opinions from outside sources.

If you know Donald Trump will be giving a speech sometime soon, tune into C-SPAN to watch it happen live before you check the headlines on Fox News. If the Supreme Court is hearing a case, head over to C-SPAN to watch the case unfold before you hear what any newscaster has to say about the ruling.

In a world filled with uninformed opinions and political discrepancies all over the place, it’s about time we start analyzing the unbiased information for ourselves before we absorb the torrent of bias. We have C-SPAN to thank for the ability to do so and for the opportunity to actively participate in politics.

8

March 27, 2019

The Hawk Newspaper

Lifestyle

Using the power of privilege

Diversity advocate on fostering community CARLY CALHOUN ’21 Hawk Staff The audience stopped talking as soon as Jamilah Lemieux, advocate for racial equality, social justice and LGBT rights, sat down in front the the audience in the Forum Theatre on March 20. Lemieux did not mince words and began speaking about what she knows best—inequalities in race, gender, sexuality, allyship and privilege.

“So. Privilege,” Lemieux said, “Specifically, the rewards that are bestowed upon those who have it, and the challenges that face those that do not have it, or do not have as much privilege, has been a constant theme in the news cycle as long as there has been a news cycle.”

Lemieux, who was hosted by the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity as the featured speaker for the Diversity Lecture Series, said acknowledging individual privileges is the first step to becoming an ally.

“Take the time to understand the ones [privileges] that you have, even if you are a member of a marginalized group, or two, or three yourself,” she said. “Being able to sit, walk and stand without assistance or medical intervention, is a privilege. Having access to a college education is a privilege, no matter how hard you had to work to be here.”

After this acknowledgement, Lemieux said, comes the important question that everyone should ask.

“What can you do with your privileges that can be of benefit to those who do not enjoy access to them?” Lemieux said.

Allyship is standing up for those with-

out privilege. Whether it be to parents or grandparents, a teacher or even a significant other, it will feel uncomfortable, but it must be done, Lemieux said.

“We can’t say that we want to live in a better world, that we want more for humanity, if we are unwilling to be uncomfortable on the path there,” Lemieux said.

Lemieux said that it is the responsibili-

where, if you can’t get rid of them altogether, you can share them, you can leverage them to help other people.”

Lemieux’s lecture was during Women’s History Month and provided a time and space for people to recognize past accomplishments of women and acknowledge their voices. Amber Abbas, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, said it’s important to

Jamilah Lemieux speaks at the Diversity Lecture Series. PHOTO: MATT BARRETT ’20/THE HAWK

ty of those with privilege to use their voices and their platforms to invite diverse populations into the conversation.

“It’s recognizing where you can give those privileges up,” Lemieux said. “And

draw attention to Women’s History Month, but the focus should be on acknowledging the accomplishments of women.

“The risk is pushing it into a space where it feels somehow outside of regular

history,” Abbas said. “Women’s history is regular history.”

Kelsey Welsh ’22 said the biggest takeaway that she got from Lemieux’s lecture was that she can respond appropriately to someone who may say or do something offensive.

“When going out into the world and talking about social justice and bringing these issues to light, the important thing to remember is to stay informative, and the goal is to educate people when they step out of line,” Welsh said.

Abbas said that she felt one of the most important messages that Lemieux communicated during her lecture was about how to belong in communities that include many different kinds of people.

“The diversity lecture series I feel is one of the many ways in which we can bring people together around difficult conversations about belonging, which are not just about race and are not just about sexuality,” Abbas said. “They’re about how we create community that we are all committed to and all a part of sustaining.”

Lemieux said everyone falls short when it comes to being an ally, sometimes by using an incorrect phrase or interpreting a situation with the biases that they have been raised with, but how people respond to these mistakes authenticates their position of allyship.

“I am of the opinion that we are all capable of making the world a safer and more tenable place for someone,” said Lemieux.

“You don’t have to be an activist, or a leader, or a famous person, or an expert of any sort to operate as if all human beings have a right to exist and to share the world.”

Lifestyle

The Hawk Newspaper

March 27, 2019

9

Nonprofit leaders offer students advice about the workforce KAILA MUNDELL-HILL ’20 Copy Editor A panel featuring women in leadership roles working for nonprofit organizations in the greater Philadelphia area was hosted

by The Beautiful Social Research Collaborative (Beautiful Social) on March 21 in the Perch.

The panel was a group discussion where

participants sat in two circles along with the panelists, who gave advice to students about entering the workforce.

Beautiful Social, directed by Aimee Knight Ph.D., associate professor of communication studies, is a collaborative class where students and fellows in the communication studies department work on semester-long multimedia projects with Philadelphia-based organizations.

Marzano speaks at the women's leadership panel. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

Fellows Kelly O’Malley ’20, Abby Piro ’19, Emma Brenner ’20 and Madison Auer ’20 facilitated the groups with discussion questions that gave the audience a realistic depiction of what it is like to be a woman in the workforce.

“It’s going to be really enlightening for people to just listen to how these women found their way in their jobs and how they made their way to working in nonprofits,” O’Malley said.

Panelists included Melanie Hsu, community organizing director of Girls Rock Philly; Nicole Enderica, communications specialist for Vision for Equality; Marissa Marzano ’14 communications manager for New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault; and Tor Lydon, marketing and design director for CICADA Architecture/Planning Inc, who previously was employed by a nonprofit.

Hsu said that regardless of gender or identity, employees deserve to feel like they are not alone.

“The more experiences we bring to the table, the more probabilities increase in people seeing themselves in leadership in the community or elsewhere,” Hsu said. “I think the moment where we see ourselves in another person is when we start believing that we can take a path or we can take on a challenge.”

This was the second year Beautiful Social hosted this event, after it was started by a previous Beautiful Social fellow. The

panelists discussed their experiences as women in the workplace and how to serve as allies to female professionals and gave advice to students.

Eliza Rocco ’20 said the conversation was helpful in thinking about her future.

“I learned a lot about confidence and how to carry yourself, not only just going into the ‘real world,’ but every day,” Rocco said.

Marzano who “gets to wake up and do the thing that sets her day on fire,” told students to be bold when applying for jobs.

“Don’t hold yourself back, don’t think you’re not good enough,” Marzano said.

“Don’t be afraid to apply for a job you think you’re not qualified for."

Julianna Abramson ’20 said that through the event she realized there is much more to learn about being a woman in the workforce.

“I should be coming to more of these things," Abramson said. “It’s important to take advantage of places where you can talk with other women about being a woman.”

Knight said she hopes Beautiful Social hosts an event like this every year.

“Next year will be our 10th year, and our goal is to work with 100 community partners by then,” Knight said. “Things like this are what we should be doing because we have so many connections to the community. It’s kind of our duty to be making these connections.”

THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON

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For more information visit scranton.edu/summer

10

March 27, 2019

The Hawk Newspaper

Sports

A GLANCE THROUGH MARTELLI'S CAREER 1972

1995

Martelli starts his career at Widener as point guard.

Don DiJulia welcomes Martelli, who is taking over for Jim Boyle as the new head basketball coach.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIDENER ATHLETICS

1979

2007

1997

Martelli publishes his book "Don't Call Me Coach: A Lesson Plan For Life."

St. Joe's wins their second A-10 Championship in three years.

2011

Martelli begins coaching at Bishop Kenrick High School.

Martelli's first NCAA Tournament appearance as St. Joe's makes it to the Sweet Sixteen. Martelli wins first of four A-10 Coach of the Year awards.

Martelli becoms the winningest coach in school history with his 310th win.

1985

2004

2014

Martelli joins St. Joe's basketball as an 27-0 regular season and an Elite Eight assistant coach to Jim Boyle. appearance. Martelli wins Naismith College Coach of the Year.

2016

St. Joe's wins the A-10 Championship.

2019

Martelli is fired after 24 years as head coach.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SJU ATHLETICS

HOW MARTELLI'S DEPARTURE IMPACTS ST. JOE'S RECRUITMENT SAM BRITT ’20 Assistant Sports Editor Two St. Joe’s men’s basketball team commits for the 2019 season have decided to reopen their recruitment after hearing that Head Coach Phil Martelli was fired.

“After discussing with family members and coaches, I will be reopening my recruitment,” Kenan Sarvan tweeted on March 20, two days after the university announced that a search would begin immediately for a new coach. Sarvan plays at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in Virginia.

The next day, Hakim Hart from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia also released a statement on Twitter.

“I am sad to hear that Coach Martelli has been released from his head coaching job at St. Joseph’s University,” Hart wrote.

“After much thought and reflection with my family and coaches, I have decided to reopen my recruiting process. God bless Coach Martelli and his family.”

With both of their recruitments now reopened, other colleges will have the opportunity to offer Hart and Sarvan a scholarship, with the chance to lure them away from Hawk Hill.

Martelli said he rejected Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner’s offer of retirement and instead decided to be fired because he felt loyal to current players and recruits.

“Kids go to school because of their coach,” Martelli told The Hawk. “Recruiting to me is very very very personal."

Pat Lawless, senior basketball editor for PrepCircuit.com, said he thinks the negative reaction to Martelli’s firing could have an effect not just on current recruits, but on future ones.

“It is a really tough thing to ask of somebody because in some of these cases Martelli has built relationships with [his recruits] for three years,” Lawless said.

Temple University also saw their long-time

Martelli speaks to his players during the first practice of the 2017-2018 season.

PHOTO: LUKE MALANGA ’20/THE HAWK

“From a short-term perspective, it will definitely take its toll,” Lawless said. “All of his guys for 2019, it takes its toll. And the guys he was recruiting for 2020, that will definitely hurt.”

Lawless said building a relationship with players who joined a team to play for another coach will also be a challenge.

head coach, Fran Dunphy, leave the program March 19. Temple had announced before the season that it would be Dunphy’s last year, allowing Assistant Coach Aaron McKie time to establish relationships with the roster.

ESPN prospect and recruiting analyst Adam Finkelstein said he thinks this was where St. Joe’s made its biggest mistake.

“That is the thing I think was mishandled the most,” Finkelstein said. “There was an opportunity to have a transition year, not just to give Coach Martelli the send-off he deserved, regardless of when that is going to be. Temple is not going through that because they had a transition in place. There is obviously no transition here so it is going to be a start from scratch type of thing.”

Lawless stressed the need for St. Joe’s to find the right coach.

“This next hire that they make is pivotal, and Martelli is going to be a tough one to replace,” Lawless said.

Finkelstein said he thinks finding a replacement has its own set of challenges right now.

“There was a lack of class that has stained the athletic department at the moment,” Finkelstein said. “For the time being, it is hard. It is going to be a daunting battle for the new coach because of how poorly this was handled.”

Although Finkelstein said he thinks there will be many highly qualified candidates for the head coaching job, he also worries that the coverage surrounding the job may dissuade some potential applicants.

“The question to me isn’t, ‘Does it impact the recruits?’” Finkelstein said.

“Does it impact the coaches who are going to have an interest in the job working under this athletic director and this administration given how they have just handled this? Is the situation perceived as too toxic right now?”

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

March 27, 2019

11

FORMER HAWK SPORTS EDITORS REFLECT ON MARTELLI EMILY GRAHAM ’20 Copy Chief PAIGE SANTIAGO ’19 Copy Editor Nick Mandarano ’18, former sports editor for The Hawk, began his journey as a journalist with a sports podcast that he hosted his first year of high school in 2010.

Mandarano decided he needed a prominent guest on his show and emailed Phil Martelli.

While Mandarano succeeded in securing the interview for his show, he failed to ask what number Martelli would be calling him from.

“We didn’t have call screening at the time, so I was sitting there waiting for Martelli to call in,” Mandarano remembered. “I realized there was a number on the line, but I didn’t want to put them on if Martelli was about to call in, so I emailed St. Joe’s all frantic, ‘What’s his number? What’s his number?’”

Mandarano didn’t hear back from the university, and he left Martelli on hold for the entire 30-minute show.

“After the show, I logged off, and I was like, ‘Not sure what happened with Martelli.

Maybe we’ll try to get him next week,’” Mandarano said. “He called me after the show.

He was annoyed. ‘You know, Nick, I was on hold for 30 minutes,’ and I was like, ‘I’m so sorry.’ Before we ended that three-minute phone call, he told me how great of a job I did. He told me to keep working, and he said he’d be on the next episode.”

Mandarano said that incident is reflective of how Martelli handled the media, interviews—and students.

“I was a 15-year-old kid,” Mandarano said. “He was doing me a favor, and I kind of screwed him over and wasted his time. But because he was so, one, respectful to the media and two, cared about helping people out and helping kids out, he without question was ready to come on the next show.”

In his 24 years as head coach of the St. Joe’s men’s basketball team, Martelli built a reputation for helping out student journalists, including dozens of sports writers and editors for The Hawk.

Matthew De George ’10, a former sports editor for The Hawk, said he once approached Martelli to write about why so many players were transferring.

“We had this long conversation, some of it on the record, some of it as background about what was going on with the program,” De George remembered. “The way that Phil communicated with me was something other than as a college junior who didn’t really know what he was doing. He communicated with a level of respect, and I walked out of there with a more nuanced understanding.”

Garrett Miley ’15, M.A. ’19, another former sports editor for The Hawk, said Martelli both showed and expected respect from the student journalists he worked with at St. Joe’s.

In April 2013, Miley ran a story about a scandal surrounding the men’s basketball coaching staff at Rutgers University that involved Martelli’s son, Jimmy Martelli. The Hawk’s story stated that Jimmy Martelli had previously been on the St. Joe’s men’s basketball staff, but Martelli emailed Miley to correct him. Jimmy Martelli ran summer camps at St. Joe’s, but he was never officially part of the coaching staff.

“He just wanted to have a conversation about it and understand how that information

got there and how to correct it, which I thought was fair,” Miley said.

Sean Woods ’09, former sports editor for The Hawk, said Martelli treated student journalists the same way he treated professionals.

“When I was the beat writer for the basketball team, he was always accessible,” Woods said. “He always treated the beat writers as if they were any other professional writer covering the team.”

But Woods said Martelli did not coddle student journalists.

“If he was mad because of a loss or something like that, he would be just as gruff with us as with any of the [other] reporters asking questions,” Woods said.

Sports editors have also been able to build a relationship with Martelli through open practices and Martelli’s accessibility for interviews.

Miley said the opportunity to attend open practices with the team offered an opportunity few student journalists get to experience. It is rare for Division I teams to host open practices.

“Seeing a coach during practice is different from during a game,” Miley said.

“You get to see the most out of them that way, so I think that was one of the really cool things that he did that not a lot of other

coaches allowed. That’s a pretty big level of trust.”

In an interview following his firing, Martelli told The Hawk these open practices served multiple purposes. He wanted to invite the St. Joe’s community to see the team’s enthusiasm. Plus, he didn’t see the need to practice in a “sterile environment.” Instead, he wanted to simulate the distractions of game day.

“That basketball court is my classroom,” Martelli said. “I want you to see my teaching.”

Martelli’s classroom is where Mandarano said he found his ability to do the most accurate reporting on the team.

“That allows you to ask more fair questions,” Mandarano said. “It allows you to report more fairly. You’re able to see his relationship with players and get a more in-depth look as to what exactly is going on with the team, how they interact, how they’re preparing, rather than just surface value what happened in the game.”

Miley said Martelli’s coaching extended beyond working with just his players.

“He gave athletes a lot with his coaching, but I think he understood what he could give to student journalists in a sense, too—a lot of experience,” Miley said.

Former men's basketball Head Coach Phil Martelli was known for his open access practices. PHOTO: LUKE MALANGA ’20/ THE HAWK

Boys' Club: AD faces reality of being a woman in sports ALEX HARGRAVE ’20 Columnist On March 22, 2018, Jill Bodensteiner J.D., told reporters at her first press conference as St. Joe’s first female director of athletics that she would not be passive in her new role.

“I want to put my own stamp on a place, and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to do that here,” Bodensteiner said.

Bodensteiner did just that a year later, on March 19, when she announced that Phil Martelli was being fired after 24 years as head coach for the men’s basketball team. She was transparent, announcing that letting Martelli go was her call, but that the decision was made in part with University President Mark Reed, Ed.D. “Ultimately, this is my decision and I own that,” Bodensteiner said. “I know it’s an unpopular one among some, but I own that.”

Unpopular is an understatement, especially if you consult social media. Twitter users have resorted to grade school-esque name-calling to voice their opinions on Martelli’s firing.

If you search Bodensteiner’s name on Twitter, you will find that she is “classless,” a “gutless wench,” and an “ass clown face.”

Would this be the collective reaction if Bodensteiner were a man?

You would be hard-pressed to find a male athletic director referred to as “Mr. so-and-so” like a tweet that said “Miss Jill Bodensteiner.”

According to a 2018 analysis by HigherEdDirect, a higher education company, 12 percent of the 339 Division I athletic directors are female, with the number of female athletic directors across all three divisions of the NCAA doubling since 1990.

Universities hiring more women in these positions is commendable progress, but the comments made about Bodensteiner prove we still have more work to do in addressing sexism in sports.

Another tweet directed at Bodensteiner reads, “Nice job showing no respect to someone who has more knowledge about your job in his left pinky.”

There is no doubt that Martelli has had one of the most storied careers in college sports, but that does not make Bodensteiner an amateur. An attorney since 1997, Bodensteiner joined the University of Notre Dame’s athletics department in 2009 and was promoted to senior associate athletics director a few years later.

A man who has 10 years of experience in Division I athletics, especially at an institution with a reputation like Notre Dame, would be shown a lot more respect.

One tweet of the past week reads, “Keep in mind, St. Joseph’s and La Salle are both women’s universities now. Basketball

is meaningless.”

The man who tweeted this is pretty explicit in stating that women in sports bring down the institutions they work for. La Salle University has a male athletic director, so I can only assume this Twitter user is referring to the university’s president, Colleen Hanycz, Ph.D., who is a woman.

How did sports become such a boys club? Women play sports (thanks to Title IX, a law passed in 1972 that forced schools to give us such an opportunity). Women coach sports. Women can know sports.

I've played sports since I was six years old. I started writing for the sports section of The Hawk my first semester here. I became the Assistant Sports Editor my second semester and eventually became Sports Editor.

I earned an internship with the sports desk of the Philadelphia Inquirer as a sophomore, all in spite of the fact that I’m a woman.

My name is Alex; I’ve shown up for countless interviews or made phone calls after emailing with someone, and the first thing they say is, “Wow, I expected you to be a guy.” Not only am I a woman in a position of power, but I’m also a woman in sports—inconceivable.

I didn’t have a problem being the only woman surrounded by men on press row, because that’s how the industry is. I did have a problem with being patronized by older men who saw me as inferior, because I’m a

young woman.

People have looked past me and instead spoke to the male photographer next to me, because, you know, how could I possibly understand?

I learned to take the inherent sexism in stride, as I’m sure a lot of women in the sports world have learned to do. But we shouldn’t have to.

Women in sports should not be immune to criticism. The criticism should simply be based on merit. Female sports journalists, athletic directors, coaches and players have to go through the same process of achieving success as men do, if not a more rigorous one.

Hawk fans and Philadelphians have a right to be upset with Bodensteiner’s decision, as long as they would be equally as upset if a man had made the same decision. There are some out there who would still be critical of it, but I suspect that the fact that the decision was made by a woman makes it somehow more ill-informed.

We should respect our director of athletics, trust Bodensteiner to make calls like this and not attack her because she is a woman. Let’s make 2019 the year where women have the same opportunity as their male counterparts to put their stamp on and lead an athletics department.

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The Hawk Newspaper

March 27, 2019

Sports

FORMER PLAYERS VOICE SUPPORT FOR MARTELLI SAM BRITT ’20 Assistant Sports Editor After the news broke on March 19 that Phil Martelli would not return as men’s basketball head coach at St. Joe’s, attention quickly shifted to those he impacted the most: his players.

Like many others who heard the news, Martelli’s former and current players were generally shocked and perplexed.

Isaiah Miles ’16, who is one of six players to play on two of Martelli’s Atlantic 10 title teams and also has the fourth most points in a single season in St. Joe’s history, said this wasn’t the ending he saw for his coach. Miles played under Martelli from 2012-2016 and never thought that only three years after his graduation, Martelli would be gone.

“I thought he was going to have a lot more [time],” Miles said. “I thought he was going to be able to retire under his own terms.”

Halil Kanacevic ’14, a former Hawk forward, played 94 games under Martelli from 2011 to 2014, capturing an A-10 title and second team all-conference honors in 2014. He said Martelli’s firing was unjustified.

“It wasn’t warranted,” Kanacevic said.

“Strictly from a basketball standpoint, I don’t think a lot of coaches would have got fired if you looked at an eight or nine-year span, especially with all the injuries in the past three years. That’s why it is so surprising.”

Over the past nine seasons, Martelli led the Hawks to two A-10 Championship victories. The only other team in the conference to have multiple championships in that time frame is Saint Louis University, who won their second championship this season.

In the past three seasons, the Hawks have failed to post above a .500 record, and they have dealt with significant injuries to key players such as redshirt junior Lamarr Kimble, redshirt sophomore Charlie Brown and redshirt junior Pierfrancesco Oliva.

Miles said he felt the way Martelli’s firing was handled evoked a sense of disrespect. He envisioned a farewell tour similar to the one Temple University’s head coach

Fran Dunphy received this year.

“They did him dirty, no recognition” Miles said. “I think he should have went out like Dunphy, Temple University’s head coach.

He had a year’s notice, so he knew it was coming. He was getting recognition every game because he knew it was his last season.”

Shavar Newkirk ’18, a former Hawk guard who now plays professionally in Germany, agreed with Miles. After hearing the news from his father over the phone, Newkirk said he was upset by the lack of fanfare that the winningest coach in St. Joe’s history was given on his way out.

“He did so much for the school,” Newkirk said. “He deserved more. I mean there isn’t really a right way to let somebody go. He was a great man, and he knows how to get the best out of you both as a player and as a person.”

Senior guard Chris Clover said Martelli gave him an avenue to better himself.

“I’m glad I got the opportunity to play at St. Joe’s,” Clover said. “I’m glad Phil gave me that opportunity. I’m a better person and a better player because of it.”

Newkirk said he appreciates how open Martelli was with his players. He was always available for a phone call if somebody was feeling homesick or just needed some food.

“He was a great listener,” Newkirk said.

“He gave great advice, and I don’t know if people know it, but he is a comedian. He had good jokes.”

Miles thinks that a proper display of gratitude should be in store for Martelli after all that he gave to the school, the fans and the players.

“Shoot, why not name the court after him?” Miles said. “He has been there so long, and he gave so much to the team. Name something big after him.”

Miles said he hopes current players will let Martelli know how grateful they are.

“Be there together as a team,” Miles said.

“If they get a chance to see him, make sure to show their appreciation.”

Miles said if he were given a chance, he would make sure to thank Martelli in person for everything. During Miles’ senior year, Martelli brought Miles into his office, sat

Former men's basketball Head Coach Phil Martelli embraces Halil Kanacevic in a 2014 game against Fordham University. PHOTO COURTESY OF SJU ATHLETICS

him down and told him that he may be the most improved player on the roster. That year Miles would post the best statistical season of his career, receive tryouts for NBA rosters and would ultimately go on to play professionally overseas.

“I am where I am at now because of him,” Miles said. “He bestowed that confidence in me. He gave me the road to where I am at now because he gave me that opportunity. So I would just thank him for all that he has done.”

Kanacevic said he would make sure to be completely candid with Martelli if he got the chance to talk to him. It would be just like the conversation he and Martelli had early in the 2013-2014 season, after a pair of tough losses to Temple and Villanova. They both recognized they needed to right the ship to save their season. The Hawks ended up win-

ning the A-10 Championship that spring.

Kanacevic was named tournament MVP on that team.

Martelli is known for being authentic and genuine, and Kanacevic said his relationship with Martelli is no different.

“I was always up front with Coach,” Kanacevic said. “Me and him would just have an honest conversation. I would tell him it wasn’t right that they fired you. It doesn’t make sense.”

Clover said it will be a tall task to replace Martelli and what he represented to the players outside of basketball.

“I don’t know who is out there, but I hope they get someone personable, someone you can have a relationship with,” Clover said. “Those are key aspects that a good coach would need to replace Phil Martelli.”

Martelli stands on the sidelines during his last game at Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena against the University of Rhode Island on March 5, 2019. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22 /THE HAWK