Miami’s forgotten child
Normally, I write in the voice of Secular Pro-Life, speaking on behalf of all our members. But today, I write as Kelsey Hazzard: president of Secular Pro-Life, and graduate of the University of Miami.
I love UM. I have wonderful memories of my time there. (As it happens, UM is where I first got involved in the pro-life movement.) So naturally, I’m following the story of UM’s football scandal. The short version is that Nevin Shapiro, a former UM booster who is currently in prison for a Ponzi scheme, admits that he gave all kinds of money and benefits to players, in violation of NCAA rules. The NCAA is investigating; apparently there’s considerable evidence to back up Shapiro’s claims, although the details aren’t fully available yet. 
Truth is, I never cared much about Miami football. The team wasn’t all that good when I was there; I was more interested in college baseball. But the media coverage of the scandal bothers me. Here’s an excerpt from yesterday’s Associated Press article:
Shapiro said he gave money, cars, yacht trips, jewelry, televisions and other gifts to a list of players including Vince Wilfork, Jon Beason, Antrel Rolle, Devin Hester, Willis McGahee and the late Sean Taylor. Shapiro also claimed he paid for nightclub outings, sex parties, restaurant meals and in one case, an abortion for a woman impregnated by a player. One former Miami player, running back Tyrone Moss, told Yahoo! Sports he accepted $1,000 from Shapiro around the time he was entering college.
The article goes on for another twenty-plus paragraphs about the scandal. The abortion is never mentioned again.
Yes, violating NCAA rules is bad. Yes, this is probably going to cause serious problems for UM’s football program. That’s unfortunate, but in the grand scheme of things, it really does not matter. If you’re going to hate on Shapiro, do it because he enabled the killing of a helpless unborn baby. That is a far greater crime than any recruiting shenanigans.
Baby Hurricane deserved more than a passing mention. He or she deserved a chance to live, grow, play childhood sports, and try to get into college.
History will judge us. And when it does, abortion will be our generation’s greatest scandal.
You are right on Kelsey, as usual. You express yourself so wonderfully and clear in your message! Keep up your diligent work!
How the abortion came about is even worse: another example of abortion being used to hide a man's responsibility.