Editorial: A Good Man Is Being Cast in a Bad Light

An Editorial by HawkeyeNation.com Publishers Jon Miller.

In the latest report to come out of the University of Iowa regarding the Pierre Pierce situation from last fall, there has been a negative light cast on an organization called ‘Athletes In Action’.

The main goal of this organization is the desire to build into the lives of athletes and train them to use their influence through sports to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

On one of AIA’s websites, they list their purpose as follows:

To help fulfill the Great Commission in this generation in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this -- that I am with you always, even to the end of the world." (Matthew 28:18-20, Living Bible)

Of course, some of you may bristle at the mention of Jesus Christ in sports or anywhere and some of you may object to my writing about this topic. I am prepared for that, as it would not be the first time I have encountered such resistance, as I am a Christian and that ‘goes with the territory’, so to speak.

Here is an excerpt from the recent report released by the University of Iowa in regards to the involvement of AIA in the Pierre Pierce situation.

"In addition to these formal contacts, some contacts with the female student were initiated by persons who were not University employees, but who have an informal University relationship. In particular, individuals affiliated with Athletes in Action, a religious organization, contacted the victim to seek an informal resolution of the matter by asking the victim to meet informally for prayer with the perpetrator. One of those individuals had a longstanding relationship with the basketball program and its coach, which included traveling with the basketball team and conducting voluntary chapel and Bible study activities for the team and staff.

“The female student's reaction to this contact was concern that the University was improperly involving itself in trying to resolve the matter. For her, this confirmed her fears that the University would act to protect its athlete and would not effectively pursue her interests in a disciplinary matter. Her response was to pursue criminal charges against the student athlete."

End of excerpt.

The individual that this report is referring to Jim Goodrich, who heads up Iowa’s chapter of Athletes in Action.

Goodrich released a statement yesterday that appeared in the Iowa City Press-Citizen: "The committee must not have known that the victim asked for our advice. Our involvement was completely independent of the University Athletic Department or any individual sport team. We care about these young people, like we've cared about hundreds of other student athletes who have initiated our guidance."

End of quote.

Today’s debates that are being waged on message boards, email lists and water coolers around the state and the nation include ‘Did tax dollars fund Goodrich’s trips with the basketball team on road games?’ or ‘Why was this person involved in such a sensitive matter, as he has an indirect relationship with Iowa athletics?’

There are other arguments being waged as well.

Iowa Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby put an end to Iowa’s ‘picking up the tab’ for Goodrich’s travel with the team. Goodrich then traveled with the team at his own expense.

For those concerned about ‘tax dollars’ being used for a ‘religious’ person to travel with an Iowa sports team, my question is this: Do you have a problem with your tax dollars supporting clergy members that are now traveling with our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq? Or clergy members that have traveled with our armed forces through the history of our nation’s conflicts?

Also, Goodrich said in his statement that the victim sought his counsel. I heard about that last fall when all of this was just starting. I also know that Goodrich had a prior relationship with both the victim and Pierce.

I have sought the advice of spiritual leaders in my life for issues that have weighed heavily on my conscience or for times when I have had trouble in my life. It is not uncommon for those who believe in Christ to seek counsel of those that have helped them in their walk of faith. Goodrich was just such an individual in this case.

His ties to athletes at Iowa makes this a cloudy issue for the conspiracy theorists out there that find the connection somewhat of a dark coincidence, wrought with, in their minds, a conflict of interest.

Goodrich is a man of faith and he walks in that faith each day. He has helped hundreds of student athletes at the University of Iowa not only find faith but be examples for others, be they students, athletes or people like you and me, become witnesses for Christ.

Again, I know that is going to sound like nails on a chalkboard for some of you.

I had the opportunity to interview Aaron Kampman two years ago about his faith. He was involved in AIA and I heard him speak several times at the church that I attended while living in the Iowa City area over the last few years. Here is an excerpt from that interview:

Kampman has been very active away from the football field during his three years at Iowa. He has taken on leadership roles within his church as well as being a spiritual guide when his teammates have sought for answers.

“God works through a lot of people. I think that the Spirit has worked in a lot of hearts in the team. I would be blessed if I were a little part of that. But there have been a lot of guys that have helped some of the team see that there is more to life and more perspective out there than just football and life’s day-to-day grind. It’s definitely neat to be a part of that.”

End of excerpt.

As Kampman said, there are a lot of players on the various athletic teams that are very active in their faith and serve as mentors and spiritual guides for their teammates and members of the community.

Yesterday, the news regarding the Iowa City council’s decision to make the admittance age of downtown bars to 21 drew some fire from the fans on the message boards. One aspect of that decision that I wrote about and that people discussed was how that decision might affect recruiting, as taking prospects out to the clubs has been commonplace in Iowa City for a long time.

But there are always two sides to a coin.

In a recent AIA update that I received from Goodrich, a letter that goes out to supporters and friends of the organization, there was one excerpt that shows another side of the recruitment of student athletes. The excerpt is from an Iowa football coach that was speaking to Jim and transcribed by Jim’s wife, Laurie:

“We have parents of a recruit in town this weekend and they have a lot of concerns about sending their child to the University of Iowa. They have heard a lot about the wild bar scene things that go on. They’re asking if we can offer any Christian programs for their son or daughter to get involved in? Will you (AIA) come talk to them and let them know what you do?”

End of excerpt.

One thing that makes college such a great time is the diversity of experience that can be enjoyed. But not all prospective students and athletes are looking for a good time out at the bars.

In another excerpt from the same letter, a student athlete contacted Goodrich after running into some trouble:

“Hey Jim, I kind of messed up. I don’t know if you saw my name in the paper yet, but I need to talk to you.”

End of excerpt.

Or another excerpt from an Iowa Wrestler:

“I’m not going to be able to make it Monday for bible study. I don’t know how I forgot I have a class then, but Wednesday will work and there’s a few other guys who are interested so I’m going to bring them along.”

End of excerpt.

There was another excerpt from a local businessman that attend a Christian Leadership Breakfast, and he was motivated by the talk that Iowa assistant football coach Ron Aiken had given at the function.

The point of all of these excerpts is that Iowa’s Athletes In Action chapter and the various ministries they are a part of have a wide reach and hundreds of student athletes are most definitely involved.

They also look to Goodrich as another guide along their way.

I have every belief that Goodrich’s involvement in the Pierce matter was with the best intentions and that it was not some choreographed attempt to mediate a situation just to sweep it under the rug.

If a Catholic goes to confession and confesses a sin that is a crime, does his conferring with the Priest constitute obstruction of justice? No. Hopefully, the Priest will provide sound counsel that abides by God’s law and man’s law.

I want to repeat Goodrich’s statement to the Press-Citizen:

"The committee must not have known that the victim asked for our advice. Our involvement was completely independent of the University Athletic Department or any individual sport team. We care about these young people, like we've cared about hundreds of other student athletes who have initiated our guidance."

Let me make one thing clear: There was obvious a wrong done to an innocent party and Pierce needed to be punished, and he was punished. Whether or not you agree with the degree and or the severity of the punishment, that is of course up to you.

This is not an editorial on the legal matters of the case.

Rather, I just want to give people a clearer picture about what Athletes in Action is, what it does and the reach that the program has not only at Iowa, but also on campuses all across America.

Like it or not, student athletes are actively engaged in religion, and they have religious mentors along the way that they confide in and seek counsel from.

Jim Goodrich is one of those people and he has done so much good for so many student athletes. And through his work with the student athletes, they have affected the lives of countless thousands.

I want to be on record as stating my opinion that I do not believe Jim Goodrich did anything other than he would normally do if students sought his counsel, and that I fully believe that there was no dark or sinister conspiracy afoot to make this go away as far as Goodrich’s involvement in the matter was concerned.