If you love sports, there’s nothing worse than waiting. Even baseball games only take a few hours to wrap up.
And boy, did we wait for those words to come out of Athletic Director Bill Moos’ mouth Monday afternoon.
We waited nearly two months, but it seemed like two years.
Finally, Oregon women’s basketball head coach Jody Runge decided to end our endless monotony. She stepped down. Flew the coop. Took a hike.
Good riddance? I don’t think so.
We are in no position to judge Jody Runge’s character. We have no idea what she’s like off the court, in her home.
We do know she yelled at her players. We do know, for a fact, that she made poor decisions dealing with the social aspect of her team. We know she stalked the sidelines like a general, and she was no Beetle Bailey.
But college prepares you for the real world, and that — like Jody Runge — is harsh. Angelina Wolvert and Jenny Mowe started training for the WNBA immediately after losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and both were drafted. Shaquala Williams, when she graduates, will be drafted. A host of other Oregon seniors will probably go on to play ball in Europe, or South America, or wherever.
The real world. Scary, isn’t it?
The real world is populated by people such as Eugene resident Paula Gourley, an ex-teacher who said she once filed a pay-equity lawsuit against a state university.
“The rules for women are different,” Gourley said. “If women speak out, they will pay a bigger price than anybody, and now Runge will be tainted.”
It’s doubtful that all the players heading into post-collegiate basketball will have sickly sweet, roses-in-your-mailbox coaches when they get there. For every Ernie Kent, there’s a Jody Runge. For every Joe Torre, there’s a Bobby Knight.
Not to say that Runge should have been reinstated, given a Mercedes and sent on her way to diagram plays for next season. No, no and no again. But instead of mediation, Moos used investigation. Instead of discussing options, the Athletic Department squeezed Jody Runge ’til she popped.
Lisa Gardner, who graduated from Oregon in 1996, is capital grants administrator for the Lane Transit District and an eight-year season-ticket holder for the women’s basketball team. Gardner said the whole thing smelled of a “witch hunt.”
“Coach Runge may well have had deficiencies in her coaching or communication style, but those deficiencies could have been addressed in private,” Gardner said. “I haven’t decided if I will renew my season tickets next year. Coach Runge brought a lot of the appeal and marketability to the program for me.”
Can’t we all agree on one thing? Can we please agree that we’re glad it’s over?
She’s gone. The hiring process for a new coach will begin soon, and an interim coach will take over her position temporarily. People may even start to forget about the controversial Runge.
Of course, it’s not really over. Newspapers, television stations, even the near-perfect Oregon Daily Emerald will continue to debate Runge’s departure until Ernie Kent starts yelling at his players (in other words, forever).
But, like the Portland Trail Blazers’ season, the ugliness has finally been put to rest.
In the process, a slice of life has been cut out of the Oregon athletic program. Some salsa was scraped off the burrito that is the women’s basketball team.
Jody Runge can now enter the real world.