Some questions on this ND tragedy

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by paintmered

If a 20 year old kid busts his butt and stays quiet doing his job, maybe he'll get a letter of recommendation from Brian Kelly to be a video coordinator at another school after graduation. Recognition from somebody with clout for doing a crappy job well can jump start a career. If he pipes up, there's probably 300 other kids at Notre Dame willing to hang out with the football team and watch practice every day.

Look at it this way, despite the academic reputation of Notre Dame, this may have been his best shot for a foothold to a career. Most of us out there would put up with additional risk to keep that opportunity alive.

I'm guessing there were other pressures to do a job, and do it well despite the risks beyond someone of authority saying so.

But if I'm understanding you correctly, this implies that doing a good job and raising a safety concern are mutually exclusive towards getting a recommendation. I recognize the pressures that exist toward impressing the coach and getting a bump, but I also don't think it's fair to suggest he can't do a good job without keeping quiet in a situation like this. Most coaches appreciate the hard work and dedication of these kids' time, and while there are some real jerks (read expletives) out there, most are not so narrow-minded that they would purposely risk a kid's life if it were called to their attention that were the case.

I don't think the Notre Dame coaches put him up there, purposely, with utter disregard for his safety. I think they didn't thoroughly think through the fact he was going up there in horrid conditions. Because of the repetition involved with regard to practice, Sullivan was probably going about his business without much consultation to Kelly. Had he gone to Kelly and even expressed concern, do we think they would have made the kid go up there anyhow?

I'd like to think not. Of course, maybe I am hoping for the best.