Because they receive all the accolades, praise, glorification and worship when they do well (and rightly so.) Look, I can be the biggest homer in the world when it comes to UND sports, viewing things with an optimistic glass-half-full perception. But I also possess the ability to step back and see embarrassing (to the program) situations for what they are.
In our culture, in North Dakota, drinking abuses are often worn as a badge of honor and are treated as high school and/or college rights of passage. I know: I've been there, done that. I understand the culture because I lived it. I had three "minors" (one minor in consumption; one minor in possession and one minor on the premises) between the ages of 17 and 20. In my hometown, police citations, no matter how big or small, were printed daily in the local newspaper. And in all cases when I received a minor, I was forced to bear the embarrassment of my parents, teachers, school and self.
I am sure had I been affiliated with a program growing up that was as much in the public eye as UND hockey, or lauded for my skills and glorified for my heroics as much as our great hockey program and players enjoy, my photo would have been in the paper, too, along with a shameful write-up about me and my citations for minors.
We would be hardly above the hypocritical fray if we washed people with praises when they did good but then turned a blind eye to or tried to justify actions for apparent negative behaviors.
I won't even get into how this all juxtaposes with UND administration's desire to no longer be recognized as a "drinking school" or a supposed national leader in binge drinking among its students.
With great success comes great responsibility.
