I had always thought that the perspective on Division I athletics was a bit skewed, but this weekend during the Elite Eight games, namely the Louisville University versus Duke University game, this became ever more evident. As many of you may be aware, Louisville guard, Kevin Ware, suffered a compound fracture in his right leg during the game. He landed awkwardly after contesting a shot, and was left writhing in pain in front of the Louisville bench as his severed bone was sticking out of his skin. Several of his teammates were seen covering their eyes and holding back tears from the utter shock of the gruesome injury to their teammate. The camera also panned across the faces of both head coaches, Rick Pitino and Mike Krzyzewski, who were both crying and seemed to be in disbelief of the event that they had just witnessed. Their expressions and the words of the commentators in response to the injury illustrated two key points: they are human, and that the perspective of athletes in Division I sports has become overshadowed by the money that is earned from their efforts.

The pure disbelief and sadness expressed by the coaches and commentators went further than their reaction to the gruesome injury. I feel as though the injury caused them to put Division I athletics, namely the athletes, into perspective. So often, these athletes are viewed as financial pawns to be garnered by athletic programs for athletic success and prominence, thus generating millions of dollars in revenue for the school. So much pressure is placed on them to be elite athletes and to win games for their respective institutions. What is forgotten is that they are amateur athletes who are young adults that have a majority of their lives still ahead of them. I find it a disappointing that it takes such a horrific incident for sport to be put into perspective. I hope that something can be learned from this grisly event, so that the culture of Division I athletics can change and so athletes can be viewed as humans rather than commodities.