"Cheek would let college athletes play for money," ran the headlines of a Boston, newspaper yesterday morning. The captain of the football team issued a statement last night, correcting the impression given by that headlines. His statement is as follows: "March 30, 1925.
"Owing to the fact that the headline of the article appearing in this morning's Boston Herald utterly misrepresent the statements attributed to me, and that the statements attributed to me, and that the statements quoted are somewhat misleading, I feel it necessary to repeat in writing what I actually did say at the meeting of the Men's Class of the North Congregational Church yesterday.
"Rules against college men playing summer baseball have to be made to prevent a professional spirit from creeping into college athletics. At the same time, these rules work is paying his own way through college. Many a man works late into the night in order to make money to defray his expenses. If that man is a baseball player, he might easily earn enough in the course of the summer to allow him the advantages that other men derive from a greater amount of free time in college. In such cases, I feel that the eligibility board might well give the man permission to play summer baseball.
"Rules which prohibit transfer students from representing their colleges in athletics if they have taken part in any competitive sport at the college from which they transfer are obviously unjust. With the present high scholastic standing required for eligibility at most of the better colleges, the one year rule is quite sufficient to discourage the tramp athlete. Let us hope for the time when a man will be no longer mistrusted and prevented from getting the most out of his college life simply because he happens to have a liking for and some ability in athletic competition.
"That some colleges do not discourage to represent them is a well known fact and is dangerous to the entire system of amateur athletics. These institutions should be boycotted by the other colleges without the fear of misinformed and misdirected public opinion. It is only in this way that intercollegiate athletic competition can be placed on a fair and equal basis.
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