Ask the Editors

Last week the Seattle Times ran a four-part series, titled “Victory and Ruins,” on the University of Washington football program in the year 2000, the year the Huskies won the Rose Bowl. The series uncovered numerous transgressions and referred to the events as a “disturbing story.” The coach of that team was Rick Neuheisel. In January, Neuheisel was hired as UCLA’s head football coach.

The Daily Bruin received several e-mails about the series expressing concern. Many of those inquiries wondered if our newspaper would respond. We wanted to hold any response until the Times series had finished. We decided to run a column from one of our most experienced football writers, who has covered the team for two seasons. Here are a few of the questions that he will try to answer:

Why would UCLA take a risk on a coach with a history of disciplinary problems in his program?

Why did the Seattle Times choose to run the series eight years after the events occurred, and just one month after the Bruins chose Neuheisel as their new coach?

Should Neuheisel publicly address concerns that Bruin fans may have after reading the series?

These questions will be addressed in a column slated to run Tuesday, Feb. 5.

If readers have any other questions about the Times series or about the Daily Bruin’s reaction, they should e-mail the Sports editor, Sam Allen, at sallen@media.ucla.edu.