Letter to Kirby Hocutt from Meredith Post

"The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy in life is having no goal to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams> unfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disgrace not reach the stars, but it's a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is a sin." -Marian Wright Edelman
Dear Kirby,
My name is Meredith Post and I am a sophomore lacrosse player here at Ohio University. I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. It is not a hotbed> for lacrosse so I was the first Cincinnati player to ever sign to play division I women's lacrosse in college. It was a dream come true- I did what many thought was impossible. I fell in love on my official visit with the school and the girls on the team and knew the next four years of my life would be the best they possibly could be. My freshman year was rough, but we were extremely young and had a brand new coach. Not to mention the fact that we play in the best and toughest conference in the country, the American Lacrosse Conference. We played defending champion Northwestern, along with final four contestant Notre Dame, and also several top 20 teams such as Penn State, Vanderbilt, Maryland, and Johns Hopkins. We traveled across the country to play at California Berkeley, one of the most legendary football fields in the nation and most prestigious colleges in the country. We hit several bumps along our journey last year, seeing 4 members of our family transfer and a couple others decide to leave for personal reasons. We recruited 8 amazing girls and had extremely high hopes for 2007. When we arrived back on campus this year we had a complete change of culture. We worked harder than anyone in the classroom and even harder at community service projects. We bonded like I never knew we could, and competed on the field better than we ever had. Every ounce of sweat from May 6th of 2006 has gone towards one truly anticipated season. We broke 5 out of 7 weight room records just this fall! Personally, I had struggled with the divorce of my parents and the death of a close friend from back home in the past year. My 25 best friends and coaches never left my side. They were there to make me laugh and to hold my head up when the going got tough. I truly became a tougher human being. They were my family, my support system, and my best friends. I truly cannot believe what you and your administrative staff have done. In my media guide for lacrosse it says you view college athletics from a student-athlete's perspective. I cannot imagine you can even do that right now. You played football at Kansas State. You understand what it's like to play at a big name division-I school for a sport that every American cherishes. You probably never heard of lacrosse until 17 months ago. What you don't understand is the student-athlete's perspective from a 20-year old girl on a women's lacrosse team at Ohio University. This move shows ignorance. You and your administrators truly do not know a thing about this great sport. If you did, like other athletic directors across the country (Florida, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Louisville, Robert Morris, Oregon to name the recent ones) you would have realized what a serious mistake cutting the sport of lacrosse is. You say you looked at growth and participation in the state of Ohio. That's clearly erroneous. The growth of girls' lacrosse in Ohio has grown 138% in the past 5 years. There is almost three times the amount of field hockey teams in this state. I am most appalled at your treatment of my family. We were so close to our season opener and now will most likely not even get to compete one last time together. You knew exactly what was going on when you saw us on our first day of practice. YOU KNEW. You hid it from us and told us you were behind us. That's disgusting! We liked you and looked up to you as someone we could trust; someone who would stand up for us and support us all four years and beyond. I am even more sickened by the renovation of Peden Stadium, knowing we were in a deficit last summer. Why? I'm sure it is nice> to have spectacular offices for those athletes. They work hard too.> However, if as a department WE are in debt by millions, why would you> approve something like that? Furthermore, why should we be the ones having> to pay for your error? Since you have made up your mind I have some closing comments. First, I will never recommend Ohio Athletics to anyone. I will be the first person> to tell them how bad it is. Second, I will never in my life spend one cent> for Ohio Athletics. If I come back for Homecoming I will refuse to pay for a football ticket. Nothing personal to them or any sport for that matter, but why would I want to support Ohio Athletics through monetary paths? The day I spend five cents on sports here will be the day you and Roderick McDavis are both gone. Third, I hope you truly happy with your choice. You had 114 students at the school they loved, and now every single one has> their childhood dream torn from them. Every time I wear OHIO across my chest it will be for my teammates, alumni, and coaches. We will not go quietly and without a fight. This is only the beginning. What goes around comes around and cutting our team is not going to help you achieve your goal. I don't want to hear you're "sorry" or that you "understand". Maybe one day you will realize there is more to sports than money. There is emotion, heart, effort, and family. All of which you just took from me and 113 of my best friends on campus. Last, next time you plan on damaging the lives of student athletes please don't plan it for the middle of midterms. My grades are in serious jeopardy, and I cannot afford it since I am applying to my major in the spring.
Thanks for teaching me that no matter how hard I work and how much I dream, I cannot attain my ultimate goal. Thanks for teaching me not to trust. And thanks for teaching me to deceive and hide for my own benefit. My parents must have left that out when they were raising me. May God help you.

Signed,

Meredith Post