UC Irvine Volleyball Team Spiked By Politicians
UC Irvine won the NCAA men's volleyball national title last year. But don't expect Washington politicans to care.
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Quinnipiac University is reinstating the women's volleyball program after a hearing on allegations the volleyball team made about roster manipulation. Instead, the school is getting rid of men's indoor track, men's golf and men's outdoor track.
For UC Irvine’s men’s volleyball team, beating USC to win the national championship last spring was easier than getting a nice, clean set from Washington D.C. politicians.
In a somewhat tedious tradition, when a college team wins an NCAA title the local House of Representatives member puts forward resolution honoring said athletes. He or she then says a few glowing words on the house floor, gets the proclamation approved, gives it to the university in a press conference and tries to convince us he or she is really still part of the community.
So UC Irvine, come on down and… not so fast. You don’t have a resolution.
According to Roll Call, Irvine area representative John Campbell (a Republican) put forward the perfunctory resolution but Rep. George Miller, a Democrat representing California East Bay areas like Concord and Martinez, pulled the measure from the floor. He essentially holds it hostage.
Why? Well, the politics of water, of course.
Miller put forward a bill that that would have spent $32 million on water projects in the Bay Area. Republicans, led by Campbell, voted against it and killed the measure saying it could reduce water supplies to Southern California.
So, in a mature move of retribution, Miller has pulled Campbell’s resolution honoring the Anteaters.
It makes total sense, since these Irvine college students clearly are to blame for California’s water crisis, and the politics that go with it. They are probably to blame for the state’s budget mess as well.
Welcome to the post-partisan America, where anything from winning the Nobel Peace Prize to a college volleyball team can be part of the war between Democrats and Republicans. It’s all just part of moving America forward.
