S

tephen Bannon’s ouster 
from the White House 
brought 
the 
sort 
of 

speculation 
we’ve 
heard 
a 

number of times before: Is the 
Trump 
administration 
stable 

enough to continue functioning? 
Core members are in and out 
at the president’s whim, staff 
members lie, cheat and steal for 
a slim personal advantage and 
the work atmosphere is more 
“Game of Thrones” than “The 
West Wing.” 

I am inclined to believe that 

Bannon’s removal will benefit 
the 
stability 
of 
the 
Trump 

administration and the country 
overall. The “deep state” has 
outlasted its primary enemy 
and will be able to properly 
resume 
its 
work: 
actually 

running the country.

Removing Trump’s advisers 

is not a fix because the ultimate 
source of instability in the White 
House 
isn’t 
Bannon, 
Reince 

Priebus or Michael Flynn — 
it’s Trump himself. That said, 
removing Bannon removes one of 
the last lucid powers in the West 
Wing, one with the attention 
span and future vision to carry 
out effective — albeit disastrous 
— change. I see this as enabling 
the “deep state” to further 
restrain the president.

The 
way 
we 
consume 

political news in this country 
requires a core narrative of 
dynamic 
characters 
— 
the 

beleaguered chief of staff, the 
malevolent 
chief 
strategist, 

the strategically patient vice 
president — and as a result, 
we often see their actions as 
much more consequential than 
they really are. Despite all that 
has happened, Congress still 
functions. The judiciary still 
functions. And — though it has 

some trouble with Trump — the 
executive branch still functions.

Our 
government 
was 

designed to be slow-moving and 
cumbersome — to be a massive 
shipping barge, not a skip. Trump 
and his companions may loot 
what they can while they’re in 
power, and the man himself 
may do some cultural damage in 
covering for white nationalists, 
but the captain cannot sink his 
ship without the help of his crew.

When 
Trump 
axed 
U.S. 

support for the Paris climate 
accord, lower-level executives 
— governors and mayors — 
contradicted him and offered 
their continued support. French 
President Emmanuel Macron’s 
own ambitions certainly played 
a large part in keeping the accord 
together, but I think these lower-
level promises also played a 
significant role. A child-king’s 
advisers have the real power. 
Their deals are the ones that 
succeed and their promises are 
the ones that are upheld.

A similar dynamic is playing 

out in the United States, as 
states and cities conduct pseudo-
foreign policy. There is also the 
issue of political donors when 
we’re discussing the Americans 
with legitimate access to power. 
Trump was not all that popular 
when it came to campaign 
contributions, 
and 
“alt-right” 

figures modeled in his image 
are likely to fare even worse. 
U.S. elections depend heavily 
on access to funds, especially 
when we step back from the 
presidency and consider lower-
level elections.

Finally, I’d like to address 

the delusion that Bannon and 
company will be more powerful 
now that they “have (their) hands 
back on (their) weapons.” As 

Cersei Lannister from “Game 
of Thrones” put it, “power is 
power.” 
Money, 
knowledge 

and speech are all ancillary 
to the cold reality that, once 
installed in office or position, 
power rests with the politician. 
Breitbart 
propaganda, 
white 

nationalist rallies and thinly 
veiled “free speech” protests are 
all legitimate dangers, but when 
a mayor says the statues are 
coming down, they come down. 
When a governor says to make 
the racists disperse, the police 
disperse them.

The delusion that a media 

campaign against the government 
will be effective thrives on the 
same desperation that brought 
the “alt-right” to prominence in 
the first place: a desire to be the 
victims, even when all evidence is 
to the contrary; a desire to be the 
underdogs, even when they have 
significant institutional power. 
The “alt-right” is, as a result, 
condemned to live in a perpetual 
struggle: When you are defined 
entirely by powerlessness, power 
destroys you.

I don’t want to gloss over the 

legitimate problems posed by 
Trump’s position and the damage 
he can do. We have more than 
three years left with an executive 
who is unwilling to learn, at 
the mercy of his emotions and 
completely immune to nuance. I 
do, however, want to push back 
on the frantic terror that we will 
imminently be swallowed up by 
the racists, once again ascendant 
and ready to implement their 
ideas as real policy. Only power is 
power, and they are incapable of 
wielding it.

A

s leaves start to change 
color and classes begin 
this fall, a wave of 

football hype spreads across 
campus. For many University 
of Michigan students, the 
return of the football season 
provides 
relief 
from 
the 

classroom — a part of a work 
hard, 
play 
hard 
mentality 

that is a uniting force across 
campus. For many, NCAA football 
takes a backseat to professional 
football come Sunday. 

The NFL, a weekly refuge 

from 
work 
for 
countless 

students and employees, has 
now captured the attention of 
the vast and lucrative fantasy 
football community that is 
perhaps most crucial to the 
league’s consistent success.

But the rise of the NFL 

has come with a fair share 
of 
problems, 
earning 

unfavorable media attention 
for the concussion epidemic 
and domestic violence issues. 
Despite 
fantasy 
football’s 

growth 
into 
a 
booming 

industry, it has worked to hide 
and 
ultimately 
perpetuate 

the prevalence of domestic 
violence across the league.

The NFL and Commissioner 

Roger Goodell have come under 
fire for their mistreatment 
of various domestic violence 
cases in the past few years. 
NFL players Ray Rice, Josh 
Brown and Ray McDonald 
were all suspended on domestic 
violence allegations, but many 
claim their punishment did 
not match the violent nature of 
their crimes.

In the case of Rice, a video 

surfaced 
of 
him 
violently 

beating 
his 
wife, 
Janay 

Rice, in a hotel elevator. 
For 
someone 
without 
the 

privilege and fame of a three-
time pro-bowler and Super 
Bowl champion, this type 
of concrete evidence could 
lead to jail time. Instead, the 
NFL “cracked down” with a 
measly two-game suspension 
— the same penalty that has 
been handed out for failing a 
drug test.

In the wake of their actions, 

the NFL received tremendous 
backlash 
and 
moved 
to 

harshen their protocol for 
sexual assault and domestic 
violence punishment.

However, this topic remains 

at the forefront of the league 
and has resurfaced in the past 
few months. Ezekiel Elliott, 
a Dallas Cowboys first-round 
draft choice, allegedly abused 
his 
then-girlfriend 
Tiffany 

Thompson in July 2016, for 
which he faced a six-game 
suspension as of August 2017. 
Though this is a step up from 
the NFL’s weak punishment 
in past cases, the severity 
of the allegations is clouded 
out by the very reason Elliott 
garnered so much attention on 
the field — fantasy football.

One read through ESPN’s 

fantasy 
website 
reveals 
a 

string of articles and videos 
about Elliott, but virtually 
none of them comment on 
the morality and character of 
his actions. Rather, the main 
theme is: “Where will Elliott 
be drafted?” By focusing on 
Elliott’s draft position and 
projected points for the year, 
talk about the second-year 
running back has gradually 
moved away from his domestic 
violence case.

Masking the severity of 

these cases is a dangerous 
trend that elevates the status 
of athletes and causes them 
to deviate from social norms, 
offering them an excessive 
sense of pride, or hubris, 
and the belief that they can 
commit illegal acts and still 
get away with it.

Earning millions of dollars 

should not earn any athlete 
a free pass from domestic 
violence. Glorifying superstars 
for their statistics and treating 
them as tradable commodities 
creates a sense of immortality, 
potentially leading to more 
violence in the future. If 
anything, spectators and the 
media must strive to hold 
athletes to a higher standard, 
especially as fantasy football 
opens up an escape route for 
players 
whose 
performance 

attracts so much attention.

It is this relationship between 

sports and the media, as one of 
the most influential in the entire 
entertainment 
industry, 
that 

allows companies like ESPN and 
Fox Sports to shape and alter public 
opinion through their coverage.

Once SportsCenter, ESPN’s 

flagship 
program, 
takes 
a 

stance on an issue, especially 
a sensitive topic like domestic 
violence, it has the tendency to 
become the main perspective 
viewers take as well. While 
nearly 
monopolizing 
the 

world of sports, ESPN has 
used its power to alter the 
timing of the NFL Draft, 
the 
schedule 
of 
NCAA 

football 
games 
and 
the 

entire conference structure. 
Because of its influence, the 
station has a responsibility to 
maintain moral high ground 
on any and all controversial 
topics. Even as football season 
approaches 
and 
viewers 

demand 
predictions 
and 

rankings for the upcoming 
year, the network should not 
allow for turning a blind eye 
to domestic violence.

Thus, 
as 
ESPN 
fantasy 

insider 
Matthew 
Berry 

continues to harp on Elliot’s 
second-round 
draft 
value, 

the public too will continue 
to forget his act of domestic 
violence. Even as the NFL 
harshens 
punishments 
and 

speaks out against these cases, 
it has found an opponent in 
fantasy football.

As participants, we must 

also play a role. To neglect 
domestic violence and sexual 
assault because of an athlete’s 
performance sets the stage for 
continued 
violence 
against 

women, 
a 
scary 
prospect 

given the safety net handed 
to these athletes. On our 
campus, 
domestic 
violence 

awareness 
and 
prevention 

is a constant and impactful 
theme. There are numerous 
lectures, counseling resources 
and 
programs 
devoted 

to 
eliminating 
domestic 

violence from our community, 
especially among athletes.

As students, we have the 

duty to make use of these 
resources and be upstanding 
citizens if and when a situation 
arises — either in person or 
through an online draft board. 
So even if Elliott is available 
when it comes to your pick, 
give it some consideration. 
Maybe don’t take him at all.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Thursday, September 7, 2017

REBECCA LERNER

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

EMMA KINERY

Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY 

and REBECCA TARNOPOL 

Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

 Can the ship steer itself?

HANK MINOR | COLUMN

Fantasy football needs reality check

BEN CHARLSON | COLUMN

 Ben Charlson can be reached at 

bencharl@umich.edu.

 What I learned at airborne school

Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan

Sarah Khan

Anurima Kumar

Max Lubell

Lucas Maiman

Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Anu Roy-Chaudhury

Ali Safawi

Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Stephanie Trierweiler

Ashley Zhang

 Hank Minor can be reached at 

hminor@umich.edu.

NIA LEE | NIA CAN BE REACHED AT LEENIA@UMICH.EDU

KEVIN LIU | OP-ED

T

his 
past 
summer, 
I 

attended Basic Airborne 
Course at Fort Benning, 

Ga. BAC is a three-week course 
where service members from 
all branches attend to become 
qualified in successfully exiting 
an aircraft and landing on 
the ground, minimizing any 
injuries. The first two weeks 
are a training phase where BAC 
students learn how to properly 
exit an aircraft, conduct a 
parachute landing fall, use the 
main and reserve parachutes 
and prepare for emergency 
landings. Jump week is the 
culminating 
week 
where 

students 
must 
successfully 

conduct five jumps from an 
aircraft. From my five jumps, 
I was able to remind myself 
of key takeaways that have 
affected my career at the 
University of Michigan. 

Jumping into the unknown: 

When you’re inside the aircraft, 
be it a C-130 or C-17, you 
typically aren’t the first person 
to jump out of it. The advantage 
of being the first person to jump 
out of the aircraft is that you can 
observe the drop zone prior to 
jumping out of the door and thus 
has a clear view of what you are 
jumping into. In my experience, 
I was typically placed in the 
middle or the rear of the line in 
performing mass-exit jumps. 
Here you can only see the 
people in front and behind you. 
Once the jumpmaster signals 
“Green light, GO,” you have no 
choice but to move forward and 
jump without hesitation into 
the abyss.

Tying 
this 
in 
with 
my 

experience at the University, 
I’ve encountered brief moments 
of turbulence, and I was unsure 
about the decisions I ought to 
make because the consequences 
were unforeseeable. Personally, 
I’ve 
had 
better 
experience 

jumping 
right 
into 
actions 

than second-guessing myself, 

because even though I may not 
have the most ideal patch of 
grass to land on, at least I can 
enjoy the ride on the way down.

Hard Landings: After exiting 

the aircraft, you experience 
a brief gust of air that blows 
your body parallel to and away 
from the aircraft, prior to 
the deployment of your main 
parachute. After your main 
parachute deploys, you inspect 
the canopy for any rips or 
tears and gain canopy control. 
During 
your 
descent, 
you 

maintain situational awareness 
of your position relative to your 
fellow jumpers to prevent any 
accidental collisions.

At 200 feet, you pull down 

and hold onto your risers in 
the opposite direction of your 
drift to ease your descent prior 
to landing on the ground. For 
my first jump, I hit the ground 
HARD. Contrary to executing 
a proper PLF on all five points 
of contact, I landed on the 
balls of my feet, glutes and 
upper back on a hard dirt road. 
Even though I acted on the 
training I received to the best 
of my ability, I still managed to 
eat dirt.

Likewise, at the University 

there’s going to be that one 
problem set, quiz or exam that 
you spent hours preparing for. 
You frequently attended office 
hours and study group sessions 
and 
reviewed 
every 
past 

assignment, but your best still 
wasn’t good enough to do well 
on that exam. This happened 
to me after receiving terrible 
marks for my first midterm 
in NERS 311. Nevertheless, I 
picked myself up, reflected 
on what went wrong, and 
readjusted my method of action 
which eventually improved my 
performance in NERS 311 and 
my PLFs in further jumps.

Pulling 
your 
Reserve: 

During my last jump, I pulled 
my reserve parachute when 

I was about 200 feet above 
the ground because my main 
parachute had some serious 
twists and I thought I was 
falling at a rate faster than 
my fellow jumpers. I was 
attempting to undo the twists 
in my parachute by trying to 
separate the risers while doing 
bicycle kicks in the air. Due to 
my limited depth perception, 
I believed myself to be falling 
at a faster rate than usual, 
so I panicked and pulled my 
reserve parachute to prepare 
for the worst. After I pulled 
my reserve, my main parachute 
untwisted and reflated so my 
reserve parachute flew up and 
wrapped around me during my 
descent to the ground.

The 
reserve 
parachute’s 

failure 
to 
inflate 
was 
an 

indication that I did not need 
it to land safely. By the time 
I landed, I was berated for 
using the reserve in a non-
life-threatening 
situation. 

However, I did what I was 
trained to do in pulling my 
reserve when I felt that my 
life was at risk. So, at the 
University, don’t be afraid to 
use the resources available to 
you to ask for help. This can be 
tied to almost anything at the 
University — be it academics, 
social life, mental health, etc. 
If you don’t understand what 
your professor went over in 
class, 
address 
and 
resolve 

the situation as soon as you 
can instead of putting it off 
until the last moment. Even if 
the situation doesn’t exhibit 
any present treachery at the 
moment, it is better to deploy 
your reserve parachute 200 
feet above ground than 70 
feet if and when your main 
parachute fails.

Kevin Liu is a senior majoring in 

nuclear engineering and radiological 

sciences and an ROTC Cadet.

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