I read Paul Montana’s sports column whenever he gives coverage of Men’s Basketball. I would say that in the past I actually appreciated his perspective and enjoyed his writing, but I found his conduct during Coach Bennett’s first press conference disturbing (“First impressions,” 4/2/2009). For example, Montana wrote that he asked Bennett “Do you get a sense of what maybe went wrong the last couple of years and what needs to change?” Montana gives himself plenty of credit for asking this question, which he refers to as “hardball.” It is not. This question, to which Bennett rightly denied comment, is offensive and inconsiderate, since it essentially demands Bennett to pass negative criticism on Dave Leitao’s performance. Montana attempts to justify this inquiry, explaining that his intent really was to ask “What is your plan for turning this program around?” If that was Montana’s intent, than he should have asked the latter question. Better yet, ask Bennett “What do you think it will take to win games in the ACC?” “From your perspective, what makes coaching in the ACC different from coaching in the PAC-10?” “What adjustments will you need to make from your coaching style at Washington State University?” These are the sorts of questions Montana should have been asking Bennett, and maybe he did. But he did not write about it. Instead, Montana focused on the way he made Bennett uncomfortable on his first day at the University. Yes, a journalist should ask tough questions, but an accomplished journalist understands the value of being considerate and polite. Montana did none of those things at the press conference, which reflects badly not just on himself and The Cavalier Daily, but on the entire University student body.
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