UMass starting quarterback Kellen Pagel will be sidelined indefinitely with post-concussion symptoms/Andy Heller for the Maroon Musket)
Kellen Pagel, the projected starting quarterback for the UMass football team, will miss the UConn game and will be out indefinitely due to post-concussion symptoms, according to the Gazette and Mass Live.
The quarterback competition is currently a two-man race with redshirt freshman Mike Wegzyn holding a lead over true freshman A.J. Doyle.
Regarding the Pagel situation, I wanted to quickly address an issue that several of our readers have brought up with regards to an article I wrote – and then removed – on August 12.
On August 11, I received an e-mail from a source close to the team regarding the medical status of Pagel and several other members of the football team. In short, the e-mail contained a team-wide injury report for four days and gave a brief description of each athlete’s injury. On August 12, I posted a synopsis regarding Pagel’s status as it was described in the report.
That article was the first to mention his injury.
Several hours after posting the article, I was alerted to the fact that the information was not meant for public consumption and was having an adverse affect on several parties. Out of respect to Pagel and his family, I removed the article.
I want to make it clear that I struggled with this decision. As a professional journalist and an aspiring attorney who has focused on First Amendment and media law, I believe in unfettered and accurate reporting of relevant information. Nothing in my original article was incorrect or improperly disclosed on my behalf. I chose to delete the post out of respect to a student athlete, and that outweighed my journalistic desire to report accurate news first.
I apologize to my readers for any confusion that this decision caused.
Are we going to see the new uniforms tomorrow? I thought I read somewhere tomorrow was media day and that’s when they would be released along with the updated roster.
“What is troubling is that everyone was kept in the dark”
Tom, there’s a law by the name of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Basically, nobody but the patient (in this case Pagel) can release info about his condition without his permission. In other words, it’s not our right to know–if Pagel wanted everyone to be “kept in the dark”, that’s his right. More troubling to me are his recurrent symptoms; I hope he gets well soon regardless of when or whether he’ll be able to play football again.
If this was regarding pros sports where the athlete is collecting income from ticket sales to a fan base, I wouldn’t think twice about posting the info. In the case of student athletes there is definitley a line that should be respected. I agree with the decision to remove the post. Our team doesnt not deserve the media induced controversy that plagues other universities. Also as active fans, we need to give our coaching staff as much opportunity to enter the season free from outside influence as possible. It’s going to be hard enough for the team this year as it is.
Props and respect go out to you. Tough situation but I think everyone understands your decision.
I agree that you did the right thing…. These kids are 20 years old, student athletes, their academic and medical privacy should be something we all strive to protect. Just because other fans and schools might treat their athletes like cattle does not mean that we should. Let us hope that our exciting jump to FBS does not sacrifice our values. I appreciate the tough, but right, call you made.
Bob, you did the right thing. What is troubling is that everyone was kept in the dark, maybe due to confidentiality / player issues but this will be a major team concern, but the health of Pagel is of the most importance.