President Linda LeMura was formally inaugurated as Le Moyne’s 14th President this past Friday. It was a ceremony filled with great pomp and circumstance that truly brought out the best in this proud school.

One thing of note that glaringly stood out was the attire of most of Le Moyne’s athletes. At the behest of the athletic department, most of the athletes wore the “standard issue” outfit consisting of a green and gold sweatsuit with the Le Moyne logo on it. Fortunately, not all teams took this request seriously as some formally dressed for the occasion in some combination of khakis, dress shirt and tie.

Why the athletic department would think it acceptable to have their athletes, a face of sorts for the school, dressed so inappropriately for such a major event is beyond me. If anything, the athletes should have been amongst the best dressed group there. A minimum of a Le Moyne-labeled polo would have sufficed, but a hoodie and sweatpants is unacceptable.

I understand the need for uniformity, but for a situation as important as a presidential inauguration where all members on stage were in the most regal of academic clothing, the decision made to have the athletes dress the way they did was reprehensible.

If you are going to make the athletes a part of this school’s marketing plan then it would probably make sense to not have them looking like they just got off the bus from a long road trip. One of the core values of Le Moyne’s newly introduced ‘Inside the L’ initiative is “Excellence with Integrity.” Sure, the athletes were united in their sweatsuits, but couldn’t they have looked just as united in a polo emblazoned with the Le Moyne Dolphin?

Le Moyne Athletics should be ashamed of themselves for how they chose to display their athletes at Friday’s ceremony. This was a great opportunity to show off some of Le Moyne’s finest and the department dropped the ball.