The Heimlich Bombshell

I was as shocked as anyone today when the news of Luke Heimlich’s child molestation conviction from 2012 broke. When you hear someone is a convicted child molester a myriad of thoughts and emotions suddenly flood your consciousness. As a parent and the father of young daughters, I was overcome with horror as I read the details of the crime Heimlich admitted to back in 2012 when he plead guilty to one count of molestation. What Heimlich did is shocking, it is revolting, and it is indefensible. Yes, he has paid his legal “debt” to society, but what does it mean when we discover something so shocking about someone, and at times it raises more questions than answers.

College baseball is not on most people’s radar, not even most sports fans. I played college baseball and I hardly give it much notice. At my small college in NE Oklahoma our gymnasium would be packed for basketball games, but generally our baseball games drew a few dozen, if we were lucky a couple hundred fans. Oregon State is the exception to this rule. This year Goss Stadium sold out multiple games, as the Beavers roared to the best record in the nation (52-4) and a number 1 overall national ranking. Luke Heimlich was a big part of this success, raising his stock before the upcoming MLB draft and compiling perhaps the best single season of pitching in Oregon State history. With his starring role on the nation’s best college baseball team, Heimlich’s profile rose and the Oregonian newspaper from Portland sent one of their sports reporters to do a profile. During this time the reporter, Danny Moran, unearthed the sordid details of Heimlich’s past.

For a moment we should focus on the real story here, and the questions something like this raises. Sports is littered with people who have been given 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th chances. But where do we draw the line? Ray Lewis was put on trial for murder, Michael Vick was convicted of dog fighting, and many players have come back from various other legal and personal troubles. But we have never to my knowledge had a high profile case of a player being accused or convicted of molesting children. So we have no easy precedent to act on here, no pre-beaten path to redemption for Heimlich to follow, and again so many unanswered questions.

The first question needing an answer is what did Oregon State know and in particular what did Pat Casey, the living legend of a head coach, know about Heimlich. Was he even aware of Heimlich’s conviction? Did Heimlich disclose this to him? If so what was the logic, thought process, in deciding it was okay to bring him into the program? If Casey knew, did he consult others in the athletic department or the university brass about his decision to bring a sex offender into the program? If so, was there a plan to support Heimlich and ensure he did not reoffend while at Oregon State? Furthermore, given his conviction was public record, what plan did the athletic department and Casey have to re-assure the public if Heimlich’s past came to light?

If it turns out Heimlich did not disclose his past to Casey or the athletic department, then it will be interesting to see how Casey and the administration respond. In all honesty the effect to Heimlich will be minimal from an Oregon State perspective. Whenever the Beavers season is over his time at Oregon State will be done. He was planning on starting his professional career after next weeks Major League Baseball draft, so as soon as the Beavers are eliminated (or win) from this weekends Super Regional, or the College World Series, Heimlich’s time at Oregon State will be over. The effects for the Beavers could be pretty far reaching however. If these revelations effect Heimlich’s playing time, or performance, over  the next couple of weeks the Beavers dream season could quickly melt away into the forgotten corners of college baseball history.

This is a mess of either Casey or Heimlich’s making, we just don’t quite know yet. It is easy for fans, and likely Heimlich’s teammates to blame the media. But Moran, and the Oregonian are just reporting the facts, which are public record. It would have been irresponsible of the Oregonian not to follow these leads and report on the facts once they were discovered. I am often critical of the local and national media, yet this is an instance where I feel they did an incredible job breaking an important story.

This story raises so many questions not only about this specific incident, but also the bigger picture. What is the place and role of college athletics, is it merely about winning games, or should they stand for something more? Why do some people deserve a second chance, but not others? Where do we draw the line on who we allow to compete in intercollegiate athletics and why? Should there be some kind of national standard or should it be evaluated on a case by case basis?  Why do so many people rush to defend the perpetrator of these crimes because of some unique talent they possess instead of expressing empathy for the victim?

Perhaps before more facts come out we should focus on some of these larger issues. Only time will tell if Heimlich pitches this weekend or if we find out more facts about who knew what when. Until then we should remember the victim in this case, and all who suffer the horrors of sexual abuse, and we should continue to ask tough questions and demand answers from our public institutions. It is us, the tax payer who employ these coaches and administrators, whether or not we are fans of the team or even care one iota about sports. And finally we should judge this situation on facts and merits, and not be blinded by our own personal biases, trauma, and team/school loyalties.