Samuel Dabbs Initial Response to “Athletes and Education” I feel that Petrie’s main point is that colleges’ outlook on student athletes is only as far as their ability can take them; there is no foolproof way to guarantee an athlete’s educational success. Petrie’s feelings on the system are as follows, “I despise the system, clinging as it does to the academic body like a parasite.” (page 31, paragraph 1). Judging from his writing, Petrie is a kind and caring professor that genuinely wants to help his student athletes. He seems to be annoyed by the system’s lack of empathy for student athletes despite the large amount of preferential treatment that is expected to be given. He feels that the system should be more considerate of the student