OUR VIEW: A second chance

David Pak’s name will most likely soon become well known around USU, the Logan community and Utah in general. Although never quite a secret, the USU basketball player’s coach, Stew Morrill, the rest of the university athletic department and Pak himself finally addressed Pak’s criminal history Tuesday in press conferences.

The 28-year-old from California came to USU this year after two years at Saddleback Junior College … and after eight years in a state correctional facility for raping a woman at knifepoint in 1993. The last part is what will make his name more common in coming days.

Morrill said part of the reason for recruiting Pak was to give him a second chance. While it is no one’s job at USU or its surrounding areas to judge Pak for his past, Morrill faced a difficult decision on whether to bring Pak to USU.

Morrill did his research and decided a second chance is what Pak needed. And, hopefully, it’s what the rest of the student body will conclude. Pak was 16 years old when he committed the crime and has paid his dues for doing so. Morrill commented Tuesday that while he knew bringing Pak would “raise some eyebrows,” he grew up in Utah where “there’s a lot of talk about forgiveness and giving people second chances.”

Whether Utah is such a place or not, Pak is 12 years and two states away from his crime and right now, as Morrill said, deserves to be able to focus on basketball. He at least deserves the chance to prove to his fellow students that he has changed.