Seventy-two-year-old JoEllen Clawes was the oldest of approximately 50 people to walk out during the first half of Saturday’s DePaul-East Carolina game at Allstate Arena in protest of the status of DePaul’s basketball program under coach Pat Kennedy and athletic director Bill Bradshaw.
“I’ve been a fan since 1958, and I walked out because of the fact that we need a new coach,” she said.
Clawes and her fellow dissidents departed with 4:03 remaining in the half, at the first whistle after the six-minute mark. That was the time designated by the protest’s organizers, who wanted to send a message to the program’s leadership and went ahead with it even though DePaul led 29-12 at the time and went on to win 62-51.
“We are done with their excuses, done with the underachieving and sick and tired of them running the team into the ground,” said Mike Orzoff, an attorney who attended DePaul as an undergraduate and law student. “This was done in a peaceful manner, to show them they can’t count on the blind dollars of loyal fans. I don’t intend to come back until Kennedy and Bradshaw are gone.”
Kennedy was too busy with the game to notice the walkout, despite cries of “Pat must go” from the departing group. Bradshaw, speaking just after halftime, understood the protesters’ disillusionment.
“I have sympathy for anyone who pays for a ticket, no matter what their passion,” Bradshaw said. “We share the disappointment and frustration for this year’s team, but we also share a vision for a successful future.
“I’m with those people who show that passion for DePaul. But I feel much worse about the empty seats, the people who aren’t coming.”