Note from the editor:

Warrior Athletics was also contacted by The Signal to request a courtesy photo of Clayton. The department would not provide a picture and submitted a recommendation that The Signal not discuss the situation.

The Signal staff’s primary intention is to work as student journalists. This means investigating, researching, discussing and writing about stories relevant to CSU Stanislaus students and the community, stories that otherwise would go unnoticed. This story fits the newspaper’s goal and is in no way intended to denigrate any department or organization but rather to call attention to a troubling situation as we work toward providing a foundation of information that facilitates an informed campus community.

“In the two years I spent at Stanislaus, all I heard was all about the student athlete and how [the administration] stands behind their athletes,” Trevor Clayton, former student athlete at California State University, Stanislaus said.

Trevor Clayton played on the Warrior men’s Division II golf team and after two very successful years on the team, he was given an opportunity to play at the next level of college sports, Division I. However, his goal was stunted when the CSU Stanislaus Athletics department would not sign his release form.

When The Signal reporter asked men’s golf head coach John Cook  if he would like to discuss Trevor and the situation he refused to comment.

Trevor believed his coach and school would stand behind his decision to play Division I golf at California State University, Fresno; he was mistaken.

Nearing the end of his second season with the Warriors, he asked Coach Cook, if they could have a meeting.

In this meeting, Clayton proceeded to ask Coach Cook if he would sign his release papers so he could talk to Fresno State and possibly transfer there. Trevor was attempting to  figure out the next chapter of his golf career.

“He was actually supportive of me,” Clayton said.  “Or what I perceived as supportive.”    

Clayton was called into the Athletics Director Mike Matoso’s office the following day, where he had a meeting with the AD and Coach Cook. At the end of this meeting nothing seemed to be resolved.

“I don’t really want to get into the details about what [was] said but I will say that after that meeting, there was no way on planet earth I would ever play for him or Coach Cook ever again,” Clayton Said. “So he told me he was not going to sign any papers, ever.”       

Trevor was unsure about all of this, considering what he had heard about student and student athlete success while attending CSU Stanislaus.The previous year, Paul Smith, former student athlete for CSUS and the men’s golf team was able to get his release papers signed to play Division I golf for the University of Southern California.

“But when I turn around and make a decision that I believe will not only make me a better golfer and further my golf career but also a better person,” Clayton said, “they turn on me.”

The new semester begins and you will not find Clayton around the CSU Stanislaus campus, and for that matter you will not find him on Fresno State’s campus. You will find him attending class and playing golf at Fresno City College, working on his grades and tuning up his golf game.

“I can’t control what they are going to do,” Clayton said. “If that’s the path they choose, then so be it.”

Initially, Clayton and his family pursued legal action against the Athletics department. However, that did not continue.

“We then decided as a family that it was in our best interest to just try and put it behind us and move on,” Clayton said.