Shawnee, I was more talking about how others constantly want to bring that up as a counterweight to what truly differentiates ND from the football factories, using it to undermine or downplay how unique Notre Dame is among its football power peers. It is the go-to factoid for Irish haters, and the most tragically ironic part about it is that the people who do go there don't give a damn about Declan or Lizzy, they're just using them to take a shot at Notre Dame and its community, which actually does give a damn.
Unfortunately, what happened to those two students is a part of the story that will (and probably should) be mentioned when talking about Notre Dame football and its relationship with ND students and its community. But there is a responsible way to weave that into the narrative and a vindictive way to do so.
