by Rose Brennan, Senior Writer

Sophomore Pete Janny’s dedication to the world of sports has gotten him far in a relatively short period of time. After quickly distinguishing himself as a sports writer early on, he became The Quadrangle’s Assistant Sports Editor in 2019. Now, in 2020, Janny is now working in a dual role at the paper: Sports Editor and Managing Editor.

Sports entered Janny’s consciousness quite early on. He was one of countless Yankee fans watching the New York Yankees play the Boston Red Sox on July 1, 2004, when Derek Jeter dove into the stands of Yankee Stadium after catching a ball. This was one of Janny’s earliest sports-related memories, and it cemented Jeter as one of his all-time favorite athletes.

“Derek Jeter was really a hero for all Yankees fans, just the way he conducted himself, both on the field and off the field.  [He] was a true leader [and a] very intelligent guy,” Janny said.

Jeter was also a member of the 2009 Yankees, who won the World Series. This was another pivotal sports memory for Janny, as it was the first time he saw one of his favorite teams win a national title.

“That was really the first real achievement that any of my teams accomplished,” Janny said. “Seeing that was something that I’ll never forget, and I’ll always remember watching it.”

Aside from Jeter, Janny’s favorite sports icons include basketball player Kobe Bryant and soccer players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Citing his recent tragic death, Janny felt that Bryant was so much more than a basketball player for him and for basketball fans worldwide.

“[Bryant] was someone [with a] really cool success story,” Janny said.  “His story was amazing, and the fact that he became an entrepreneur, became an author, and he did so many other things besides basketball, is something I really admire. And I think he’s a really good hero in the African-American community especially. I completely have so much respect for him, and his legacy will live on forever.”

As a former soccer player himself, Janny is also particularly enthused with the work of Messi and Ronaldo. He doubts that there will ever be athletes of their caliber in the sport of soccer ever again. Janny also cited the international appeal of athletes like Bryant, Messi and Ronaldo.

“Derek Jeter is a hero in New York City; he’s a hero to baseball fans across the country, but when you think of guys like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Lionel Messi, they have appeal around the whole world. I think that’s what’s really cool about their success: it inspires the whole world,” he said.

While Janny was a fan of sports from quite early on, he did not intersect that interest with journalism until he arrived at MC. Unlike many of The Quad’s writers, Janny entered the world of The Quad without a scholarship. Before long, he was writing weekly for the sports section, and he swiftly climbed the ranks to Assistant Sports Editor in 2019.

To Janny, joining the campus newspaper and becoming a Jasper felt like he was joining two families at the same time.

“I’m really grateful for having the trust that John Jackson [The Quad’s 2018 Sports Editor] gave me back at that time, and I’m just looking to continue and carry on the legacy of so many great people who came before me,” he said.

In his time with The Quad, Janny has two personal favorite articles. The first entailed attending a lecture by Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees, Janny’s favorite team.

“Seeing his insights on things and getting to take a picture with him afterwards I thought was really cool as well. What I loved about it was I was able to write about the event and talk about some of the leadership advice he gave, and I was also able to bring in some information about baseball in general, which I love talking about,” he said.

Janny’s second favorite article was done as a collaborative effort with the 2019 Sports Editor for Black History Month. It recounted an event where the MC basketball team attended a tournament but, upon learning black players were barred from playing, refused to play unless the rules were changed.

“It’s kind of a hidden gem of our history,” Janny said. “Just reading those articles reminded me of how great an institution this is and how Manhattan College makes a commitment every day to those Lasallian values and one of the interesting things that people might not realize is … Manhattan College didn’t have any African-American players on their team. So it was really cool that they were standing up for something that didn’t necessarily impact them.”

As the new Managing Editor of The Quadrangle, Janny has a hopeful and optimistic outlook for the paper and its future.

“We’ve had stuff that … a lot of people have not liked that we’ve reported on, but I think it’s important that we reveal the truth in these important stories, keep these going, make sure to inform the students of what’s happening because they deserve to know it,” Janny said.

He continued.

“I think we do a good job of just getting good student perspectives. You read these articles and we continue to ask diverse groups of students questions about different [things] and we get diverse answers. The more that we can make this about the students and about why we’re here and why Manhattan College is so great … We have to report on the good things and the bad things but I think we’re going in the right direction.”