Believe me, I get this. I really do.
But when I read this, I wonder if there’s anything people with good intentions can do that’s really going to make enough of a difference. Because the people in charge certainly aren’t rushing forward to do it, and the people with money aren’t pushing them to do so.
I mean, start with Seth Emerson’s summary of the SEC’s week that was. And that’s just in a week. Add to that Brian Cook’s snark…
Let’s recap events in the SEC since Greg Sankey went on his smarm offensive about satellite camps:
Tennessee is hit with a Title IX lawsuit that alleges Baylor goings-on in Knoxville.
Alabamafires an assistant coach because of recruiting violations. Saban further bitches about NCAA drug testing policies, implying that someone got McGary’d.
Ole Miss is hit with a half-dozen Level 1 NCAA violations that don’t even include the revelation from Laremy Tunsil that he was paid by Ole Miss employees. Contrary to the lies Ole Miss fed various credulous reporters, most of the allegations concern Hugh Freeze’s tenure, not Houston Nutt’s.
Mississippi State enrolls a five-star recruit who was caught on tape beating a prone woman. They suspend him for the Southern Alabama game.
Texas A&M loses a quarterback commit, causing an assistant coach to go on a twitter rant that causes further decommits. This one is more dumb than troubling, but it’s really dumb.
… and that’s just one conference over the past few months. Also, let’s not forget the dumbassery consuming the Big 12 right now as it ineptly tries to maximize its revenue stream, or the way the Pac-12 managed to butcher itself with the debacle over the vote the conference cast.
The only reason Jim Delany isn’t in the discussion is because he’s kept his head down and mouth shut for a while. Perhaps he took enough heat for his “we’ll drop the Big Ten to Division III” nonsense to last him.
As I’ve said before, the people running college athletics are modern day Jed Clampetts — not particularly worldly folks who managed through sheer luck to find lots of oil on their property. The main difference between them and Jed is that Jed never felt that his luck made him any smarter.
The only way the people in charge of college sports are going to feel the heat is if there’s a major disruption to the cash flow that can be traced to our disgust. If you think the idea of a fan strike is a legitimate possibility, could you let the folks at ThankKenStarr.com know? Just asking for a friend.
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