Million dollar “Yar!”

Maybe Mike Leach should stick to sports.

A rash of donors threatened to withhold millions in donations after Mike Leach, Washington State University head football coach, tweeted a fake video of a speech from former President Barack Obama in June, according to documents obtained through a Daily News public records request.

In the documents, several donors made it clear if Leach makes more “disgraceful” or “racist” comments, they will consider pulling back pledged donations and stop supporting the university.

Leach’s June 17 tweet stirred backlash on social media and was reported by multiple national media outlets. It also occurred the same week Leach sent an annual appeal to WSU fans to join the Cougar Athletic Fund and donate money to support WSU Athletics.

Timing is everything, Coach. How’d that work out?

The morning after Leach’s post, one donor threatened to withdraw a $1 million donation out of his or her will to the WSU Foundation if the university did not condemn the tweet. Several others followed suit. The foundation redacted the names of the donors.

“We are not happy with Leache’s (sic) racist twitter activity and are withdrawing our $1,000,000.00 plus estate proceeds we gifted to WSU in our Will (sic), unless there is a much stronger response coming from the University condemning his actions. Cougs are better than this and I am extremely upset by his actions and WSU’s tepid response,” one donor wrote in an email to the president’s office June 18.

According to an email from Trevor Durham, associate vice president for the office of strategic communications and donor engagement, to WSU President Kirk Schulz, the foundation identified at least 18 donors who required an email response in late July.

Public records indicate another 60 emails complaining about Leach were sent to the Cougar Athletic Fund – WSU’s fundraising arm for intercollegiate athletics.

In an Aug. 1 email from Raegan Harvey, Cougar Athletic Fund director, to Michael Connell, senior associate vice president of University Development with the WSU Foundation, Raegan wrote it was unfortunate Leach’s email went out after his tweet.

A donor emailed Jeff Pilcher, director of philanthropic engagement, saying he would rescind his $25,000 pledge to WSU and instead donate that money to his wife’s scholarship fund at Oregon State University.

“At this point, my estate plan calls for WSU to receive about 1.6 million dollars and I hope to keep my estate plan as is. However, this type of stunt is offensive enough to me that were something like it to happen again, I would be more than willing to rededicate that portion of my estate to Oregon State University,” the donor wrote.

“I will not give anything to WSU until Mike Leach is no longer associated in anyway with the university. He recently disgraced himself and the university by posting a patently false video that went beyond being merely despicable,” a June 25 email to the foundation read.

The WSU Admissions Office also received emails.

“You are supporting racism and the attack on facts by employing Mike Leach. And you are a university!!!! What is education without facts???” a June 23 email to WSU admissions stated.

And here I thought it was only ESPN and Nike that were suffering political backlash.  Where’s Clay Travis when you need him, ‘Murica?

98 Comments

Filed under It's Just Bidness, Mike Leach. Yar!, Political Wankery

98 responses to “Million dollar “Yar!”

  1. Hogbody Spradlin

    Oh my, somebody took a politician out of context. Gee that’s never happened before. And since it’s Obama, we can call it racist. Please.

    Like

  2. ASEF

    He seemed pretty drunk in his responses when people tried to point out the video was fake. Not a shining moment for him.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Al

    Oh, boy. The comments on this one oughta be fun.

    Like

  4. Chris Austin

    This stupid on either side. I’m a conservative and I do not understand why if you are in the public eye why would you make political statements? When you do, you tick off generally half the base. Most people watch sports do not want politics mixed in. Look at the NFL ratings they keep going down in large part due to politics.

    Like

  5. Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

    So now propaganda is now racist when a black man is the target instead of it just being propaganda?

    Sounds about right.

    When everything is racist, nothing is racist.

    Like

    • So, one person’s opinion defines us all, eh?

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      • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

        Are we pretending that it isn’t currently mainstream thought on the Left to throw around the words “racist,” “misogynist,” or “something-phobe” as an attack when it’s almost never warranted in order to shut down speech as part of the adherence to intersectionalism and Identity Politics, thus nullifying the actual meaning of those words?

        If we’re pretending, maybe UCF really are defending National Champions?

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        • Are we pretending that it isn’t currently mainstream thought on the Left to throw around the words “racist,” “misogynist,” or “something-phobe” as an attack when it’s almost never warranted in order to shut down speech as part of the adherence to intersectionalism and Identity Politics, thus nullifying the actual meaning of those words?

          LOL.

          I guess you are tarring everybody with the same brush. Carry on.

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          • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

            Our experience colors our reality. I can only comment on what I actually see out there in the real world (not just the funhouse mirror social media world), and it’s an ugly place left and right. I feel secure in the generality I’m making here from what I’ve seen in regards to what has become of the political left. As someone who is left of center on almost every single issue outside of economics, I’ve basically been told I’m right wing or worse by the modern Left. The Far Right is easy to ignore because they’re marginalized and small in number though the media is vested in making us think otherwise, and the big government Social Cons have basically lost all of their fights and are mostly powerless. However, the post-modernists and Far Left, dubbed the Regressive Left by Maajid Nawaz, is fully in control of the modern Left to the point the Left is no longer liberal, and those who think of themselves as liberal (in the true sense of the word) no longer have a place there. I paint with a wide brush because it is deserved, and I don’t do it lightly.

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            • tl;dr version: when you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

              I don’t really care where you stand on the political spectrum, but to reduce everyone you disagree with to a common point of view without recognizing a shred of nuance makes you an ideologue in my book. Again, more power to you, but I don’t find it the slightest bit convincing.

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              • Hogbody Spradlin

                Now Blutarsky, there are people in these comments who do exactly the same from the other side of the spectrum, and they don’t get that kind of rise out of you.

                Liked by 1 person

                • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

                  “The other side”? Sigh. I’M a liberal.

                  And now I’m the “other side.” Thus illustrating my point.

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                • Hogbody Spradlin

                  I think you misinterpreted me.

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                • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

                  Quite possible. I assumed when you said the other side, you mean the good Senator doesn’t point out when the leftists on the site paint with a broad brush.

                  The thing is… I am a liberal. So it’s still a shock to me that I’m grouped with the “other side” from that. It’s like I have no side anymore. It’s depressing.

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                • ChiliDawg

                  You’re, more accurately, “full of shit.”

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                • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

                  We all can’t leave our senses behind and fully support post-modernism bullshit like you, Chili. Some of us just don’t have the stomach for that authoritarian claptrap like you do. 🙂

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                • Now Blutarsky, there are people in these comments who do exactly the same from the other side of the spectrum, and they don’t get that kind of rise out of you.

                  When such folks engage me directly? Not so.

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                • By the way, when did we reach the point where having some legit give and take with a commenter — by legit, I mean respectful and non-profane — equate with getting a rise out of me?

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              • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

                Fair enough.

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            • Derek

              If as you and Mac above say, the political left has such a following, where are the elected officials?

              You got Vermont, the Bay Area and parts of NYC. That’s about it.

              The right has both houses of Congress, the WH, the Supreme Court and roughly 35 State houses and legislatures and they nominated the closest thing to Mussolini this country has ever seen. He makes zero effort to do anything but ramp up the hate against all things not white, and he has north of 40% solid support.

              There’s been an organized conservative movement for over 50 years. There’s little on the left that can be termed “organized.” Circular firing squad is more like it.

              As a non-ideological person I’d be as worried about a trend you describe on the left, but I’ll be damned if I see one. There are nuts and fruits out there to be sure but they ain’t running shit. Which is fine with me. I’m a pragmatist. All ideologies, especially the economic ones, are stupid once analyzed and tested.

              Code pink doesn’t scare me nor should it. We’re a long way from pacifism taking over. A real long way.

              The degree to which you don’t like something does not correlate with its popularity or the actual threat it represents.

              The problem an equally divided nation confronts is evil politicians cleaving poeple apart and making people chose sides by demonizing each other until there is know place for the middle to have any voice at all.

              That’s not healthy for a democracy which requires compromise not scorched earth.

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              • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

                Shit. I had an entire reply in one browser tab that I closed.

                I’ll do the brevity version, if you’re into that sort of thing:

                The post-modern Far Left, labeled the Regressive Left by Islam-reformer Maajid Nawaz, has almost total control of academia, the media, and the entertainment industry, which means they have a gigantic sphere of influence over society. They have also taken control of the Democratic Party platform, which is now completely subsumed by intersectionalism and Identity Politics.

                I am a liberal. The Left is no longer liberal. I don’t want to be a Republican. I am a man without a party.

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                • Derek

                  “Sphere of influence” is pretty vague.

                  I’d like examples where that “sphere” actually “influences” anything of note.

                  I do tend to believe that extremism on one side begets extremism on the other. The ironic thing about this deal with Trump devil is that the sane right is more likely to suffer more long term than anybody.

                  Should have snuffed dude out in his campaign crib and let him run third party if that’s what he wanted to do. Instead, they won the election and lost their party, identity and credibility.

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                • Napoleon BonerFart

                  It’s hard to tell if you’re just playing dumb to try to avoid the point, or if you’re actually as dumb as your statement makes you seem. You can’t think of any influence that the media has? Or of the entirety of academia? Maybe after nap time you’ll be more capable.

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                • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

                  If you don’t understand or recognize as simple an academic term as “Sphere of Influence,” there is literally nothing I can for you nor any real reason to continue the conversation.

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                • Derek

                  Its not that I don’t understand the phrase its that I don’t know what they’ve accomplished that has you in a tizzy.

                  I know what the KKK is. I’m not terribly worried about them today.

                  if I was spouting off about what the Klan was doing and you responded with “what are they doing” I wouldn’t accusing you of being unfamiliar with the organization.

                  So again, for the 4th time, what has the left (of regressive left) actually gotten DONE since 1970?

                  WTF should I be afraid of? What’s the cautionary tale?

                  Is it just a bunch of meaningless words strung together or does it MEAN anything?

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              • Napoleon BonerFart

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  6. Bill Glennon

    How is that racist? I understand the speech is incomplete and edited, but people do that to all politicians to try to make them look bad. Is there something that I am missing that is not in the video that make this racism?

    Liked by 1 person

    • ASEF

      First, imagine someone mashed up a video that made it look like Leach revered Craig James. That wouldn’t really qualify as “incomplete and edited,” would it?

      Second, the fake video is seen by some as part of a larger propaganda effort: “Hey, White America! Brown people are out to get you!” Given what the fake video tries to promote and its popularity in certain Internet neighborhoods, that perception is not a huge stretch.

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      • Bill Glennon

        Sounds like a huge stretch to me. Basically, you’re saying any political criticism or attack against a minority politician is racism because you presume a motive that has nothing to do with the substance of the issue.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Derek

          Falsities have no substance in the first instance.

          Sowing fear or distrust through lying is a pretty standard tactic for racists.

          Opposing the ACA on the merit of the policy is not racist.

          Get it?

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        • ASEF

          No, I’m not basically saying any of that. I said given the video’s clear fakery and given how popular it is among some obviously racist audiences on the Internet, it is not a stretch for some people to see it as, in part, a racist appeal to people with racist perspectives,

          None of which can possibly be interpreted as any political criticism or attack against a minority politician is racism because you presume a motive that has nothing to do with the substance of the issue

          All politicians are fair game for substantive criticism. This wasn’t substantive, and it wasn’t criticism. It was a faked propaganda film.

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          • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

            While it pains me to delve into the depths of Godwin’s Law, there was a 1930’s anti-Semitic fascist dictator who loved Charlie Chaplin movies, so by the transitive properties you’re using here, that makes Charlie Chaplin films anti-Semitic?

            Because a certain audience may love something does not mean that the thing in which they love reflects their beliefs. That’s just now how this works.

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            • ASEF

              Except this isn’t a Charlie Chaplin video or some other artistic endeavor. It’s a piece of propaganda. Which was constructed in part to appeal to conspiracy theorists with an overlap into white supremacy groups, who avidly shared it.

              If a Nazi and I both enjoy Scottish folk music, that doesn’t say anything about either of our political beliefs. I’m not a Nazi, and he’s not an excommunicated Republican. It’s just music.

              But if we’re both promoting and defending a video that’s clearly fake, clearly inflammatory, and clearly popular with racists, then I am going to have to deal with people making inferences, aren’t I?

              Liked by 1 person

              • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

                Again, the transitive property doesn’t apply. The video is not racist. It’s lame propaganda. Labeling it racist completely ruins the power that word should have.

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                • ASEF

                  The video strongly appeals to on-line communities whose identity foundation is straight up racism. Those communities see something in that video that appeals to them as racists. They’re not talking about, sharing it, and promoting it as part of their gardening club community or favorite college football fan site. They’re promoting it and defending it within communities brought together by the ideal of racism.

                  That doesn’t definitively mean the video is “racist” or that Leach’s promotion of it makes him a racist, but I’m kind of baffled that you think some donors, who see the video as part of a larger conversation among racists about racial remedies to their perceived problems in America, which all happen to be racial, would label the video as racist.

                  If you’re going to ask people to use the word more judiciously, then fine, point taken, but you seem to be ignoring a lot of context here.

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                • Napoleon BonerFart

                  Do you think arguing the transitive property over and over will lend it credence? The video edited Obama’s speech to sound more statist than it was. Obama didn’t mention race and the edited video didn’t either. So you’re injecting race where it doesn’t belong.

                  Leach’s tweet didn’t mention race, either. He invited a discussion on government. Is it now racist to discuss government when the president is black? What if racists don’t like the black president? It becomes racist then?

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                • ASEF

                  So, Obama didn’t mention race, and the video doesn’t either, so it can’t be racist. Even though many self-avowed racists flocked to the video as a piece of confirmation bias for their racist world view.

                  I mean, if the racists see it as racist, then that’s good enough for me – at least in terms of understanding why some Wazzu donors could see it as racist. I’m not labeling it one way or the other for the purposes of this thread.

                  But you seem determined to do so to make your own point. So why not hop down and do your own post on your close reading of the original speech, the edited speech, and how it’s not propaganda and purely an accident that it’s so popular among on-line White Power and Nazi communities, among others?

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                • Derek

                  Just accept the fact that they will never equate bullshit that appeals to racists as being racist.

                  If it ain’t what Atwater said they did in the 1950’s it ain’t that.

                  They fucking admit ON TAPE that they appeal to race on abstractions rather than epitaphs and they ain’t going there.

                  Once again Lee Atwater’s confession: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT2fsv7xt4E&feature=youtu.be

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                • Napoleon BonerFart

                  Yes. Atwater stating that race had become such a non-factor in southern politics that it wasn’t even mentioned in Reagan’s 1980 campaign just proves how significant a factor it really was. As astute as always, Derek.

                  Like

                • Derek

                  For example, when you start a campaign in Neshoba County, MS talking about states rights you don’t need a hood, a burning cross or the n-word. They know. If you’re a bit effeminate you might need Willie Horton close the deal.

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                • Napoleon BonerFart

                  Exactly. The fact that Reagan campaigned across the South using the exact same message he used in the North, neither of which mentioned race, just proves racism. Or something.

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                • Derek

                  They also think racism only works in the south or something as if everyone from up north was better than us. I mean really fucking stupid and crazy people.

                  I don’t talk to them. Waste of time. Better off talking to a brick. At least the brick doesn’t say stupid shit even if it learns at the same rate.

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                • Napoleon BonerFart

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        • PTC DAWG

          Exactly….it is what it is. The narrative works.

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    • Uglydawg

      It’s not racist.
      It may be improper and dishonest but it has zilch to do with race.
      It’s the left coast…so trying to sort out their thinking is tricky for those who still practice common sense…(and that would exclude Leach)

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Derek

    There’s no basis for it at all, but some people wrongly believe that “scary, foreign, Muslim black guy” is a racist political theme.

    But the absence of an epitaph makes it not that, right?

    The birth certificate thing? Also not racist.

    Confessions of a professional race baiter? Irrelevant.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Thorn Dawg

    WSU is 7-1 and ranked #10. These same crybabies are probably willing to extend Leach’s contract.

    Like

  9. AusDawg85

    Article is from the Moscow-Pullman News. LOL.

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  10. RandallPinkFloyd

    Is this thread the week’s playpen?

    Liked by 1 person

    • The piece mentions racism, so I’m letting the discussion go on… for now.

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      • RandallPinkFloyd

        I was trying to be funny. Either way, it was just more irresponsible than anything else, especially after it was pointed out to him that the video was spliced together to make Obama look even more of an extremist than the far right already thinks he is.

        I was shocked at the time that this incident didn’t draw more attention, I suppose in the SEC it would have. The biggest surprise was how many people he responded to when they replied. I replied to Leach and told him he should stick to the air raid offense and pirate jokes and he actually responded. Weird.

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  11. PTC DAWG

    I, for one, get tired of everything being labeled racist…

    Carry on.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I concur with what Mike Gundy has to say about Twitter.

    Also, Washington State should probably fire Mike Leach to prove how serious they are about racism to their donors.

    He is bringing success and attention to a program that doesn’t have a lot of history of either… just like he did at Texas Tech. Whatever level of crazy is going on in his brain, it translates to effective coaching on the field. He belongs in the SEC. If Vandy or Missouri are looking for new coaches in a month or so, they would be insane/incompetent to not take a serious look at Mike Leach.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Argondawg

      That was pretty funny and true. I would personally prefer that Leach stay where he is. We do not need Vandy or Mizzou with Leach. The guys is very good at his job. He would have killed it at UTk.

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      • ASEF

        Or – there’s a reason Leach thrives in tiny backwaters of defense-optional leagues.

        In 17 seasons, he has 1 double digit win season. Butch had 2 in 6 seasons at two different schools. Leach averages 8 and 5. The SEC churns a lot of bad coaches, and Leach would probably have been a cut above a lot of them on the field. But I just can’t see Leach handling all of the non-football side of a SEC gig – the non-stop recruiting, the constant media lens, the booster meddling and schmoozing. The glare and demands of a SEC gig wilt people.

        The man just wants to coach his offense and make a few pop culture waves. And he can do that in places like Lubbock and Pullman.

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        • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

          As Andy Staples rightfully said regarding this issue, Tennessee is a fishbowl job. Leach would not have success in that kind of job because of the constant, unyielding scrutiny it brings from media, donors, and fans, because Leach hates that crap.

          Not all SEC jobs are fishbowl jobs. I wouldn’t put Georgia up there with Tennessee, mainly because the media, donors, and fans who live Tangerine 24/7/365 refuse to understand how the changing demographics of college football have basically assured that they’ll never reach the heights of the past again. TAMU, Auburn, and Bama are also extreme fishbowl jobs like Tennessee. On the middle tier I’d put Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, and Georgia.

          Mike Leach would do a great job at the bottom tier of crazy in Mizzou, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Vandy, as those are all teams with media, fans, and donor followings who know exactly who they are. He would likely do a great job at South Carolina, too, as even though their lunatic fringe fans won’t ever get it, their donors and media know who they are as a program. Sometimes South Carolina wants to think they’re in that middle tier, scrutiny-wise, but they’re lower tier.

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          • ASEF

            Agreed, a Mullen-ish 8-5 average with the occasional Big Boy scalp would be more than sufficient at the bottom of the conference.

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            • Corch Irvin Meyers New WR Corch

              That ranking above has nothing really to do with the bottom nor top of the conference as far as performance is concerned. Remember, Tennessee is has been in the great unwashed middle and even bottom of the SEC for over 10 years, and they’re unlikely to move back to the top any time soon.

              It’s about levels of scrutiny, which is outsized compared to not only their recent performance, but their expected performance in the future given their lack of recruiting natural resources needed to compete for SEC titles.

              There are teams, like Georgia, where the level of scrutiny also doesn’t match either their level of performance or expected level of performance, but in the opposite direction.

              Like

  13. Honestly, my bigger issue is the donors. Threatening to pull 1million? If someone offends me that much I’m just gonna pull it, not be a hypocrite and an attention whore. Do it or don’t. 🙄

    Another problem is that these contributions are called “donations”. Sorry but it’s no longer a donation when you hang it over someone’s head to get what you want.

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    • DoubleDawg1318

      I guess you’ve never donated anything of consequence. Donations always = leverage. Pulling your donation is the very last step (aka the nuclear button) if you are displeased with the organization. You don’t immediately jump to that act. You bring up your concerns first. It’s also worth mentioning that this donor’s threat wasn’t communicated publicly. It was a conversation between himself and the leadership. He wasn’t doing it to virtue signal.

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  14. The Dawg abides

    Asking as someone who has staunchly resisted, does anything good actually come from social media?

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  15. HiAltDawg

    If he were coaching tn, his fundraising would be in the gajillions based on that tweet alone. Volunteer fans would sell their last tooth and send those pennies to “our coach that see’s it the real dang way in Merica”!

    Like

  16. ChiliDawg

    There’s way too much “batshit crazy” in this thread for me today.

    Like