Hey, amateurism romantics, Tom McMillen’s got your back.
In case you didn’t know, ol’ Tom is “the President and Chief Executive Officer of the LEAD1 Association, which represents the athletic directors and programs of the Football Bowl Subdivision.” Of course he is, bless his heart.
My favorite part of that spiel is that it wasn’t enough to load the deck with “collectively”. (For the players that is — coaches and administrators are presented as an either/or option.) He had to throw in “after tax-basis” to make the numbers work.
If this is the best argument schools can come up with to justify the status quo, sheesh. Embarrassing.
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UPDATE: I have a bona fide violation of the First Rule of Holes to report.
Speaking of compensation, whatever they’re paying this clown, it’s way too much.
Get The Picture 
Tom’s the really tall bloke in that Mar-a-Lago video from 1992. Knew I recognized him from somewhere.
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Yep,that’s him. He arrived with Epstein. Epstein
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GFY Tom.
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Still pissed about losing to State in 74. Whew what a game.
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What a douche bag comment.
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Even with all the qualifiers he placed on the statement, I still call bullshit.
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Color me shocked that overpaid management is telling underpaid labor that labor is actually overpaid if they just knew how difficult the tax burdens on the poor suffering elite “earners” were dragging the wealthy down whilst those laborers with their subsistence wages were the real winners after all.
The fact that anyone buys the bullshit peddled here (and in the broader culture) is mind-numbing.
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It’s such an intellectually dishonest comparison. Coaches and administrators have complete discretionary control over their compensation. They can do whatever they want with it (I know blah, blah, blah TAXES.)
Athletes are do not have that same control over their compensation. In order to receive it – they are told by coaches and administrators how the bulk of the compensation must be spent. You only get this compensation if you agree that it goes back to the school for tuition.
His chart would be more honest if he separated the grant in aid for tuition, books etc, from the stipend. But of course that wouldn’t fit his narrative then would it?
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The replies to his tweet are hilarious and savagely on point. Best one – “Tom, did you know that soldiers are all insanely wealthy?” (with a chart of Defense spending).
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McMillan plodded over the Omni hardwood for the late 70s Hawks also.
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Collectively… I wonder what the average compensation is for one student athlete compared to the compensation for one coach/administrator? It’s like the CEO of a business saying that his 1000 employees receive more than their fair share because the employees salary account for 55% of the business’s payroll. While the CEO and other executives account for only 45%. Let’s ignore the fact that there’s only 12 executives but 1000 employees.
Even that comparison ignores the other fact that Union Jack points out about the coaches and administrators actually being able to do whatever they want with their earnings. While the players don’t actually see any of their “earnings” in a bank account. The fact that McMillen attempts to present the two very different definitions of “earnings” in a comparison is beyond stupid. It’s simply a terrible attempt to deliberately mislead the amateurism romantics and others who are on the fence about the issue. That type of “journalism” (if that’s what you call this) needs to be exposed as the pile of shit it is. It’s a fucking pathetic attempt, by an old man who’s clearly upset that times have changed, to cling to the past because that’s the only thing his little old mind can comprehend. He’s an example of the type of person that’s behind the terrible, backwards, and outdated “belief movements” that is drowning this country. It just pisses me off like nothing else. Move over old man because you’ve clearly become an idiot rather that wise in you’re old age.
Disclaimer… Just because I can see how my comments could make it seem like I have some sort of hatred towards the older generation. That honestly couldn’t be further from the truth. I believe that age is just a number and shouldn’t be a reason used to justify ignoring or disqualifying someone from taking part in a discussion or making policy or pretty much anything. Almost daily, I learn something new from the older and much wiser generation that can only be learned the hard way or by actually listening to someone who has the experience. So, I hope I haven’t come across as someone who thinks less of a person because of their age because that’s not me. To me, a person’s age shouldn’t dictate their value in any given situation. Instead, their thoughtful and honest ideas and understandings should carry them to the place they deserve to be.
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