By Tim Clark / / Column, Tim's Two Cents
Two

Hypocritical is defined by the fine folks at Merriam-Webster as: behavior that contradicts what one believes or feels.

Irony is defined by those same folks as: the use of words to express something other than or the opposite of the literal meaning.

We had a whole bunch of hypocritical irony at the congressional hearings on the proposed college sports bill. A bill sought after by the powers that be to “fix” college athletics.

Nick Saban was the featured testifier, and he has become hypocrite numero uno in recent years. For example, at the hearing Saban said Congress doesn’t need to micromanage college athletics. Yet, he supports a bill that would do just that. Of course the reason help was sought from Congress is because nobody else has been able to lasso this runaway bull that is about to wreck the China shop.

Saban, of course, opined on the rising cost of rosters and how there needs to be a cap on roster money. Well, Nick, there is a cap on rosters but nobody adheres to the cap. And when, may I ask, will they start capping the salaries of coaches?

The answer is never. When adults negotiate for more money and a better situation it is called capitalism. When the 18 year olds do it, it is called greed.

In addition, Alabama was paying players back in Saban’s days —before NIL— while Saban perfected his “look the other way” maneuver. Saban just isn’t a great example to be leading this charge, which is a shame because he did make a lot of extremely valid points.

  • NIL was meant for marketable players. Agreed.
  • Conferences are better when they are regionalized. Agreed.
  • Every decision that gets made is based on how much money we can make. Agreed.

Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua was the other pertinent speaker. He said there really is no salary cap right now, and the suggested cap is too low. Notre Dame has its own TV deal, so of course they want a higher cap?

Bevacqua also said the current model is going to eventually lead to a “Super League” where the have not schools will turn into club teams. He said he is adamantly against a “Super League”. Sure. Then Notre Dame would have to be part of a group, and the service academies would have to be removed from the Irish schedule.

Okay, so the irony there is that I —a USC fanatic— actually agrees with a Notre Dame guy.

Here is the bottom line, one that I have written and podcasted about a million times. The system is broken, not because of the players, but because of the ultra greedy adults in the room.

Saban was spot on when he said every decision is money based.

This is where the ultimate hypocrisy lies.

School presidents, administrators, and athletic departments continue to grab every dollar they can. TV deals worth billions, more money expected from donors and alumni, rising ticket and parking prices for games, coaches getting paid more and more, even when they get fired, and selling as much merchandise as possible. Oh, and throw in rising tuition bills for regular students.

Yet, now that players are getting paid these same people are suggesting college athletics is broken.

Hmm. Interesting.

Do you know who broke the system?

(Longtime readers, I apologize for the repetitiveness)

The. Adults. In. The. Room.

Let’s go poach teams from weaker conferences and form mega conferences. Then we can negotiate new TV deals worth billions.

But the players…

USC is about to open a new 300 million dollar state of the art football performance center, fresh with two full length practice fields. 

Penn State is spending 700 million dollars to revitalize Beaver Stadium.

But the players…

Coaches —with help from their agents— go to the highest bidder. Well, at least Lane Kiffin does. But all coaches are jumping at bigger pay days, and the agents make sure there are big money buyouts attached to the deal.

Schools are willing to pay big for coaches they think are difference makers, and just as willing to pay the buyouts to get rid of failures.

But the players…

Look, if not for absolute greed this system could have worked. 

NIL, as Saban correctly pointed out, was for the star players or those that could market themselves. The players whose likeness video game companies wanted to use(ask Ed O’Bannon), the players of whom school bookstores sold a bajillion jerseys, and the players the car dealership in town wanted to use for advertising.

The rest of the players would still get a free education and the ability to earn money through employment, which didn’t exist before. That education would be important for the large percentage of players who would never play professionally.

Then the adults stepped in.

In this case it was the boosters of the college football programs. They saw an opening. A crack in the dam that would allow them to slither in and start paying to get players on campus. The dam quickly collapsed and suddenly we went from NIL to pay for play. In fairness, once players, their parents, and their agents saw the dollars being generated, it was only going to be a matter of time before they demanded their piece of the pie.

Then the transfer portal went haywire.

The proposed bill would allow one free transfer. That is the correct application of the portal. Many players wouldn’t be hitting the portal multiple times if not for —say it with me— the adults in the room. Slimy agents, often related to the players, and overzealous parents tell players to transfer to squeeze as much money out of their tenure in college sports as possible. The heck with getting an education. The heck with building lifetime bonds. The heck with being happy. Money, money, money.

Coaches became part of the problem as well.

Schools need to stop firing coaches at the first sign of negative outcomes. Turn down the expectations just a touch. And for goodness sakes, quit agreeing to contracts with astronomical buyouts. Schools need to take charge rather than be bent over a barrel by the Jimmy Sexton’s of the world.

My favorite cry from the adults is, “But we won’t be able to afford the Olympic sports.”

Are you serious?

A 300 million dollar football facility? No problem.

700 million to improve your erector set of a stadium? Sure thing.

A couple dozen golf balls for the golf team or new running shoes for the track team? Sorry, we are out of money.

Give me a break.

Quit holding golf, tennis, volleyball, and the like hostage to try and get the point across that football players getting paid could destroy the smaller sports.

Yes, college sports needs Congress to step in and assist. Look no further than yesterday’s ruling on Brendan Sorsby that will make him eligible to play for Texas Tech. He bet $90,000 on sports, including his own games. It doesn’t get any more cut and dry. However, the courts are corrupt. Going to judges that are alums or friends of the program to get favorable rulings has become college sports pastime. The NCAA is toothless against such nonsense.

So, yes, the system is broken.

Listening to the hypocrisy and irony coming from administrators, AD’s, coaches, and former coaches is quite entertaining.

They are the greedy pillars of our society that made this system what it is today.

Money hungry people that want to reap the rewards while having cheap labor.

The hypocritical, ironic, and in many cases, moronic ADULTS IN THE ROOM.

Tweet of the Week

I have long loathed all of the advanced metrics that baseball has suddenly hung their hat on. I know Manny Machado sometimes irritates, but this answer is fantastic.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

Brett Bielema from the top rope. Brett, we were all thinking it. Thank you.

 


A Penny For My Final Thoughts…

Going rando again this week…

  • My jinx meter was in full effect this weekend. I pegged Sam Burns to win The Memorial. He was tied for the lead late, but no dice. I also said USC baseball seemed like a team of destiny. Up until one out in the bottom of the ninth inning they were. Then the Clark jinx took over.
  • Andy Stankiwicz has brought USC baseball back to prominence, but he has no feel for game management. It cost him dearly on Sunday.
  • No Big Ten teams in the College World Series. Five SEC teams made it to Omaha. College baseball is still a southern sport. The Big Ten needs the west coast teams to carry the load.
  • The Pirates bullpen and defense struck again on Sunday. When they miss the playoffs, you will know why.
  • The Stanley Cup Finals have been fantastic. It was needed after a very boring playoff season.
  • The NBA Finals has also been above average, and that was also needed.
  • The Brendan Sorsby ruling was so bad that conferences are threatening to never schedule Texas Tech.
  • Maybe the Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormark needs to step in and not allow Sorsby to play.
Just my two cents…