I’m going to bring the real, which probably will irritate those naive college football fans who still cling to the notion that college football stands for something pure and innocent.
I don’t have a bunch of hateful adjectives for Kiffin. Instead, I’d like to thank him, because with this bold — albeit shady — move, Kiffin has confirmed what a cesspool big-time college sports have become.
It ain’t nothin’ but a hustle, folks.
I’m not mad at Kiffin. He’s just pimping a corrupted system that has made someone with his paper-thin coaching résumé a big get for a tradition-rich school like USC. I have no idea whether Kiffin can coach, since he has half as many NCAA secondary violations (six) as he does career wins (12).
What I do know is that Kiffin is not only arguably the greatest self-promoter in sports, but also an extremely gifted salesman. If you combine those traits with the colleges’, universities’ and fans’ often shameless pursuit of victories — to the extent that integrity and character don’t really matter — then it should come as no surprise that Kiffin is able to job-hop at such a dizzying rate with virtually no consequences.
You know what they say: Don’t hate the playa; hate the game.
Other than watching my alma mater, I’ve already given up on major college athletics because of the outright hypocrisy. It was probably already there but took me a while to see it. Much like Wall Street, they are playing us for our allegiances. And they need to be allowed to fail. We need an alternative minor league that will pay players and give them the exposure that playing D1 football does. Same thing for basketball.
The NCAA peddles this altruistic vision of education as the only payment for while their coaches drain state coffers for $12m contracts. They prevent players from using their fame – but only in high profile embarassing situations – like some kit at Deion Sanders’ house or someone complaining about Reggie Bush’s parents welching on a deal. Yet Michael Beasley and John Wall’s AAU coaches are getting cushy jobs that no one seems to care about. Hello??
The NCAA is a fucking joke.
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