Just Following the Leader

Forgive Cam Newton.

Forgive his Father, Cecil, too.

They were just doing what everyone else in College Football has done.

Tonight, in one of the most anticipated and hyped National Championship games in recent memory, Cam Newton will take the field to vindicate himself and his family, carrying the title of Heisman winner with him, against the Oregon Ducks, college football's version of Cirque du Soleil on turf. While I'm taking the Ducks, (almost went there for college) I look forward to seeing Newton in action, despite the fact that most people believe he is a cheater, dishonest and belongs on the sidelines. I'm using the same argument I've used the past few weeks in defending Ohio State's Terrell Pryor and the four other players who will start off next year with a five game suspension. How dare the NCAA.

How dare the governing body of college athletics act so hypocritically in punishing the most victimized part of their organization, while they stand by and line their pockets and those of their cohorts. Athletes at major universities on average spend over 40 hours a week at their craft in addition to classes and mandatory appearances for charity functions, school pep rallies, media interviews, and whatever marketing endeavors athletic departments can dream up, not to mention the constant invasion of privacy by fans and foes alike, for the staggering rate of less than $800 a month and paid tuition.

Last year, in a job that would amount to a full weeks's worth of work and a few "business trips", Sugar Bowl director Paul Hoolahan earned a "palatable" $645,386. To give a little bit of contrast, the director of the New Orleans division of "Habitat for Humanity" made, comparatively, a paltry $95,000 dollars. If the CEO of Walmart were to earn the same percentage of profit that Mr Hoolahan does, his annual salary would be upwards of $44 billion. Argue that bowl games are non-profit? Okay, if you look at other non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets ($10-$24 million), typically they pay their CEOs, on average, $185,270. The highest-paid non-profit CEO in this comparison group made $383,500. A 2009 study found that organizations almost six times larger than the Sugar Bowl paid their CEOs, on average, $462,037. How many touchdowns did Hoolahan catch on Tuesday? Anyone? Anyone? Exactly. ZERO.

I could go on for days with this argument, armed with DOZENS of facts, courtesy of the book Death to the BCS, by Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan. I'll instead encourage you to read it instead, while asking you to forgive Cam Newton before you turn on the game tonight. If you are planning on cheering for Oregon strictly because Cam and his dad are "bad guys", just consider for a moment that if you saw someone shoveling money into a wheel-barrow and walking away, wouldn't you want to do the same thing? Although greatly generalized, this is akin to what the NCAA/Conference Commissioners/Bowl Directors are doing, leaving the athletes in the cold, and selfishly keeping a great deal of them from providing for families that could be in dire need of the help. This isn't a charity case, as much as another argument for a change to the system, and that is something everyone can agree upon.