Masshole Finds Next, Worse Job
December 16, 2022 8:57 AM Subscribe
Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker will be the next President of the National Collegiate Athletic Administration (archive.today link), a billion-dollar business nonprofit organization "dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes". IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel (the NCAA headquarters is in Indianapolis) says "Welcome to the worst job you've ever had".
for anyone who ignores college sports or is just sportsball-phobic in general, that IndyStar column in the last link is both a fun read and a solid primer on the mess that is the NCAA and Division 1 college sports.
posted by martin q blank at 9:14 AM on December 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by martin q blank at 9:14 AM on December 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
It's really saying something when the only thing that keeps your org from being one of the worst in the world is the existence of FIFA and the IOC.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:23 AM on December 16, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:23 AM on December 16, 2022 [11 favorites]
that IndyStar column in the last link is both a fun read and a solid primer on the mess that is the NCAA and Division 1 college sports.
No, it isn't - it's the usual sanctimonious bullshit about how horrible it is that players actually be treated fairly.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:23 AM on December 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
No, it isn't - it's the usual sanctimonious bullshit about how horrible it is that players actually be treated fairly.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:23 AM on December 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
Let's see if he can screw NCAA as badly as he screwed the MBTA when he was running the Big Dig. (And as governor.)
posted by rednikki at 9:32 AM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by rednikki at 9:32 AM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
Let's Hope Charlie Baker Can Bring to Bear All His Skills to Drive the NCAA into the Ground
(Because what the NCAA really needs is that corporate touch)
posted by TedW at 9:34 AM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
(Because what the NCAA really needs is that corporate touch)
posted by TedW at 9:34 AM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
I don't understand. The NCAA is already privatized, and is the platonic ideal of awful in every way. Short of actually physically liquidating its player-assets (perhaps to be made into some sort of nutritious slurry?), there's no way to squeeze more money out of NCAA members. So what's left for poor Charlie to steer the ship toward?
posted by Mayor West at 9:36 AM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Mayor West at 9:36 AM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
So what's left for poor Charlie to steer the ship toward?
Someone has to be at the helm when the ship hits the iceberg.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:50 AM on December 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
Someone has to be at the helm when the ship hits the iceberg.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:50 AM on December 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
One of the worst people in the world running one of the worst organizations in the world? What's not to like? Seriously, though: fuck that guy, and hard.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 9:56 AM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 9:56 AM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
NoxAeternum, looking back, yeah, he could have addressed the NCAA's contempt for players and their rights. Admittedly I don't follow it closely anymore. Back in the day I followed Ed O'Bannon's case pretty closely and cheered his win in the courts. And like anyone who even casually follows sports, I read with disgust the stories on recruiting violations and the inevitable wrist slap. To be fair, though, he did call out a lot of that:
posted by martin q blank at 10:35 AM on December 16, 2022
The NCAA changed its transfer portal rules, because when it comes to college sports, nothing is real. Not the one-time transfer exception, not amateurism, not gender equity or even a sense of fair play. ...Could it be better? Sure. But it does portray the NCAA as a bunch of cowardly hypocrites with zero principles trying desperately to cling to power. That's a decent start.
The NCAA has become a place where rules are made and broken and then just changed, because it’s easier to rewrite the rulebook than to truly punish Arizona or South Carolina or Oklahoma State for recruiting violations that actually put some of their coaches in prison.
posted by martin q blank at 10:35 AM on December 16, 2022
And like anyone who even casually follows sports, I read with disgust the stories on recruiting violations and the inevitable wrist slap.
But that's the thing - the wristslap was the right thing to do, the recruiting violations were industrial strength bullshit, and the FBI going after the coaches was an unjust travesty. Charles Pierce (who was linked prior on the thread topic) wrote an excellent piece on how much of a disgrace that "investigation" was. Which illustrates the problem with the IndyStar piece - yes, he's calling all this out, but from the wrong side.
The problem with the transfer portal isn't that the NCAA is breaking their rules to allow it to be used repeatedly - it's that it even exists, because it's a flagrant antitrust violation - which is why the NCAA tore up those rules after they got their shit kicked in at the Supreme Court. Said shitkicking is also why the NIL rules got torn up as well - because they no longer had any legal support and the NCAA was asking for a legal beating if they kept them.
So yeah, that IndyStar editoral is bullshit, because the author wants to go back to the days when players knew their place.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:15 AM on December 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
But that's the thing - the wristslap was the right thing to do, the recruiting violations were industrial strength bullshit, and the FBI going after the coaches was an unjust travesty. Charles Pierce (who was linked prior on the thread topic) wrote an excellent piece on how much of a disgrace that "investigation" was. Which illustrates the problem with the IndyStar piece - yes, he's calling all this out, but from the wrong side.
The problem with the transfer portal isn't that the NCAA is breaking their rules to allow it to be used repeatedly - it's that it even exists, because it's a flagrant antitrust violation - which is why the NCAA tore up those rules after they got their shit kicked in at the Supreme Court. Said shitkicking is also why the NIL rules got torn up as well - because they no longer had any legal support and the NCAA was asking for a legal beating if they kept them.
So yeah, that IndyStar editoral is bullshit, because the author wants to go back to the days when players knew their place.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:15 AM on December 16, 2022 [3 favorites]
to the days when players knew their place.
And by "players", they mean you-know who.
posted by briank at 12:10 PM on December 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
And by "players", they mean you-know who.
posted by briank at 12:10 PM on December 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Charles Pierce (who was linked prior on the thread topic) wrote an excellent piece on how much of a disgrace that "investigation" was.
This story seems to be a perfect intersection of his sportswriting and political writing chops and I look forward to seeing more from him on this.
posted by TedW at 12:34 PM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
This story seems to be a perfect intersection of his sportswriting and political writing chops and I look forward to seeing more from him on this.
posted by TedW at 12:34 PM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
NCAA is also the absolute worst for all the lesser-known sports (such as fencing) that have to adhere to all the same regulations as the big-money sports.
posted by Peach at 5:40 PM on December 16, 2022
posted by Peach at 5:40 PM on December 16, 2022
Will he ever return? No he'll never return! And his fate is still unlearn'd - poor Charlie!!
posted by Toddles at 6:09 PM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Toddles at 6:09 PM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
This is what I don't understand: in The United States of America, bastion of free-market capitalism and rugged individuality, how is it legal to force an 18 year old to participate in even one day of collegiate sports in order to be eligible to play in a professional sports league? Said 18 year old is an adult American citizen with a social security number so why can't they be hired as a professional athlete? How is this not collusion on the part of the NCAA and the NFL, and to a lesser degree, the NBA? How has the NCAA not been shut down by the federal government for anti-trust violations?
Growing up, I had a number of friends that turned pro in the world of skateboarding. Some, before they even turned 18. They weren't required to skate for a college or university. So why does Johnny football have to graduate high school, be recruited by a college or U, play for two years while hoping they don't suffer a career-ending injury and only then declare their eligibility for the NFL draft? The hypocrisy of the NCAA is so uniquely American that it makes my head spin.
It's my hope that Baker will be the LAST president of the NCAA and that "student" athletes continue organizing and suing to have the same rights as everyone else to be a professional at whatever someone deems them to be qualified to do.
posted by photoslob at 11:49 AM on December 17, 2022
Growing up, I had a number of friends that turned pro in the world of skateboarding. Some, before they even turned 18. They weren't required to skate for a college or university. So why does Johnny football have to graduate high school, be recruited by a college or U, play for two years while hoping they don't suffer a career-ending injury and only then declare their eligibility for the NFL draft? The hypocrisy of the NCAA is so uniquely American that it makes my head spin.
It's my hope that Baker will be the LAST president of the NCAA and that "student" athletes continue organizing and suing to have the same rights as everyone else to be a professional at whatever someone deems them to be qualified to do.
posted by photoslob at 11:49 AM on December 17, 2022
This is what I don't understand: in The United States of America, bastion of free-market capitalism and rugged individuality, how is it legal to force an 18 year old to participate in even one day of collegiate sports in order to be eligible to play in a professional sports league? Said 18 year old is an adult American citizen with a social security number so why can't they be hired as a professional athlete? How is this not collusion on the part of the NCAA and the NFL, and to a lesser degree, the NBA? How has the NCAA not been shut down by the federal government for anti-trust violations?
Because the First Amendment protects the freedom of association, which in turn means that putting age restrictions on entering into a league is perfectly legal as it does not fall afoul of anti-discrimination laws. They are not technically being "forced" to play in college sports (and in basketball players do choose to play abroad in lieu of going to college) - but to be actually competitive in the draft they need to demonstrate that they can play at the pro level, and college athletics provides that platform. And to be fair, many other sports do have youth development leagues as well, so it's not like this system is unheard of outside of the US, either. The problem with the NCAA is that they've been allowed to steal the labor of the players for decades due to a mixture of cultural bugaboos, outright racism, and gaming the courts. This is why Alston was so devastating to the NCAA that they tore out their NIL rules in response - the Supreme Court made it clear that the NCAA was going to lose on antitrust.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:41 PM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Because the First Amendment protects the freedom of association, which in turn means that putting age restrictions on entering into a league is perfectly legal as it does not fall afoul of anti-discrimination laws. They are not technically being "forced" to play in college sports (and in basketball players do choose to play abroad in lieu of going to college) - but to be actually competitive in the draft they need to demonstrate that they can play at the pro level, and college athletics provides that platform. And to be fair, many other sports do have youth development leagues as well, so it's not like this system is unheard of outside of the US, either. The problem with the NCAA is that they've been allowed to steal the labor of the players for decades due to a mixture of cultural bugaboos, outright racism, and gaming the courts. This is why Alston was so devastating to the NCAA that they tore out their NIL rules in response - the Supreme Court made it clear that the NCAA was going to lose on antitrust.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:41 PM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
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