Saturday, June 28, 2008

Black Sports: Top Ballers May Take European Money vs. College

 

A year ago, there was speculation that former shoe company czar Sonny Vaccaro was set to go barnstorming over in Europe with a group that would include O.J. Mayo, Bill Walker and a few other elite players coming out of high school. At the time, it seemed pretty far-fetched that an American-born player would bypass the college experience to play in anonymity outside his home country.

 

It didn't end up happening, but now it appears as though Brandon Jennings, arguably the top incoming freshman in the country, could become a trendsetter of sorts and opt for overseas money over a one-year college experience at Arizona.

 

"He's definitely considering it," said Kelly Williams, the father of New Jersey Nets point guard Marcus Williams and also a close advisor to the Jennings family. "Why wouldn't he?"

 

"If it's a sweet enough deal, why wouldn't he look into it?" Williams added. "But there's nothing definitive right now. They are in the process of investigating it, but he's not going to go just to become the first kid to go overseas. We're not going to put him in a bad situation. We'd try and put him in a situation where he can grow and develop."

 

Jennings first hatched the idea from Vaccaro, who is on a personal crusade against the NCAA and NBA because of the restrictions that those organizations impose on young basketball players.

 

Jennings' camp said that whether or not he achieves the SAT score (he's expected to get the results of his latest test any day now) that will make him eligible to play college ball at Arizona is irrelevant with regards to his decision to play overseas.

click for more

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Black Sprinter Justin Gatlin Likely to Appeal Ruling Before Olympics

ATLANTA (AP) -- Banned sprinter Justin Gatlin is expected to appeal a ruling by a federal judge in Florida that prohibits him from competing in this weekend's U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

His lawyer, Joseph A. Zarzaur Jr., said Wednesday that he planned to file a motion with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta by the end of the day, asking that Olympics officials be prevented from barring Gatlin from the trials before the court hears his case.
Gatlin's event, the 100 meters, begins with qualifying Saturday. USA Track and Field officials said they have made contingency plans for Gatlin to run if the courts rule he can.

Click to Read More.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Shaq Raps on Kobe's Head, says that he Ruined his Marriage

Just when you thought the war of words between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant had finally been laid to rest, the battle now appears to be back on.

This time, it's taking on a lyrical tone.

In a video released on TMZ.com, O'Neal is shown doing a freestyle rap in a New York City nightclub in which he takes several shots at his former Lakers teammate.

"Kobe (expletive), tell me how my a** tastes," went the chorus, which O'Neal repeatedly encouraged the crowd to sing along with him.

O'Neal also referenced Bryant's inability to lead the Lakers past the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals: "Last week Kobe couldn't do without me."

The Celtics downed the Lakers in six games, keeping Bryant from claiming his first title since L.A. traded O'Neal to the Miami Heat following the 2003-04 season. O'Neal, meanwhile, has won a championship without Bryant, helping the Heat to the 2006 NBA title.

More old wounds resurfaced during the rap, as well. O'Neal appeared to blame Bryant for the breakup of his marriage, singing, "I'm a horse. Kobe ratted me out. That's why I'm getting divorced.

http://www.tmz.com/2008/06/23/shaq-attacks-kobe-you-ruined-my-marriage/

Monday, June 23, 2008

Don Imus Insults Black Men, Black Athletes: Pacman Jones

I received a call today from a producer at WVON in Chicago. My good friend Roland Martin (the black dude on CNN) and I are going to discuss Don Imus tomorrow morning at 8 am. I like WVON, it's literally my favorite station in America. There is a great deal of tradition there.

I was involved with the first removal of Don Imus from the air, as I worked with Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton on the phone to talk about ways to get him off the air. I mentioned that if African Americans engage in a unified effort to challenge his corporate sponsors, we can bring him down. That is what Jesse and Al did, and it worked. As a Finance Professor, I always look to the money first. That is the most critical element of power in a capitalist democracy.

You can imagine how disappointed I was to see Don Imus back on the air so soon. I admit that when I saw Imus appear on Al Sharpton's show, I really believed he was truly sorry for what he did. For him to repeat his actions is simply baffling, and I wonder out loud Rev. Jackson and Rev Sharpton feel the same way.

I recorded some of my thoughts on Don Imus below. The fact that this man can do what he did the first time, get back on the air and repeat the same stunt one year later is yet another reminder of just how little respect African Americans get in white media. No, it's not mainstream media, because mainstream media should reflect viewpoints from all perspectives. The truth of the matter is that most media is owned by people who are not black, so people like Imus and Bill O'Reilly can get away with this stuff without being forced to engage in any form of respect or responsibility. The ownership structure of American media is an artifact of 400 years of slavery and economic exclusion of African Americans. Our grandparents never had the chance to own CNN, FOX or NBC and they also did not have a chance to own the corporations that financially support these media outlets. African American wealth was stolen from us and now lies, in part, in the hands of companies that support racism on the airwaves.

So, the networks continue to insult black people and there are no consequences. Personally, I am getting tired of this crap. What is most ironic is that no matter what anyone says about black people on the air (lynching Michelle Obama, killing Barack Obama, calling Mrs. Obama a Baby's mama, calling Barack a terrorist, or calling black women Nappy headed hoes), someone is always there from the right wing willing to rationalize this behavior. It reminds me of a relative I had with a drinking problem. No matter how much you pointed out his weakness, he always had an explanation. America's addiction to racism is a lot like the addictions of my uncle.

It's actually kind of pathetic.

The video is below:

Friday, June 20, 2008

The Irony of NBA Hoops: Black Players Get Celtics a Black Title




After going from worst to first, the 2008 Boston Celtics finished their magical ride by winning the franchise 17th NBA Championship and the first since 1986 by beating the longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers in six games before an excited home crowd in the place they call "Beantown".

The Celtics did something the Patriots couldn't do against the Giants in the Super Bowl back in February and that's win a championship when most fans and media expected them to.

Unlike the Celtic championship teams from the past, this year's team won the title with unified colors -- in jerseys and in race. Unlike the teams in the past with a black coach and a mix of white and black players, this year's band of champs got the job done with a black coach and mostly black players -- especially the players that made the difference.

How ironic in a city who's past race relations leave a lot to be desired.

From the era of Russell and Cousy; Havlicek and White; to Bird, McHale and Parish (The original "Big 3"), they all can brag about winning titles, but could never boast being an African American dominant team to win a championship with a black coach at the helm.

Russell may have been the winningest Celtic player and K.C. Jones may have been a championship player and coach, but the combination of African Americans achieving the ultimate crown in the "association" was not fullfilled until this season.



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Sure there were other storylines that came out of this series. Once again, Phil Jackson is denied his record setting 10th championship as a coach, a record he shares with the late Red Auerbach of the Celtics.

Kobe Bryant doubters and critics will see the Laker loss as another example of his inability to win a championship without Shaquille O'Neal. Teammate Luke Walton trying to beat the team he loved as a kid growing up because his father played and won a title there.

Kevin Garnett finally getting over the hump of losing in the playoffs and being labeled as a player who couldn't step his game up when it counted.

Paul Pierce, who has been Boston's first real superstar after the tragedies of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, suffering through losing seasons and harsh critics only to shine on the big stage.

He carried that same weight for so long on his shoulders, but showed his strength, grit and determination in leading his team to the championship like the captain and warrior he is.

Finally, Glenn "Doc" Rivers, the man under enormous pressure from the Boston media and fans to win and win now. All the questions he endured not about his coaching style or philosophy, but the questions from doubters of his inability to be a coach as the highest level.

Rivers' kept his belief in his players and in himself to stay the course in the midst of a storm called "Celtic fans" that threatened to wash him away.

We also have to give credit to Danny Ainge for making the moves to bring in the "big two" of the three in Garnett and Ray Allen along with Sam Cassell, P.J. Brown, James Posey and others to give Rivers the ingredients to mix together in making a championship dish for the franchise.



All stories worth discussing around the water coolers of the office after the impressive and dominating performance of this proud group of men in green.

I still however feel a sense of irony after this particular championship for this particular city with this group of men.

A city that most blacks and other minorities who grew up in the area or in the vicinity or happened to move there, travel there or even pass through there, knew about certain parts that were off limits to non-whites especially when the sun went down.

Acts of racial violents, racial slurs and racial intimidation were rampant "back in the day" and to some of my friends back home, still exist. They exist however slightly different.

Instead of white mask and robes, they disguised themselves with black robes and gavels or with badges and guns. Instead of burning crosses on a minoritie's lawn, they pass laws to oppress or incarcerate minorities at a higher volume than non-whites.

In fairness to Boston and the state of Massachusetts, you can make the same claim for other New England or tri-state places like New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and others nearby.

Massachusetts also has a black Governor, new black and minority leaders in politics and in sports like David "Big Papi" Ortiz and Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox and of course the "new big three" in Pierce, Garnett and Allen for the world champion Boston Celtics.

So I congratulate guys like Rivers, K.G., Pierce, Ray Allen and the rest of the Celtics that worked hard this year to beat the odds. The improbable journey from basketball mediocrity to the title of "champions" all in one year.

To go from the butt of jokes in Boston, to the respect worthy of royalty from the entire league. More importantly, the success of a group of black men that beat the odds and the doubters by using their intelligence, basketball knowledge, will, determination, faith and belief that we can get it done it.

They worked together as a team in a town that few blacks in the past had the opportunity and success as a group.

In a town full of racial irony, championships are in abundance and the fans of these championship teams have fully embraced all of the players, coaches and franchises with open arms whether the embrace is authentic or temporary.

For those minorities, like the 2008 Boston Celtics, enjoy it while it last because as we know in Boston, cheers can turn to jeers like darkness turns to light and as we know from the past, that could be dangerous in Boston.

Written by LA Batchelor

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Can Europeans NBA Championships? I think Not

In light of the ass whooping that the LA Lakers took in their decising game of the NBA Finals, I think my earlier point about European players being too weak to win titles has been made. Tony Parker withstanding, I knew that the Lakers were toast when the finals began. Bottom line Mr. Stern: they need more brothers.

The affirmative action program of the NBA has produced some nice offensive threats. But when it came time to get tough, grab that necessary rebound or play the kind of defense necessary to win titles, the Lakers fell short. That is no different from what Mr. Dirk of the Mavericks did when confronted with the Bay Area hard hats that came to play from Golden State last year.

European players can't win NBA championships. They are just too soft. 131-92 says it all.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Tiger Woods is the Miracle Man: Greatest Performance Ever?



With unbearable pain and three unforgettable shots, Woods turned in one of his most memorable performances in a major Saturday by holing two long eagle putts, chipping in for birdie and somehow taking a one-shot lead over Lee Westwood.
Right when some 50,000 fans at Torrey Pines thought they had seen it all, Woods knocked in a 30-foot eagle on the 18th for a 1-under 70 and his first 54-hole lead in the U.S. Open since he won at Bethpage Black in 2002.
That he made it to the finish line was nearly as impressive as a magical array of shots.
His tender left knee first buckled on the 15th hole, and Woods used his club as a cane to get down the fairway, limping along while trying to stay in the hunt. He played the final six holes in 4 under - and that included a bogey - and will play in the final group for the sixth time in the last eight majors.
This time he has the lead, and he has never lost a major from the front.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Boston Celtics: There's No Substitute for Strong Black Talent




The Boston Celtics engaged in major heroics to come back on the Los Angeles Lakers last night. After a record-setting performance in the first quarter, the Lakers showed that they don't have the toughness to win a title. The Celtics, being the older, more experienced, hungrier group of vets, showed the young bucks how to get it done.

It looks like Boston green is going to be in style this year, as the Celtics have finally awakened from the horrible abyss created by the ridiculous Rick Pitino era. Why you would pay a man that much money to give him free reign to destroy your organization, I will never know.

You can't help but cheer for a bunch of old guys trying to get a ring. Also, the Lakers, by taking advantage of David Stern's affirmative action program, are finding that there is no substitute for good strong, black athletes. Now, this is not to say that the European players aren't good, but they don't have the toughness to win championships. Perhaps they can one day prove me wrong.

Congratulations to the Celtics, they've got this one in the bag.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Kevin Garnett Accused of Losing Game 3 to the Lakers

Kevin Garnett is being criticized for breaking down the Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. I'm not so sure. I watched the game and felt that KG played intelligent enough. I do, however, feel that the Celtics have a tough time closing on the road, and Paul Pierce doesn't have what it takes to help them do it. KG is nice, but not nearly as dominant as he once was, and Ray Allen is a relative has-been.

Here is what a Fox Sports dude had to say about the game:

LOS ANGELES - The Celtics had a chance to put the Lakers down in a place from which no team has ever recovered: a 3-0 disadvantage in the Finals. And they blew it. Simple as that.
2008 NBA Finals

Once again, the Celtics out-rebounded the Lakers. And on yet another night, Boston proved a tougher, more physical team than Los Angeles. But smarter?

No. Definitely not.

In the postgame interview room, Phil Jackson referred to his eternally undiscouraged shooter, Sasha Vujacic (7 of 10, 20 points) as "a rockhead." Actually, with Tuesday night now in evidence, the term seems more apropos in describing the Celtics, starting with their best, most talented and fiercest player.

Click here to read more

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Did the NBA Fix Games in the Past?

There are reports coming out that the NBA may have fixed some games in the past. Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons has alluded to this before, but everyone wrote him off for being insane. It appears that the NBA may have some tough questions to answer, as the investigation into the crooked referee Tim Donaghy is making alot of people squirm.

There have been rumblings of fixed games in the past, and the reality is that the NBA is a business and having big market teams in the finals increases viewership. That is what makes these allegations credible.

Here is the article.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Paying College Athletes: Why It is the Right thing to Do

I just did an interview with a site called www.Bleacherreport.com, which seems to be a great sports website. Talking about sports got my blood boiling about the NCAA again, which I feel is one of the most corrupt and exploitative institutions in American history.

I participated in a CBS sports special on whether or not athletes should get paid last year, as well as some shows on CNN, ESPN and other places. I was impressed by the amount of effort the NCAA puts into managing its perception as the benevolent overseer of the athletes it is abusing. Any league that earns a billion dollars per year off the backs of families in poverty should be ashamed of itself.

Here is the transcript from the interview we did today, it's interesting:



1) People often say that the opportunity to receive a free education
is enough compensation for college athletes. What's wrong with that
argument?

A free education is valuable, no one knows that better than a college professor. The problem is that we can’t assume that $30,000 per year is fair compensation for any job. If Tom Cruise stars in a blockbuster film, he is going to kick your butt if you try to pay him $30,000, even if you throw room and board in with it. In America, you get paid what you’re worth.

I see many athletes who are literally responsible for bringing $20M per year into their campuses, yet their mothers are starving to death or homeless. This should be a shame for us all, since I’ve never seen a D-1 college coach’s mother go hungry.



2) If colleges could pay athletes, the wealthier schools would appear
to have an advantage. Do you think there would need to be a salary cap
or other measures put in place to ensure some parity in college
sports?

I am not opposed to the idea of a salary cap, although I haven’t seen a salary cap for coaches. My goal is not to support preferential treatment for athletes, I only endorse fairness. I don’t see why coaches and athletes can’t have the same rules. They are all under the same pressure to win, they are both treated as professionals and expected to produce as professionals. This pressure doesn’t come from the fact that their campuses love sports so much, it’s because CAMPUSES WANT THE MONEY. They are pushing these guys much harder on the court and the field than they do in the classroom, because good grades don’t pay university bills; only big wins bring in big paychecks.

But in terms of a salary cap, I would not be opposed to that. The NCAA is lucky, since they are the only multi-billion sports league that can get away with paying their players 1/100 of what they are worth. Players would be ecstatic to play for $150,000 per year, which is far less than the millions many of them would earn in a fair market system. The money wouldn’t have to come from university budgets, they could start by sharing the money coaches get from shoe deals. After all, the players are the ones we pay to see and they are the ones wearing the shoes. But as a general rule, the Finance and free market capitalist in me doesn’t like the idea of any kind of government regulation restricting wages. I am sure coaches wouldn’t like a cap on their wages either.



3) Do you think that recruits should be offered contracts by schools
based on the performance they showed in high school? How would each
individuals contracts differ from the next?

I don’t think that we know all the answers to these questions, but one thing is true: The market knows ALL ANSWERS to ALL QUESTIONS. In other words, if a player is the next Lebron James, then the schools know what he can do in terms of revenue generation. I say let them bid it out and the highest bidder wins. Seriously, who is to say that Rick Pitino is worth $3 million per year? Nobody says it, there is a negotiation and the price that he gets is what he is worth. The beauty about the free market is that when the market is fair, open and efficient, no one gets more than what they are truly worth, since no one pays more than the value of the commodity.

What I love about the NCAA (who expends a tremendous amount of money on their propaganda machine) is that they do a good job of making it seem that paying the athletes would be excessively complicated and nearly impossible. The problem is that they find a way to get around the complications when it’s time to bring in a coach for $4M dollars per year. The market works out all complications, because you either get the deal done, or the game doesn’t happen. They have a lot of PhDs working for them, and we are smart enough to help them work out the complications of their contracts.

The reality is that anyone who exploits someone else, whether it’s the NCAA or a pimp on the street, is always going to find a good excuse for keeping their money in their pocket. I say this as a financial expert. I am sure that when Billy Packer or Dick Vitale show up for their multi-million dollar paychecks, they wouldn’t want to hear any reasons that their money isn’t available. For some reason, they expect athletes and their families to accept these excuses.



4) What should be done regarding sports that bring in very little
revenue such as golf, tennis, and track. Would the contracts for these
athletes be substantially less?

Yes, they would be. That’s the way things work in the real world. I am a professor, and some could argue that educating our youth is far more important than being a Hollywood actor. However, I will always make less money than (and not be attractive enough to date) Angelina Jolie. I accept that.

I find it most ironic that when individuals expect payment equity among young athletes, as well as gender equity, they almost never mention the necessity of such equity among the coaches.

Again, going back a fair market, if an athlete brings revenue to the university, he/she should have the same rights of negotiation that coaches, administrators, corporate sponsors and everyone else getting paid from his/her labor. If you simply release the rules and let the market work, you will get the result you are looking for.


5) How would you like to reform the horrendous academic environment in
college athletics? It is no secret that this is a huge problem facing
college athletic programs.

I agree, the environment is horrific. I’ve seen athletes admitted to college with no expectation that they are ever going to consider graduating. Money is a drug, and a drug addiction can make any of us lower our standards. Universities are no different, as many of them abandon their academic missions in exchange for the opportunity to earn a few million dollars off the next superstar from the ghetto.

We must remember that incentives roll downhill. A coach with high graduation rates and a low winning percentage would be fired, while a coach with low graduation rates and a high winning percentage is given a raise and promotion. This shows blatant disregard for the value of academic success. I see universities giving coaches blank checks for controlling every aspect of their players’ lives in order to get them ready to play, but they throw their hands up and negate their responsibility to see to it that these young men and women are getting educated. The excuses are interesting: “We can’t make them study if they don’t want to!” At the same time, the same coach who claims that he can’t make the athletes study miraculously finds a way to get 80 grown men awake at 6 am for intense weight lifting sessions. They are able to motivate the athletes to do what coaches deem to be most important.

I don’t completely blame the coaches for these contradictions, I blame the campus. Coaches understand that they are not going to be rewarded for academic achievement. Winning, however, is key to their job security. Campuses should take the lead in putting oversight in place that insures that academic progress is the most important part of any athletics program. That means that if a player has practice the night before an exam, he/she misses practice. If they have an exam during a game, they miss the game (even if it is a million dollar game on ESPN). THAT, my friend, is the life of a student athlete. Right now, college athletes live the lives of professionals.



6) If you were named President of the NCAA, what other changes might
you make other then compensating athletes?

I am hesitant to be an armchair quarterback on the NCAA, primarily because I believe that many of the administrators in the NCAA know that what they are doing is wrong. In fact, Walter Byers, the former executive director of the NCAA has reversed his position and stated that athletes should be paid. Honestly, anyone with common sense realizes that if you earn millions for someone else, you deserve more than a college scholarship. I believe that Miles Brand, in spite of the propaganda exercise performed by he and CBS Sports last year (in an attempt to refute my analysis) knows that he would never allow himself or his coaches to operate under the same constraints, penalties and exploitation placed on athletes and their families (especially if his mother were getting evicted, as many of these players come from poverty). In fact, I found it quite ironic that nearly every participant in the CBS sports special was earning at least a few hundred thousand dollars per year while simultaneously explaining to athletes and their families why they shouldn’t get any of that money.

Beyond paying the athletes, I would make a decision: either the NCAA is going to be a professional organization or an amateur one. It’s not going to be a hybrid. A truly amateur organization doesn’t have coaches earning as much as $4M dollars per year. Coaches earn no more than, say, $80,000 per year.

- An amateur organization doesn’t fire losing coaches with high graduation rates and reward winning coaches with low graduation rates – any coach hired by the NCAA is expected to not only teach at the university, he/she is expected to ensure that academic achievement is first and foremost in the life of each athlete.

- The rules should disappear: why can’t players transfer to other schools without being penalized? Coaches leave in the middle of the season all the time. Why is it illegal for athletes to receive compensation from outside entities? Coaches take money from whomever they please. Athletes are given the same responsibilities as adults, told to behave as adults, yet we put rules in place that treat them like children. Again, anyone who exploits another human being, whether it’s the NCAA or a corrupt warlord in a third world country, is going to place constraints on you and then guise his/her motivations by claiming that the rules are in place for your protection. That is the consistent theme of the NCAA’s justification for controlling their student athletes. But their desire to protect the athlete goes out the window when an athlete gets into trouble, loses his/her eligibility or loses his/her scholarship for not being able to perform on the field.

The NCAA needs to redefine its mission and be honest with the world. Right now, it is an elephant with bunny ears, swearing that it’s nothing but a harmless little rabbit. The truth is that the NCAA is exactly what it appears to be: a professional sports league. So, rather than allowing me to become the head of the NCAA, I would rather be the head of the House Ways and Means Committee, which initiated an investigation into the NCAA and began to question its non-profit status. A bureaucratic beast that has grown so deformed with contradictions needs to be deconstructed and rebuilt in a model of fairness. As it stands, the NCAA exists in stark contrast to the values most of us embrace as Americans. I’ve seen it up close over the past 15 years and it bothers the heck out of me.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Was Paul Pierce Really Injured in Game one?

The easiest way to go down in sports history is to miraculously come back from injury. Call me a hater, but I felt that Michael Jordan's illness in the 1998 finals was exxaggerated. That same feeling overcame me when I saw Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics damn near break his leg, get carried off the court and then come back like nothing had happened.

Don't get me wrong. A man can make miraculous comebacks. Also, they have great drugs that can make the pain go away, at least for a little while. But the idea that this man can get that messed up, get carried away, return and win the game, and then come back ready for game 2 is a bit wierd.

Personally, I think Paul was trying to get himself a legacy with that injury. He might just get embarrassed.

Here is a link to the story.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

What's up with that? NFL Steroid Snitch Fou. nd Dead

An NFL steroid distributor who gave names of users to the NFL was found dead in his home with a 30-year old woman. David Jacobs was ratting hard, and it appears that someone may not have liked it. The police found Jacobs and the female, Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell, after doing a welfare check on he and his family. Anyone who knows anything about sports and steroids knows that there could be a major roid problem in the NFL, worse than the MLB. I am shocked that the NFL has been able to cover it up for this long!

If you recall, there wasn't much of a stink made when Shawne Merriman of the Chargers received alot of defensive accolades in spite of failing a steroid test. If I were trying to play in the league as a clean athlete, I would be just a wee bit annoyed by that. Not to take anything away from Merriman, but damn.

Here is the story.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tiger Woods Top Earning Athlete in America: Lebron and Mayweather on List Too

Tiger Woods was the top earning athlete in America, hauling in $128M last year. He was followed by another golfer, Phil Mickelson. Most of the athletes on the list were African-American, including Shaquille O'neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and others.

Most of the athletes who earned the top money reached that spot through celebrity endorsements. For example, of the $128M earned by Tiger Woods, only about $22M of that was earned by playing golf. Wow, now we understand why they are so politically castrated!

One can wonder if the days of a Muhammad Ali will ever come back, or Jim Brown, athletes who actually used their power for a cause. Not in this America, not anytime soon.

The rest of the list is here