SmashMouth

When Saints quarterback Drew Brees apologized multiple times for his “disrespecting the flag” comments, he said he wanted to be part of the solution.

He’s writing a check to sponsor an event which could be a step along that path.

Via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com, Brees and his wife, Brittany, will be the presenting sponsors of the Black College Football Hall of Fame’s “The Road to Equality” event next month.

After the initial remarks set off a firestorm of controversy, both Brees and his wife apologized, and promised to do their part to be allies for the Black community.

The event, which will be streamed July 15, will honor the legacy of historically Black colleges.

“Our goal for this meaningful event is to engage in the national discussion on social justice by sharing the history of Black college football and its impact on civil rights,” executive director Marques Fitch said. “It is also intended to be a platform to raise funds and awareness for HBCU football programs and the Black College Football Hall of Fame.”

The event will be hosted by NFL Network’s Steve Wyche and CBS’ Charles Davis.

PFT

SaintGup

Sorry guys, this seems like trying to make things right by saying 'look at me. See, I am doing my bit'. The Brees Dream Foundation helped many causes and has done sterling work but now, because of how Brees capitulated, to me it just looks like a stunt. I don't know if you have read about/seen what is happening in the UK, but my country is being torn apart from the inside and those that should protect us are just bending over and talking it. Please don't become like us.

iceshack149

I certainly hope that we don't continue down this road accomodating the lunatics. Some of our cities are becoming just like London and other places in Europe. The big thing in our favor is our ability to protect ourselves with guns. Many of the politicians here are doing everything they can to take the means of defense away from us and the uneducated (and ironically our over-educated) people are quick to surrender those rights.

It's insanity.

CheramieIII

Where is the white college hall of fame and don't tell me it's the one we already have because they're are alot of black athletes in that one too! Why do we try to solve racism with racism? It's stupid!

rezburna

It was created to honor the contributions of HBCU’s. There’s no reason for me to go in depth on why HBCU’s were created. Unless you want to assert that Black people like my grandmother and grandfather just shouldn’t have been to permitted to attend college at all, I’m sure you’ll find the fact they exist fairly reasonable.

pinch

Time for hand-outs. Everyone dig in your pockets to end racism.

Rugby Saint II

Give the man a break. He spoke honestly about his feelings towards disrespecting the flag and is doing his best to put it behind him.

TheOak

Good for the historically black colleges, good for Drew, seems like a good deed all the way around.

If there is no bad to be had why would anyone have any reservations? Maybe someone wants to start a 'what about me too' movement...

New Orleans is roughly 60% black/African-American and Drew has done a lot for that city since he arrived. Not a really controversial or out of character action.

saintsfan1976

"college football" and "equality"... Is the NCAA finally agreeing to pay players?

AsylumGuido

They already have. Not only do players get stipends from the school, it just passed that they can also be paid for use of their likenesses, names and images. That means they can now get paid for commercials, video games, autographs, etc. This happened during the middle of the pandemic so many people probably missed the news.

College Athletes Are Now Closer To Getting Paid After NCAA Board OKs Plan

April 29, 2020 12:00 PM ET

In a significant shift for college sports, the NCAA's top governing body said it supports a rule change allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, so long as the college or university they attend does not pay them directly.

The NCAA's Board of Governors announced Wednesday it supports allowing "student-athletes to receive compensation for third-party endorsements both related to and separate from athletics."

The plan includes players receiving compensation from social media and personal appearances, as well as through businesses they started.

"Throughout our efforts to enhance support for college athletes, the NCAA has relied upon considerable feedback from and the engagement of our members, including numerous student-athletes, from all three divisions," board chair Michael V. Drake, president of Ohio State University, said in a statement.

"Allowing promotions and third-party endorsements is uncharted territory," he said.

Though the NCAA is taking steps to allow athletes to earn money, it stipulated that certain actions would remain prohibited.

"While student-athletes would be permitted to identify themselves by sport and school, the use of conference and school logos, trademarks or other involvement would not be allowed," the NCAA stated.

It also added that a university or college could not pay the athletes directly for using their name, image or likeness.

The board's recommendations are not final.

Next steps include further consideration from Divisions I, II and III, with all three expected to adopt the new rules early next year. The plan would then be in effect for the start of the 2021-22 academic school year.

"The NCAA's work to modernize name, image and likeness [rules] continues," said Gene Smith, Ohio State senior vice president and athletics director and working group co-chair. "The board's decision today provides further guidance to each division as they create and adopt appropriate rules changes."

The changes come as the NCAA faces mounting pressure to change its position on athletes earning money — pressure that has come from both the public and from state and federal officials.

The NCAA's annual revenues have recently surpassed the $1 billion mark, thanks in large part to massive television contracts and marketing fees linked to marquee sporting events such as the men's NCAA Division I basketball tournament.

The NCAA had previously signaled its support for allowing collegiate athletes to receive compensation, after the board voted unanimously on the matter back in October. That vote was based on recommendations from the NCAA Board of Directors Federal and State Legislation Working Group.

That move came after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in September that essentially would allow student-athletes to sign endorsement deals and hire agents.

As NPR reported, Newsom signed the legislation while appearing in a segment for Uninterrupted, a sports programming network founded by NBA star LeBron James. Newsom hailed the bill as "the beginning of a national movement — one that transcends geographic and partisan lines."

Not all have embraced the idea of college students, which have long been considered amateur athletes, being compensated while in school – the so-called "professionalization" of collegiate sports.

Ekow Yankah, author of the 2015 New Yorker article Why N.C.A.A. Athletes Shouldn't Be Paid, said last year that the system of not paying athletes was "deeply exploitative and deeply problematic."

But in an appearance on NPR's All Things Considered last October, Yankah also said the key promise a college or university makes to a student is to provide an education.

"I say the answer is to make sure that these young men — and with the revenue generated in sports, it's typically young men — that they get the thing that they were promised that was of value," Yankah said.

"That is to say, they get a college degree that was of value."

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill