Do We Ever Stop Protecting Adults and Institutions Over Students?
"Home is where your mistakes can be seen in context."
― Robert Crais, The Best American Mystery Stories: Volume 16
This week, college football experienced a minor earthquake that will have lasting ramifications for student-athletes.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was one of the first high school students to take advantage of opportunities opened up by Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies that have swept college sports over the last 4 years.
Under NIL rules, a college athlete can be paid for their play, thus transforming college sports into semi-pro status. The numbers athletes are earning are in the millions and growing.
Iamaleava signed a deal while in high school. Tennessee was paying him $2.9 million a year, which is not chump change by any measure.
This week, though, he decided it wasn't enough and started exploring other options—either a new deal with Tennessee or maybe a transfer to a different school. The University of Tennessee was not receptive and told him to pound sand.
The University's stance has been widely applauded.
Gentry Estes writes in The Tennessean:
History is going to be proud of the Vols.
They did the right thing, even if it might not feel that way on Saturdays this fall.
It was the right thing for the culture of a healthy football program and an even healthier athletics department. More significant, the Vols stepped up for college sports, which needed a reminder — however damaging it might be for their own 2025 aspirations — that star players don't hold all the cards in these increasingly lopsided negotiations. Especially if a deal is already in place.
What Estes fails to acknowledge is that while he may argue that it's becoming lopsided, it has been grossly tilted towards coaches and institutions for nearly a century.
Walk around a college campus and note the stadiums and the business being conducted on, and off, the field. Take a look at what coaches earn annually. All of that comes on the backs of athletes. Yes, the quarterback's deal was a good one three years ago; things change.
The young man couldn't foresee how fast the money would explode. The top NIL earners in college athletics currently are Arch Manning (Texas), Cooper Flagg (Duke), and Carson Beck (Miami). Their annual NIL valuations are estimated at $6.5 million, $4.8 million, and $4.3 million respectively. Livvy Dunne (LSU) also ranks high with a valuation of $4.1 million.
Keep in mind these are estimations. NIL contracts are not subject to open record laws.
If you look at the list of top earners, you'll see that the Tennessee quarterback is in the upper tier but not the top of that tier. Here are the top earners.
Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State): $4 million
DJ Lagway (Florida): $3.8 million
AJ Dybantsa (BYU): $3.8 million
LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina): $3.7 million
Garrett Nussmeier (Texas): $3.6 million
Cade Klubnik (Florida): $3.3 million
Drew Allar (Penn State): $3.2 million
Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee): $3.1 million
Sam Leavitt (Oregon): $3 million
Bryce Underwood (Cincinnati): $2.9 million. Toppin (Texas Christian): $2.8 million
If you look at the list, it's not hard to imagine a young man looking at it and saying, "Damn, I need more money."
As much as Tennessee fans like to say that he hasn't done anything, his accomplishments likely outmatch two-thirds of this list. I'm not sure that anything short of a National Championship game and a near-perfect season would earn him a pass to demand more from fans.
By most measures. Iamaleva's statistics were reasonably impressive.
Since arriving at UT, he's completed 241 of 379 passes for 2,930 yards, 21 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He rushed for 435 yards and six TDs, although three of those scores were in his first start as the Citrus Bowl MVP following the 2023 season. Pretty good for a freshman QB in the SEC.
Critics can argue that he's already getting a top-tier education, and in four years, there will likely be huge payoffs when he transitions to the NFL.
Here's the thing: People are seldom motivated to change solely based on financial motivations. Money is certainly important, but if you are in a situation where you believe in your coach, you have strong relationships with teammates, you feel you are getting an opportunity to compete against high-quality talent, and you have the resources available to reach your full potential, change is less attractive.
There is more at play here then what inially meets the eye.
People like to portray athletes as greedy individuals out to grab as much cash as possible. Still, nobody gets to the level of Iamaleava because of a desire to make millions. The road to this level of success is paved with extensive personal sacrifice and significant expense.
As the father of a high-achieving athlete, I've gained a greater appreciation for what these athletes go through and what they have to overcome to reach Nico's level.
It's a paved path with people telling you you are not good enough.
Days are comprised of school followed by long practices, individual workouts, and school work, leaving little time for amything else. Rinse, wash, repeat.
I can't even imagine the money parents invest to give their children an opportunity to realize these lofty dreams.
Travel team costs run as high as $5K a season. Personal coaches are $50-$100 for each hour a week. Weekend camps run for $300 to $500 a pop. My son will likely do three this year—how I'll pay for them, I have no idea.
None of this accounts for gear or equipment. let alone the grocery bills. It doesn't stop there, either.
I won't be shocked if Iamaleava's family has already spent half a million dollars over his lifetime to get him to this level.
It also wouldn't shock me if they spent another million a year on personal trainers, masseuses, nutritionists, and personal assistants to prepare him for the next level. That $2.9 M ain't gree and clear.
We imagine Nico as just another college student grabbing books for class in the morning, heading to practice in the afternoon, and then heading to the library to study in the evening. Maybe he's throwing back a few at night with his other college buddies before turning in for the night.
That's a fantasy.
In reality, the young man is working his ass off twenty-four-seven to keep up his level of performance. You have to have something different inside of you to do that. A love of the game and something intrinsic driving you. You don't get to be one of the top 99% of athletes without something special.
A decade of work does not come with a guaranteed payday. Injury and burnout are constant threats, along with physical limitations. Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you fall short physically.
If aspiring athletes are looking for a financial payday, they are better off playing the lottery than working for an athletic career.
Many find fault with Nico Iamaleava's business conduct. Missing practice while demanding more money is considered a cardinal sin.
As UT coach Josh Heupel, who realized that it was over with Iamaleava, said, "When he's a no-show (at practice), you come off the practice field, and there's no communication."
Estes gives kudos to Heupel for taking a stand:
Kudos to Tennessee for understanding this wasn't just about money. It was about principle and precedent. It was about drawing a line to say "enough" before the absence of guardrails becomes even less sustainable for colleges and coaches than it already has become.
Sure, college athletic programs are known for their commitment to principle and precedent.
Let's make sure we are clear here. What's also at play here is an attempt by those who've long held all the cards to continue to hold the trump cards. Sure, we'll concede a 10 or jack, but you ain't getting any Queens, Kings, or Aces.
A similar battle is playing out in Tennessee, where the TSSAA is fighting to protect schools and coaches from losing power to high school athletes. Officials are offering small concessions while holding tight to the true power.
Iamaleava's action may bring widespread changes. Many predict that athletes will sign contracts with universities, which means the possibility of a union and collective bargaining being introduced.
If star athletes earn the right to renegotiate mid-term, colleges will likely react by starting to cut underperforming players, putting their educational opportunities at risk.
College athletic programs risk being exposed to becoming what they've been accused of being: minor league teams for the professionals.
Transition is definitely afoot, and who will come out ahead and who will fall behind is yet to be determined,
As you read the news of the current situation, remember that both entities are engaged in a PR war. One in which the NCAA and the Universities enjoy a decisive advantage,
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We are terrible at accounting for unintended consequences when crafting education policy.
We get so lost in the brilliance of our ideas and how they can make everybody's lives so much better that we rarely consider the devastation that can inadvertently be wrought on others.
Case in point, Tennessee's law passed in the wake of the Covenant shooting to address threats against schools. Under the law, any student who makes a perceived threat against a school must be arrested and prosecuted. It doesn't matter if the threat is credible or not; it just has to be uttered, written, or typed.
The intentions behind the law are good. Determining the real threats is nearly impossible, and all threats must be taken seriously. Lawmakers hope to discourage students from making threats by installing harsh penalties on those who do.
But good intentions may have led to unintended consequences. "In Fiscal Year 2024, 518 children were arrested under our current threats of mass violence law. The youngest was 7 years old," said Beth Cruz during a Senate Judiciary hearing earlier this month. Cruz is an education attorney and has been tracking the new law.
The threats addressed come from teenagers, mostly male. It's a group with little sense of mortality and an irreverence that finds everything funny. Things that are considered threatening by adult standards are oft regarded in a humorous light by teenagers,
According to a News 5 report:
Many of the 518 children have been arrested, even though they didn't originate the threat against a school. Back in January, shortly after the Antioch High School shooting, the 12-year-old son of Kyle Caldwell was arrested. His son had only reposted a threat, hoping to alert others. "He is just a great kid, no history, no trouble," said Caldwell, during an interview with NewsChannel 5. "Out of innocence, his idea was he was informing."
Children arrested are often denied parental contact for up to 36 hours. Think about that: your child is accused of a serious crime where intent has yet to be defined, and you are separated from them for a day and a half while questions and deals are presented directly to them without your counsel.
From an article in The Tennessean detailing the arrest of one 12-year-old:
Things escalated quickly the day his son, a middle schooler, was arrested and charged under a strict Tennessee law that makes threats of mass violence against schools a felony. Caldwell said he felt they were "funneled" through a system that didn't allow him to advocate for his young son and pressed the boy into accepting guilt and pretrial diversion. Experts say children in the justice system are responsible for making their own legal decisions, along with the help of their attorneys, and parents do not typically have a formal role in their children's cases. Caldwell felt powerless.
"I don't think I've ever felt like my capability to parent had been taken away so drastically," Caldwell said.
The parent was kept from meeting with his son for 36 hours. By the time they met in person, his son had already met with his attorney, who told him his legal options. One was pretrial diversion. That includes pleading guilty and being under court supervision, similar to six-month probation, with good behavior, that can be shortened to four months.
The deal was done and made without parental consent or input
This is in a state that regularly champions parent rights.
A new bill in the General Assembly was supposed to address these issues. But apparently, those changes are not coming this year, and instead, the state is doubling down.
The new bill, as amended, HB1314, introduced by Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, requires the threat to have intent and credibility — a benchmark not included in current law. However, it also increases the penalty to a higher-level felony and expands the types of places where someone can be charged beyond just a school. It would require a higher felony for people who were already convicted for making a threat or people planning to carry one out.
According to WPLN, the bill would mean that kids and others who make threats against a school could be charged with two separate felonies. Advocates at the state have told lawmakers that the new bill, if passed, could cause more confusion as police and school officials figure out how to handle these threats.
During committee hearings, Elizabeth Stroecker, director of legislation for the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said the new bill would prevent kids who did not intend to carry out a threat from being charged "because we do have that higher threshold." She did not address advocate concerns about the existing law.
The bill has passed out of the House and Senate Judiciary committees and will be heard in Senate Finance, Ways and Means next week.
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Penny Schwinn's tenure as Tennessee's Commissioner of Education served as a lucrative haven for grifters. Most of the focus has fallen on Ms. Schwin, who awaits a confirmation hearing as USDOE Deputy Secretary, but man, you can't overlook the supporting cast she imported and empowered.
Today, we'll turn the spotlight on David Donaldson. Under Schwinn, Donaldson was the TDOE's deputy commissioner of Human Resources.
Before arriving in Tennessee, Donaldson served as Associate Chancellor for Michigan's Education Authority. In the wake of Race to the Top, three Achievement School Districts were created: Tennessee, Louisianna, and Michigan. Of the three, the latter was by far the worst, and the first shuttered in 2017.
Donaldson next went to work in Puerto Rico for new superintendent Julie Keleher. Keleher is the second reference behind Broad Academy and vice-president of ETS's Student and Teacher Assessments, Lillian Lowery. In her work leading the education departments for Maryland and Delaware, Lowery was a member of the PARCC and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium while the testing programs were being developed. Hmm…
Back to Keleher, Donaldson joined the TNDOE after Keleher resigned in April 2019 after a two-year run. In July, the Feds busted Keleher on charges of steering federal money to unqualified, politically connected contractors. This shouldn't have surprised anyone, as throughout her tenure, she courted controversy.
The U.S. Department of Education backed her attempts to expand educational options. In a 2018 speech, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Frank Brogan said Puerto Rico would be a "beacon" of school choice and a "laboratory" for people to observe.
Not everyone agreed. "The proposal in Puerto Rico to transition to charter schools and the use of private school vouchers mirrors what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, in March 2018 remarks, about three weeks before a bill creating charters and vouchers was signed into law by Governor Rosselló.
Three weeks ago, Keleher was indicted again, this time for her involvement in a land deal using school property. She continues to maintain her innocence and, in December, asked for a change in venue for her trial due to the polarized atmosphere. She may be innocent, but I'm unsure if I would list her as a primary reference on my resume.
Not surprisingly, Donaldson ended up in Tennessee under Schwinn. Once here, he discovered that the Clarksville School District had piloted a nifty little program that partnered with Austin Peay University to produce homegrown teachers. Donaldson pushed the Clarksville plan into a state initiative Schwinn claimed her own, Grow Your Own.
"Our teachers are heroes who have a tremendous impact on our children, and Tennessee is paving the way and has become the first state in which there is a lasting program to become a teacher for free through the Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship," said Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. "By establishing a permanent Grow Your Own model, Tennesseans are innovating to provide the opportunity to become teachers for free while earning a wage. We hope states across the country will utilize this model to combat teacher shortages, remove barriers to becoming an educator for people from all backgrounds, and continue to invest in the teaching profession."
The state used the base established by Clarksville to secure a federal grant and recruit 62 other participants while chasing off every state employee who did the early work on the Grow Your Own Program. Donaldson left the TNDOE six months later, announcing the formation of a new non-profit, the National Center for Grow Your Own.
The state went on to create and fund the Grow Your Own Center at the University of Tennessee. That was another great initiative, the National Center for Grow Your Own.
Donaldson and his National Center are housed in New York City.
As part of the state initiative, Tennessee opened the Grow Your Own Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to bolster the educator pipeline across the state. Per ChalkbeatTN,
The $20 million center will centralize and strengthen the state's 65 existing "grow your own" programs, which seek to create new paths to the teaching profession by providing students with early teaching apprenticeship opportunities at no cost, state education officials and the UT system said during a Monday press conference at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
I raised questions at the time because UT didn't have the infrastructure in place to support such an initiative, unlike, say, Vanderbilt University, which is a nationally recognized education research facility. Vanderbilt was the home of the Tennessee Education Research Alliance, which would seem to be a perfect fit for a center like this, provided an education commissioner could keep her personal feelings out of the equation.
Here's where the cynic in me came out. Say one was inclined to subvert the RFP process and make it easier to get money into the hands of friends a little quicker. Using Vanderbilt as an example, having the infrastructure in place would allow them to do the majority of work in-house instead of investing money into establishing capacities, meaning very little of the work would need outsourcing.
UT's lack of internal capacity meant that some of the work needed to be outsourced to outside entities. I was betting Schwinn would be there to help advise on potential partners.
I'm not casting aspirations at anyone; I'm just pointing out that the RFP process at UT is not nearly as scrutinized as that of the state government. There would be an opportunity if one was inclined to use the procurement process or their own means.
Again, not to cast aspirations, but if we are honest, we'll recognize that Schwinn and friends' record on procurement was not exactly…shall we say…untarnished. In case we need to remind you, there is the SPRDx contract in Texas, the ClassWallet contract in Tennessee that tapped funds dedicated to other priorities, and the Christmas Eve RFP that ended up going to her husband's employer – TNTP. Not to mention the current state of affairs of Schwinn's long-time friend and former Chief of Staff Rebecca Shah's recently created company, ILO.
In other words, there are plenty of warning bells.
Over the last several years, individual EPPs have left the state program, with only the University of Tennessee remaining. In response, a new RFP was released with an attached $7.5 million contract. Needless to say, many of the state's finest universities submitted responses, only to see Tennessee taxpayers' $7.5M go to NYC and Donaldson's National Center for Grow Your Own, which is not an EPP.
In other words, Donaldson must outsource the services required to fulfill the contract.
You can't make this shit up.
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