Athletic Director Making $900K Wishes Unpaid College Athletes Would Shut Up Already


During Saturday’s college football games, 28 players at the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Northwestern University wore wristbands marked with “APU”—short for All Players United—as part of a movement calling for NCAA reform, including efforts to minimize brain trauma and care for players who sustain brain injuries, as well as more money in scholarship aid for athletes.

This didn’t sit well with Iowa State University Athletic Director Jamie Pollard, who is making $900,000 this year thanks in large part to the sacrifices of the Cyclones’ student-athletes (that figure factors in a one-time retention payment of $400,000 he got for sticking around for eight years). He went on a Twitter rant yesterday afternoon calling out protesters:

Pollard points out the long-term value of #education, but that’s a tough sell to the 38 percent of Iowa State football players (and 50 percent of Iowa State men’s basketball players) who don’t graduate within six years, according to the NCAA. And take note, silent majority: Using increased TV revenue to pay for medical coverage and increased scholarship aid for athletes would have no bearing whatsoever on rising student debt.

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