Just Shut Up

This past Saturday, during a post-game press conference, UConn's Head Men's Basketball Coach, Jim Calhoun found himself in a bit of a pickle. He was less than enthused to answer questions regarding his salary of $1.6 Million to coach teenagers at a public university in leiu of the current national deficit of $944 Million. He 'advised' one reporter to "Shut Up." Why so sensitive Jim? Is it because you realize, that even though your program alone generates about $12 Million in revenue for the university, you are just one man. Or is it because you realize, that despite this astounding figure, you have little to do with the actual generation of any fiscal benefits, and coaches half as qualified being paid half as much as you, would be able to generate just about the same amount? I'm going to go with 'C', all of the above on this one. While Jim Calhoun is a fantastic coach (551-202 as head man at UConn), it is the prestige and the tradition that makes UConn's men's and, for that matter, women's basketball programs so successful year in and year out. This continual success leads to larger revenues. Alumni are willing to pay top dollar year after year to check out the current squads in action.

Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily have an issue with Calhoun making money doing what he does best, molding young men into some of the game's elite, grooming college studs into NBA Superstars (Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Omeka Okafur, Ben Gordon ring a bell?). However, let's put the whole thing into perspective. Calhoun, like many other high profile coaches, (i.e. Pete Carroll topping the charts for college coaches at $4.4 million per year) are paid exuberant amounts of money to be the voice of reason and driving force of motivation behind 12 or so college athletes. This isn't brain surgery. He isn't leading a team of experts in the field of neurophysics (I reall don't know if this field exists, but if it does, kudos to those who partake) he is trying to break the Georgetown full court press, and implement defensive tactics to stop Luke Harangody of Notre Dame. He's coaching a children's game. The whole idea of coaches and athletes alike being paid ridiculous amounts of money to display their talents for our entertainment is part of a much bigger problem. People place so much of an emphasis on dollars and cents, on endorsement deals, incentives, and buyout options. I really wish that people, myself included, would start worrying more about the integrity of the sports that we enjoy rather than the number of zeros included in our favorite athlete or coach's paycheck. I never thought that I would say this, considering my overly-competitive nature, but people are taking sports too seriously. I blame technology and more specifically, ESPN for making information too accessible. Why do I care what Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets has to say about Devin Harris's amazing half court shot from last night? Why can't I just enjoy the shot for what it is, amazing.

In summation, Jim Calhoun is a tremendous head coach, and has his team, once again, in position to make a run to the Final Four. In regards to your salary though, maybe it would be best if you, "Just Shut Up."

Be Well.