Nick Saban gets paid $10-$12 mil a year to win football games and raise $$$ for Alabama.
Prime gets paid $500k a year and is responsible for winning games, raising money for JSU and uplifting 100 HBCUs.
Seems like one guy is asked to do a whole lot more for a whole lot less.
I understand one of Prime's initial goal was to level the playing field for HBCU. I wasn't offended at his statement and was not disappointed when he left. To me, this is that kind of statement politicians give all of the time.
Ultimately, if Prime left JSU better than he found it I really don't get all the backlash he received. This reminds me of the mule and donkey in The Richest Man in Babylon. The Donkey had no appreciation for the amount of work the mule had to do until the donkey had to get the work done.
Lost in all of this Prime criticism, I haven't heard very many people hold the administration of the HBCU's accountable for carrying the torch once Prime left. Many, if not all HBCU's have athletic directors, school presidents and boards of governors. Just about every HBCU plays in a conference so what exactly is the conference commissioner doing?
One more thing, when did HBCU's become a protected class that was above critique? It seems like anytime a black person offers a critique about an HBCU the first retort from a HBCU graduate is always "Did you go to an HBCU?" Why do I have to attend to have a critique? That's like saying I can't engage in political discourse unless I obtained a degree in Politics.
I don't want no smoke with any HBCU graduates. I just want to know why HBCU's are this protected class that is insulated from criticism. It's funny because the same ones that will weaponize their blackness based on the fact that they attended an HBCU will be the same ones that will ask PWI graduates to support HBCUs. The same ones that make excuses for why they don't donate or don't donate consistently while at the same time find $$$ to go to All-star weekend, by Gucci, or go the Essence Festival or a girls trip to the Carribean.
If I gotta keep my mouth closed about HBCUs because I didn't attend one. No problem. I respect that. But if I'm going to keep my mouth closed shouldn't I also keep my wallet closed? I'm not a big deal at all. I'm a regular guy making regular money so I'm not gonna act like me donating or spending money at an HBCU event is going to be some tremendous feat.
It's like to be black means you can't criticize Michael Jordan, Barack Obama, Tupac Shakur or HBCUs.
I just don't get it.
I attended the Southern Heritage Class last year as my first HBCU event and enjoyed myself. I also plan to attend more HBCU events in the future because I know that supporting HBCUs means I am supporting the black professional working class.