Prince of the City, By Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture

September 15, 2010 Whitney Farmer 8 Comments

Whitney runs a rock music venue on the beach in L.A. She has an M.B.A., but will never play pro ball.

Following an investigation that was launched in 2006, USC-alumnae and 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush has voluntarily returned his trophy after being stripped of one of the most prestigious awards in sports. As a result of the NCAA’s investigation, USC has also been severely sanctioned, including being stripped of 30 scholarships over the next three years. These actions stem from the rent-free housing that was given to Reggie’s family from a marketer out of San Diego who had hoped to represent him after he made it big.

I met him once, but he probably doesn’t remember it. I had flown into L.A. for some meetings while I was working in educational consulting out of Sacramento. It was rare that I was able to return to my beloved city, and I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep on a girlfriend’s couch at her apartment downtown before grabbing the first morning flight back from LAX. The way I had planned it, I would arrive back in the office before a 9:00 meeting without anyone knowing that I had been attending a girl gabfest all night.

At around 4:00 am, I left her apartment and began to wind my way through the enormous Italian-inspired complex, going towards the one elevator among many which would take me back to the cobblestone visitor parking area. I had my small carry-on which I lived out of, (Same Suit/Different City was our anthem.), plus my enormous suitcase that was my portable office, including probably a hundred pounds worth of manuals that I was bringing back to re-inventory after conducting an in-service for some testing administrators.

When the door to the elevator opened, I found myself looking into a confined janitorial area with no exit. My head immediately began to do the math, and the first fingers of traveler’s panic began to sink in. My flight left at 6:30. Eventhough I had my e-ticket already, I needed to return my rental car and get the shuttle to LAX. There, I needed to get in the security line which would begin to reach 3rd World conditions by 5:00 at the latest since the security personnel wouldn’t arrive till then and begin to process everyone from all of the airlines. My only hope was to find a lucky place to squat on the sidewalk before they opened. But now I was faced with maneuvering through the maze of the faux-Italian complex near the heart of my beloved city dragging probably 150 lbs., sometimes even uphill. I didn’t even know how to get back to my friend’s apartment and there was poor cell reception in the place. I began to pray for help and hit the button to at least go back to the floor where I had started.

At 4:10, the elevator door opened, and Reggie Bush was standing there with a basket of laundry and diamond earrings. He was shocked to see someone at that time of the morning, and I could see in his eyes that he was wary about my motives. I felt sorry for a guy who has to do his laundry in the middle of the night to be left alone. Rather than mention to him that knew who he was and make him more concerned that I might be a stalker despite my power suit, I said, “Thank God you’re here!! I can’t figure out how to get back to the visitor parking!”

A beautiful and relaxed smile spread across his beautiful face. He said kindly, “You need to get to a different elevator. Come on. I’ll take you there.” Then he walked me through a maze of turns that I never could have calculated on my own to where I needed to be and pushed the elevator button, waiting until I was safely on board. Before the doors closed, I told him, “This may sound strange, but I prayed to God for help, and He sent you. How’s it feel to start your day as an answer to prayer?” He smiled as the elevator doors closed. A few months later, he was awarded the Heisman.

The NCAA’s regulations are based on a foundational premise that the student-athlete experience is nearly sacred and students must be protected from economic exploitation. Or else. On December 22, 2009, Forbes Magazine released its numbers on the most profitable college football programs. The University of Texas Longhorns ranked first with an estimated value of $119 Million and net profits on operations of $59 Million. The variables were standardized according to the following qualifications: 1) Revenue generated for the institution from ticket sales, branding, alumnae funds recruitment, endowment increase, etc.; 2) Athletic Department net profit after direct expenses; 3) Conference participation revenue including distribution; 4) Incremental spending to the surrounding community that creates indirect economic benefits. These determinate variables were grinded with difficulty because no one in power wants to have an open, standardized conversation about how much money these young men generate while under the title of ‘amateur’.

USC ranked 14th with a profit of $33 Million on $68 Million in net revenues. The only Pac-10 school included in the list, it was determined to be 62% more valuable than any other school in the conference.

A friend of mine married an NFL-drafted player right after they both graduated from college. After their wedding, she couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t sending out his thank you notes to their guests. She found out that he barely knew how to read.

During the years when these athletes could be making money for their futures, the NCAA ‘s policies constrain them from doing just that while having negligible impact in assuring the strength of their academic pursuits. The players’ only protection in the event of career-ending injuries are two insurance policies…that the NCAA endorses. There is no trust of any kind that is established. No participation in the institutional endowments that reach into the combined billions of dollars. The reality that these players can take advantage of their prime athletic years, as LeBron James did when he went pro after high school, and return to academic pursuits later in life, as my parents did in their 50s, is never presented as an option to these gifted but naïve warriors. They are impressed with the vision of ‘transferable skills’ for participating as a student-athlete, backed by a threat of retaliation if they don’t participate in the arena under the terms of the dominus.

It’s a perfect fit that Reggie plays for the New Orleans Saints. The wounded but beautiful city that condemns the powerful by its existence and the wounded and beautiful warrior who has been derided for playing the game by his own rules are a great match.

Quote of the Blog from Ed, Dude of Light and Fog, after our Samoan security forces were outfitted with new trucker hats with our logo on them: “I told Ima that he looked like a dandy, then I took off running.”