Trey Burke complains of leaving Michigan poorly fed and poorly prepared for pro life
This was rather disappointing to read...
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2016/10/trey_burke_complains_…
October 24th, 2016 at 6:59 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 7:23 PM ^
When did I say I support that? Both models are exploitative.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:58 PM ^
Because you seem to lack the understanding of "indentured servitude." Playing a sport in college where you get a free ride because of it vs. paying off loans at $1000/month for the next 30 years (now only 20 for me) is a gross miscalculation of the term.
October 24th, 2016 at 8:22 PM ^
Major college athletics programs derive the benefit of employees' services without having to compensate them like employees. They also impose restrictions on their ability to earn other income or offer their services to others. They make it difficult for them to transition to other employers (e.g., the one year transfer eligibility rule). They even impose restrictions on their ability to dispose of what little tangible compensation they do receive (e.g., rules against selling championship rings and bowl gifts). Those are textbook indicators of indentured servitude. And historically, not all indentured servants were forced into labor. Many of them entered into servitude contracts willingly in exchange for passage to other lands (e.g., early European immigrants to North America).
Also, your argument seems to be that college athletes who aren't paid their fair market value shouldn't complain because you had it worse than they do. That doesn't strike me as a particularly compelling line of reasoning.
October 25th, 2016 at 1:19 PM ^
Also, your argument seems to be that college athletes who aren't paid their fair market value shouldn't complain because you had it worse than they do. That doesn't strike me as a particularly compelling line of reasoning.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^
October 24th, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^
better than 90% of most Americans. Cry me a river you aren't eating enough. The o-line for UM doesn't look underfed and Peppers is doing just fine living off his government cheese and peanut butter.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:10 PM ^
That's fine coming from you since you're not profiting from his labor, but I think Mark Emmert and Jim Delany would have the same reaction, which is pretty hypocritical given where the money for their filet mignon dinners comes from. Trey might come off as whiny and entitled, but does he look worse than the fatcats who get rich from his talents and then have the nerve to lecture him and his peers about amateurism?
October 24th, 2016 at 6:58 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 7:20 PM ^
How much could someone like Trey Burke command on the free market for his talents? If all of the artificial restraints on his ability to receive fair market value for his services were abolished (like the prohibition on him accepting something as trivial as a free steak dinner, let alone the lucrative corporate sponsorships and endorsement deals his coaches are free to negotiate), do you think Michigan could get away with paying him only $60,000 a year?
You're quick to point out how valuable a free education is, but you ignore how much the NCAA oligarchs are able to inflate their own profits by denying players the ability to realize their fair market value, all under the guise of amateurism.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:45 PM ^
There is no rule stopping him from going to the NBA out of high school. I did a diary on this a few years ago. Only 1% of college basketball players EVER play in the pros. Of those that do, the average career is 2.5 years. So 99% of players get a free education in D1 schools and a free degree. The 1% has to "slum it" for 1 to 2 years eating "jail food" before making a minimum of $525,000.
Your argument rings false, much like your "indentured servitude" comment. Your logic is that because the people and institutions who create a market for individuals to showcase their talents make a lot of money, then the participants are somehow entitled to a piece of that market. No one forced Trey Burke to go to college. If his talents were so grand out of high school, well - then be the next Kobe or Lebron. They weren't and so he entered the amateur marketplace where he could showcase his talents and prove his worth. He could leave after 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, or even 5 years with a graduate degree. He left after 2 and made a guaranteed $11 MILLION dollars in a 4 year contract with the Jazz. For the 99% that do not go pro, they leave college with upwards of $200-300k of education and no debt.
So, because the Big Ten makes a ton of money, Trey Burke deserves a cut? For as much as you seem to hate the idea of amateurism in sport, why not just start a minor league? Hell, do what they do in soccer in the rest of the world - create a bunch of under 18 leagues and eliminate the schools entirely. But you can't do that because NOBODY WOULD WATCH IT. Without the alumni bases and local/regional affiliations to the schools because these are institutions that people care about, you'd find out that it's not about the player playing the game but about the institution itself. Take away the amateurism and you take away most people's casual relationship to the sport - that these players are students just like they were. Pretty sure you won't find a whole lot of people supporting the Professional Minor League University of Michigan Basketball Team.
October 24th, 2016 at 8:18 PM ^
Actually, there is a rule stopping them from doing that. Since 2005, high schoolers can no longer jump straight to the NBA. In order to be eligible to sign with an NBA team, they must be at least 19 years old and at least one year removed from high school. The league negotiated that restriction in its 2005 collective bargaining agreement at the urging of the NCAA. So jumping straight to the pros is no longer an option, even for a player as talented as LeBron.
October 24th, 2016 at 9:31 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 7:46 PM ^
And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pay $60,000 for Ricky Doyle's two years at Michigan. So what does that leave him with? No degree and debt. But at least the stars get theirs!
October 25th, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^
How much could someone like Trey Burke command on the free market for his talents?
He chose not to find out.
Odds are - way less than the cost of a Michigan scholarship.
He could go to the NBA D league straight out of HS. They have 3 salary tiers: $13K, $19K, and $25K.
He could go to Europe or China - but they probably wouldn't pay any better.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:09 PM ^
He wouldn't have this problem here :)
October 24th, 2016 at 6:53 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 5:09 PM ^
Most of us had to pay to eat that "prison food" in college. Similar to what Napier said when he was at UCONN. There is almost always at least 1 cafeteria per neighborhood that is open until midnight and one that opens at 7am. I can't think of an excuse to not eat. I woke up at 6am to workout and would go back to my dorm around 9pm some days after classes or workouts and I could always get a meal. Plus, the student athlete centers always have food accessible in there, not to mention even non-revenue producing sports like rowing have fruit, snack bars, and chocolate milk provided immediately after practice. You want to go grab a sandwich at Zingerman's? So do I. But instead I'll go to the cafeteria and where I can get an all you can eat buffet. Plus, CHOCOLATE MILK!
October 24th, 2016 at 5:14 PM ^
well slap my ass and call me sally!
October 24th, 2016 at 5:19 PM ^
But I'm not slapping me some koala butt. PETA would have me up on charges.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:21 PM ^
Man I LOVED the dorm food, especially the breakfast. Omlette bar, all the cereal, but really, how can you not love waffles with block M's on them?!?!
I never understood people complaining about the dorm food. There is always something you can make for yourself and I usually really liked the hot meals they made. And you can eat pretty much whenever you want without having to cook. I want to eat dorm food right now.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:51 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 5:22 PM ^
Don't athletes have their own cafeteria, which generally has better food? At a very minimum for breakfast the cafeteria's have milk and cereal if you don't like prepared food.
The article gives almost no context so I would have to hold judgement, but it seems at the very least tone deaf considering their were kids paying full tuition to eat that food while he was on scholarship.
Also, are there not tons of opportunities for athletes to get financial education? I remember some Ross students around 2009/2010 time even had a start up helping athletes with this exact thing, if I recall Brandon Graham was one of their first clients. I know the NFL also has rookie workshops of somekind where they teach these things, I assume the NBA has something similar.
I need a little more context on these quotes, they seem to be click-baitey snippets that might sound worse out of context.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:22 PM ^
Without Trey, our basketball resurgence doesn't happen. Without him, we don't hang this banner
As far as I'm concerned, he's given more than enough to Michigan, and he's entitled to his opinions
October 24th, 2016 at 5:31 PM ^
Who cares? That doesn't mean he's immune to criticism.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:57 PM ^
Furthermore, you're the same guy that gets upset every time someone brings up a fair complaint about Beilein yet you act like he's "immune to criticism"
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October 24th, 2016 at 5:58 PM ^
Furthermore, you're the same guy that gets upset every time someone brings up a fair complaint about Beilein yet you act like he's "immune to criticism"
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October 24th, 2016 at 5:33 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 5:55 PM ^
Burke goes to Penn State, with or without a degree by now and never an NBA lottery pick. He came out of the situation pretty damn well but apparently they didn't cover balance sheets either.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:01 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 8:17 PM ^
October 24th, 2016 at 6:38 PM ^
October 24th, 2016 at 6:49 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 5:26 PM ^
Like when they helped Trey out with his DUI?
October 24th, 2016 at 5:35 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 5:42 PM ^
I mean, whatever. It's a weird, disjointed interview. But if Burke really hated the prison food at UM (which seems unlikely considering I remember serving football and basketball players in South Quad in the early 00's and it sure seemed fine) and thought he wasn't prepared for the NBA, then that's his opinion. By all accounts, it sure sounds like other players thought UM was good for them. Maybe Burke is just bothered by the fact his game hasn't quite translated to the NBA and he's basically treated as a bench player after being a star.
I will say, I don't get the argument about financial planning. I mean, there are classes that you can take about economics and basic math. It isn't that hard to figure out you set aside X in one fund, Y in a diversified portfolio, Z you spend how you want, you'll be fine. Plus, most NBA teams nowadays provide access to these services when you are drafted precisely because handing 22-year-olds $10M isn't going to end well more times than not.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:47 PM ^
What was his major ?
October 24th, 2016 at 5:58 PM ^
per mgoblue.com, Undecided, but enrolled in the School of Kinesiology
October 24th, 2016 at 5:47 PM ^
You know what, piss on him. Take some responsibility for your life, dude. He says he was "checked out" his sophomore season, after which he left, at age what? 20?
He's getting a gratis $60k/year education that he 'checks out' on and then complains about the food?
I have no compassion for people who fail to avail themselves of immense opportunities, like getting a free degree from school like Michigan, then complain about their circumstances.
His pro career hasn't gone well and it sounds like he has sour grapes about that, but maybe if he'd stayed and availed himself of that free education, a year or two more of free basketball tutelage, and some of those free "jail food" breakfasts, for which the VAST majority of students are paying, he'd be in a better situation.
What an ingrate.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:49 PM ^
October 24th, 2016 at 5:53 PM ^
It's just as obvious he came in poorly prepared. If you aren't willing to give anythig more than your freshmna year, and based on this, who knows how engaged he was. He had his opportunity to buy in, listen and learn, but when you fail to do the first, the second is almost always in impossibility. Good player. Start a saving account young man. Compound interest is a good thing.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:02 PM ^
The incongruity of the suggestion that coaches should take care of personal issues for players with the statement that Michigan didn't prepare him to handle the real world is really a special kind of entitled.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:04 PM ^
October 24th, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 6:22 PM ^
I feel terrible for Trey. I hope he can make it through the rest of the life Michigan hasn't provided for him. Fuck off.
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October 24th, 2016 at 6:34 PM ^
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October 24th, 2016 at 6:27 PM ^
1) Dorm food at most universities really sucks, Trey...
2) It's not Michgan's (or any other university) job to do this for you...it is their job to provide you with the opportunities.and the resources...it's YOUR job, Trey, to listen and learn and take appropriate advice.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:47 PM ^
October 24th, 2016 at 6:48 PM ^
Ever hear Charles Woodson publicly bitch about their preparedness or the food at Michigan? Or Denard Robinson? Or Glen Rice?
More than a small part of me wants to say "F off" to Trey.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:49 PM ^