Screw the Kaepernick talk, have you even heard about Lebron's $41 million pledge to send 1,100 kids to college?

exthrower wrote:

Coach wrote:

Blacks have reason to be angry and skeptical. I've seen many blacks, and Hispanics I should add, discriminated against. I've seen blacks wait for cabs forever, stopped on their way to job intetviews and my young runners harassed on their way to XC practice by cops. When I showed surprise they reminded me that it happens all the time. I believe them. A group of scrawny Latinos and blacks laughing as they run are a threat right? I understand why profiling exists and I believe that the majority of blacks who are no different than whites should do something about those who give them a bad name. But it's not paranoia.

Betcha you're Black....Don't lie now...

You know how (sometimes) when a letsrun.com poster dies, the Brojos write a little blog about them and people remember the good times? In your case, there might be a thread to celebrate your death. Heck, maybe we can even get a BLACK page on the front page... that would be deliciously ironic ;-)

FWIW, I'm white as can be.

Sorry to disappoint you, I'm white.

If you want to be cynical about it:

1. Most colleges these days costs more than $40,000/person, maybe it'll be invested? Maybe it's for certain specific colleges?

2. It won't really be helping the kids if they go to institutions with financial aid. If the college costs $40,000/yr and determines you owe them $20,000/yr for 4 years and you have a $10,000/yr scholarship, they'll put the scholarship towards the $20,000/yr they were going to cover and still ask you to pay $20,000/yr for 4 years. At least that is the way it used to work.

Anyhow I'm really just posting here to bump the thread because I think it's amazing that he's donated so much money to a worthy cause.

I would not get to cynical. I doubt LeBron is managing the finances of his foundation. Also, it's a partnership between his fund and the University of Akron. I'm sure the lawyers have some deal worked out. The bottom line is that some kids will benefit from the money and many more will see how much their hero values education.

Other than college being a net waste of money for a large segment of the population, this is a good idea.

But as is, it will just fund a bunch of ivory tower university employees to teach mostly useless stuff.

The real problem is out-of-control university costs and exponentiation of attendance, in the end paid for by the government, either by grants, or (post-Obamacare) federal "loans" that will likely never be repaid.

(Yes, Obamacare took over the college loan business. I guess it was a must-pass bill/law, so they threw all their dreams into it.)

At my own university (I am an academic), the union boasts that over 40 years it has doubled salary raises versus inflation (and/or other jobs). Basically the intellectualists have become much more relatively rich, both by social process and government conniving. (Admittedly, some sectors have probably accelerated even faster than academia.)

People with lots of money always end up giving a lot to charity (even proportionally). Universities would not be my choice either, though admittedly finding a decent "charity" when you want to donate that much is not easy, as the leeches in any organization will be sure to gobble up a significant portion of it (probably the majority).

From the uni standpoint, this is free money, and they will just reallocate the budget internally accordingly.

The real question is whether the University of Akron actually provides a useful education, and my guess (from experience with other unis) is that only about 10-20% of the 1100 will actually gain anything more than a party experience (and delayed life reality) for 4 years. At least they won't have debts.

exthrower wrote:

off base wrote:

LeBron is a big BLM supporter.

http://bit.ly/2ccuuNV

Kaepernick has done a lot for kids born with heart defects.

They are both good guys who stand up (or sit down) for what they believe in.

Two azzholes on steroids who propagate big lies.....That our country is systemically racist....

I would wager that Blacks are more racist than Whites...

I'm an old guy and can honestly say that I've NEVER seen a Black person discriminated against.....and I'm very perceptive.

Blacks are paranoid and dumb, a bad combination.

If you can't spot the crazy person on the bus, you are the crazy person.

I agree, the idea of money being a principal obstacle toward "sending kids to college" is a misnomer in today's world.

There are plenty of aid opportunities available to competent students, and Lebron's will just be another one in the mix.

For semi-competent students, they will always have to decide whether or not college is worth it, and Lebron's money will have an effect on decreasing the costs for some (though probably due to an economic reconfiguration process, the tendency would be to raise costs minutely across the board: all "found money" has this aspect, as admins get paid more, etc).

Congratulations you win most miserable person of the year. It takes a special kind of idiot to criticize someone who pledged millions of dollars to a very worthy cause for not giving the money to what you perceive as a better cause.

When someone invents a cure for aids are you going to call them out for not having put their efforts into finding a cure for cancer since cancer affects more people?

Ton of it wrote:

I do wonder if only providing tutu ion will be enough. Books cost a lot of money. I would hate to see a lot of kids get into the program and not be able to complete it because they could not afford books or other items. Could these kids be eligible for student loans to cover other expenses while in the program?

As long as they meet federal requirements they should be able to recieve loans, I received a good deal of academic aid last year but still qualified for loans.

Forget textbooks no one pays for them anymore! Everyone has a friend who can slide them a pdf. The only academic materials I paid for this year were access codes for online homework which totaled $100 for the year.

My real fear would be rent/cost of living which is easily another $5000 that won't be covered by this scholarship. I guess that is what other scholarships/summer jobs/student loans are for.

This is funny because it is is true!

We don't give two sheeits about the global poor. Let 'em figure it out for themselves. Never forget that.

I had heard of it. He promoted it on the Daily Show.

His projected salary for 2016 is $77 million

Not doubt the donated money goes through a qualified 501 organization and he is keeping meticulous records.

Good for him. But count me unimpressed. Under privileged youth would be better off on the whole if we just eliminated charitable tax deductions and use the money to reduce payroll taxes and expand the standard deduction.

You should quit the nasty-running-forum business and start a Good News website and I don't mean religion.

Just make a site devoted only to news about good things! Ignore bad news, and state plainly that you don't deny it exists, just that it's overrepresented and you're balancing things out.

At least Lebron can afford this plan, unlike Michael Scott.

A lot of you are missing the pt here. Lebron came back to Cleveland because he grew up in Akron and wants to invest in the community. His pledge is to cover college costs for kids who attend the University of Akron. When he came back he published an (extremely well-written) essay that ended:

"But this is not about the roster or the organization. I feel my calling here goes above basketball. I have a responsibility to lead, in more ways than one, and I take that very seriously. My presence can make a difference in Miami, but I think it can mean more where I’m from. I want kids in Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of Akron third-graders I sponsor through my foundation, to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the talent it can get.

In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.

I’m ready to accept the challenge. I’m coming home."

This brings it full circle. i wasn't a fan when he went to the Heat. When he comes back, wins it for Cleveland, and does this?! All the while remaining as scandal-free and well-meaning as possible?! This is a mature, incredibly generous athlete, and he deserves a huge round of applause from all you critics.

What does it have to do with diverting people from prison? That all depends upon whether he is offering to pay the way of poor kids, middle class kids, or rich kids. Why would he offer to pay for rich kids whose families could afford college? So, assuming he's not doing that, it would be more likely that he'd do this for poor kids than middle class kids. Poor kids have a far greater chance of ending up in prison. Follow the logic.

you are way off base. Professors have lost substantially by reference both to inflation and to the proportion of TT faculty over that time period. Obamacare has nothing to do with student loans. And university degrees bring very, very substantial bumps in lifetime earnings over high school degrees.

Agreed. While I'm sure his pledge will help the recipients of his generosity, the bigger problem is that as long as people (be they upper middle class professionals, the federal government, or sports superstars) keep writing checks to these institutions, they'll keep finding ways to waste other people's money.