NCAA president Mark Emmert is far from the most popular person in the sports world following a comment he made today at the Intercollegiate Athletics Forum.
Emmert's organization has undergone some radical changes this year, none more so than the revamped rules over athletes' name, image and likeness, which allows them to profit off sponsorships and other opportunities while in school.
With those opportunities come numerous complications and other issues to work through, for sure. The effects have been pretty swift, and this offseason we've seen a crazy leap forward in coach pay, at the same time that players are cashing in for the first time. That likely creates some headaches for school presidents and athletic directors.
During the forum today, Emmert made a groan-inducing statement to that end. “Being a university president is the hardest job in America,” he said, per Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger.
Before his role with the NCAA, Emmert served as LSU's chancellor and the president of his alma mater, the University of Washington. While that job may be more complex than it once was, making that statement is pretty ridiculous, if not insulting given the incredible hardships that other jobs face amid the continued spread of COVID-19.
It's no surprise that the reaction to Emmert's statement has been overwhelmingly negative.
“In my 11 years, it has never been this difficult,” Emmert said. “The stakes have been raised in so many ways. When you have these moves, it disrupts a lot. That's really problematic.”
Those complications still pale in comparison to issues facing many far lower-paying careers throughout the world, though.
