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EAST LANSING — It wasn’t a typical Tom Izzo end-of-season news conference. He barely mentioned Michigan State basketball’s run to the Elite Eight, an 11th Big Ten title and No. 7 final ranking with a 30-7 record.
Instead, Izzo used Wednesday afternoon to provide much more of a background about “dealing with the experiences that we're all going through.” A state of disunion discussion, if you will, about the ills plaguing college sports.
The pitfalls and lack of transparency with big money being paid to athletes. The instability of the transfer portal. The NCAA’s inability to create guardrails for anything.
The present problems of college athletics and Izzo’s future amid his ongoing and mounting concerns.
“We've created a bad system,” Izzo said. “We — you can look at all of you, you can look at me, you can look at administrators, you can look at the NCAA. There's been a bad system created by the adults, and the players are being forced to navigate that, with most of the public attention focused on the negative things of it.
“It's not specific to Michigan State. But it more reflects the problems we're having in everything in sports right now.”
The 70-year-old Izzo used his platform as a 30-year Hall of Fame coach with 45 years of experience in the industry to deliver his insight into the rapid and reckless evolution he and others are trying to make sense of as it changes. He summed up how the situation came to be with two phrases: “preventative management” and “crisis management.”
“We didn't do a very good job, in my mind, as adults, as the people that are supposed to know better. We didn't do a very good job and the preparation of this,” he said. “And so now, we are dealing with the crisis of it.”
Izzo pointed to a number of other issues revolving around his game and the rest of the college sports landscape, as well as why he has not walked away.
“I still have a passion. I still have energy. I still want to make a difference. I still want to help kids live their dream, that I got to live mine. All the right reasons. I gave in last year to begging the committees, then it hits you again. I mean, it's not getting better, it's getting worse. But it hasn't gotten so bad where I'm ready to give into what a lot of people think I should give in to. I'm still fist-fighting the fight. …
“I think I struggle sometimes to figure out who am I fighting, where am I fighting, and for what reason am I fighting. That's hard. I'm jumping in on anything I can jump in on, if it helps. But I'm not sure I understand that. So I've eliminated some of them, and I'm just trying to stay focused.”
RELATED: Tom Izzo reflects on Michigan State basketball's departing transfers and what he wants next
“I get to do something that few people get to do. I get to be in a locker room when a guy is crying that's supposed to be this mountain of a man, and he's crying because he just lost an Elite Eight game. And I've gotten a chance to sit in a green room and watch a kid fulfill a lifetime dream of getting to the NBA and watching his family and his world change. And I keep thinking of myself, living your dream. So I'm still living the dream. Is it a little bit foggy? Hell yeah, it is. Is it a little bit harder to navigate? Hell yeah, it is.
“So what do I do? I call Jonathan (Smith), call Adam (Nightingale), I call different coaches. I call coaches all over the country that I don't even know, just to get a feel, just to get some information, just to get some help. 'How are you dealing with it? What are you doing better?' When I quit doing that, I probably hang it up. But I got no interest in hanging it up when I still have the passion, the love for the game. And I've said this — I absolutely love my day-to-day dealings with my players. I love my job. I love the university I work for. I have not respected my profession as much, because I don't think we've done a good enough job of helping our people navigate these problems. And we've caused some of the problems that went certain ways, too.”
“Everybody says, 'Well, get this while you can, get that while you can.' When players that 10-15 years ago left my program, the few that I've had, and then come back? It must have told you that wherever they went, it wasn't as good as where they are. And again, we're not perfect. But the thought of a kid ever leaving here and me not caring about the kid? Every kid that left here this year, some I knew were leaving, some I was a little surprised. But every kid that left, I'm still gonna to support. Call AJ (Hoggard), I supported him in the tournament game. I think you'd be surprised as you find out what different kids are like when they leave.
“How we're going to continue to move forward? That's the adults. We have judges, we have lawyers, we have congressmen that are trying to work on this to figure it out. We've lost some good coaches. I think some good players have made bad decisions, and some players have made phenomenal decisions. That's the 50-50, chance. … I'm a little nervous that I think you're going to find more coaches, they're gonna get rid of guys because they're gonna figure it the other way. If it's gonna get like the pro thing, then let's not try to make you better, let's get rid of you. Let's go get another guy that's better than you. And I just think that's gonna lead to a chaotic situation that I don't feel good about.”
“I hear fans are mad that we're not in the portal when I got a national championship to try to (chase). I understand that. I understand some (coaches) are doing both. I understand that. I'm not good enough to do both, I'm just not good enough. I'm not good enough to figure out who's leaving where before they put their name in. And so I said, ‘Let's keep our ears open for things, let's look at things, but let's spend 90% of the time giving our players, our parents, our fans ... a chance to really accomplish something that you only get a few times in your life.’ You're a No. 2 seed — that means whether we think we're that good or not, we got a legitimate chance. And I had people out there mad at me for not being in the portal? Sorry.”
“I also know — know, positively know — that people are talking to people all year long. If that happens on my staff, people will be gone. But it's not only staffs. It's the fact that we've opened it up to what we call NIL agents, which are non-certified. Some are good and some are not good. But when you're trying to play in a season and people are in your ear ... it's very difficult.
“The problem is, unless you're messing with people, how do you know who's transferring? Now, we can sit here and say, 'Well, you're naive.' I'm not naive, I'm not naive. I'm really not. And I'm not old-school, I'm really not. I just think there's a process, there's a right way to do things. And I'm gonna do them the right way. If that doesn't work out, I'm cool with that.”
“It's very difficult. It's new for all of us. And it's going to sound like I don't know what I'm talking about. First of all, those of you that write or say or listen to people say, ‘Izzo doesn't want to get in the transfer portal. Izzo doesn't want players getting paid.’ I mean, we're in the transfer portal, we've been in the transfer portal. We pay players. A lot more than most of you know and a lot less than what's going on out there. …
“Contrary to popular belief, because I've spoken out, I am in no way, shape or form against players making money. At all. I am a fan of (having) some guardrails, which is prevalent in every single job in America. There is guardrails on every job — what you make, what I make, what the NBA makes, what hockey and football and everybody else makes. The system was set up without any proper guidelines. It has not helped any players make decisions. They're left to get middlemen and other people involved in in their life. I don't think parents could know what they're doing. Because I'm on every committee known to mankind, and as a coach, I barely know what's going on.
“The pressure with no transparency is off the charts. These kids are under pressure from the day the season starts. The only thing that I completely object to — that doesn't happen, I don't think in pro sports — is this constant meddling with our players throughout the year by whoever. I don't know, I can't put my finger on it, I just know it's happening. It's made it hurtful and, even worse, confusing for the players.”
“Quit the Twitter wars. Quit getting into these people's families' minds and what they're doing. It's not helping anybody. Spend more time maybe calling the NCAA, (conference) commissioners, our government in Washington, DC, to try to figure out how to help something that has gotten a little bit out of control. … I'm asking you to ask our fans to quit bashing our players on social media, if they left to go to another school, if they left to go to the NBA, if they left to go to war. …
“I am going to try to protect (players). I hate Twitter, so I don't think I'll be getting any NIL deals with Twitter. I really don't give a damn. I think it's disgusting what they do to these human beings. And I just want us to be different at Michigan State. If we can't be, that's that's your prerogative, but I'm gonna be.”
“Everybody's worried about their brand. I mean, that is a big thing now, 'My brand.' It's all I hear about is, 'My brand.' Let me tell you something: This is a damn good brand that's been tested over time. It's a damn good brand. And some that have left the brand - not the team, not the program, the brand — they've come back. And maybe it's taken five years, maybe it's taken 10 years. Why do they come back? I love the brand. I never left here because of the brand. I think it can help a lot of people be successful.
“If there's a better brand that can help them, if there's a better coach that's gonna spend more time with them, do a better job with them, get them more minutes or jump shots or touchdown passes or whatever, then you gotta do what you got to do. But just remember, this is a competitive world. And if you're not quite good enough here, then you get some of those things, how about rolling up your sleeves and going to work? Because you're gonna have to do that wherever you go if you're going to accomplish your ultimate goals. And that's kind of the way I look at it.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo: College sports navigating crisis of 'bad system' it created
Continue reading...
Instead, Izzo used Wednesday afternoon to provide much more of a background about “dealing with the experiences that we're all going through.” A state of disunion discussion, if you will, about the ills plaguing college sports.
The pitfalls and lack of transparency with big money being paid to athletes. The instability of the transfer portal. The NCAA’s inability to create guardrails for anything.
The present problems of college athletics and Izzo’s future amid his ongoing and mounting concerns.
You must be registered for see images attach
“We've created a bad system,” Izzo said. “We — you can look at all of you, you can look at me, you can look at administrators, you can look at the NCAA. There's been a bad system created by the adults, and the players are being forced to navigate that, with most of the public attention focused on the negative things of it.
“It's not specific to Michigan State. But it more reflects the problems we're having in everything in sports right now.”
The 70-year-old Izzo used his platform as a 30-year Hall of Fame coach with 45 years of experience in the industry to deliver his insight into the rapid and reckless evolution he and others are trying to make sense of as it changes. He summed up how the situation came to be with two phrases: “preventative management” and “crisis management.”
“We didn't do a very good job, in my mind, as adults, as the people that are supposed to know better. We didn't do a very good job and the preparation of this,” he said. “And so now, we are dealing with the crisis of it.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Izzo pointed to a number of other issues revolving around his game and the rest of the college sports landscape, as well as why he has not walked away.
Tom Izzo on why he continues to coach
“I still have a passion. I still have energy. I still want to make a difference. I still want to help kids live their dream, that I got to live mine. All the right reasons. I gave in last year to begging the committees, then it hits you again. I mean, it's not getting better, it's getting worse. But it hasn't gotten so bad where I'm ready to give into what a lot of people think I should give in to. I'm still fist-fighting the fight. …
“I think I struggle sometimes to figure out who am I fighting, where am I fighting, and for what reason am I fighting. That's hard. I'm jumping in on anything I can jump in on, if it helps. But I'm not sure I understand that. So I've eliminated some of them, and I'm just trying to stay focused.”
You must be registered for see images attach
RELATED: Tom Izzo reflects on Michigan State basketball's departing transfers and what he wants next
On adapting to the changes
“I get to do something that few people get to do. I get to be in a locker room when a guy is crying that's supposed to be this mountain of a man, and he's crying because he just lost an Elite Eight game. And I've gotten a chance to sit in a green room and watch a kid fulfill a lifetime dream of getting to the NBA and watching his family and his world change. And I keep thinking of myself, living your dream. So I'm still living the dream. Is it a little bit foggy? Hell yeah, it is. Is it a little bit harder to navigate? Hell yeah, it is.
“So what do I do? I call Jonathan (Smith), call Adam (Nightingale), I call different coaches. I call coaches all over the country that I don't even know, just to get a feel, just to get some information, just to get some help. 'How are you dealing with it? What are you doing better?' When I quit doing that, I probably hang it up. But I got no interest in hanging it up when I still have the passion, the love for the game. And I've said this — I absolutely love my day-to-day dealings with my players. I love my job. I love the university I work for. I have not respected my profession as much, because I don't think we've done a good enough job of helping our people navigate these problems. And we've caused some of the problems that went certain ways, too.”
On the transfer portal, which he says “is open 24/7, 365 days a year” regardless of rules
“Everybody says, 'Well, get this while you can, get that while you can.' When players that 10-15 years ago left my program, the few that I've had, and then come back? It must have told you that wherever they went, it wasn't as good as where they are. And again, we're not perfect. But the thought of a kid ever leaving here and me not caring about the kid? Every kid that left here this year, some I knew were leaving, some I was a little surprised. But every kid that left, I'm still gonna to support. Call AJ (Hoggard), I supported him in the tournament game. I think you'd be surprised as you find out what different kids are like when they leave.
“How we're going to continue to move forward? That's the adults. We have judges, we have lawyers, we have congressmen that are trying to work on this to figure it out. We've lost some good coaches. I think some good players have made bad decisions, and some players have made phenomenal decisions. That's the 50-50, chance. … I'm a little nervous that I think you're going to find more coaches, they're gonna get rid of guys because they're gonna figure it the other way. If it's gonna get like the pro thing, then let's not try to make you better, let's get rid of you. Let's go get another guy that's better than you. And I just think that's gonna lead to a chaotic situation that I don't feel good about.”
You must be registered for see images attach
On his comments about the portal opening during the NCAA tournament
“I hear fans are mad that we're not in the portal when I got a national championship to try to (chase). I understand that. I understand some (coaches) are doing both. I understand that. I'm not good enough to do both, I'm just not good enough. I'm not good enough to figure out who's leaving where before they put their name in. And so I said, ‘Let's keep our ears open for things, let's look at things, but let's spend 90% of the time giving our players, our parents, our fans ... a chance to really accomplish something that you only get a few times in your life.’ You're a No. 2 seed — that means whether we think we're that good or not, we got a legitimate chance. And I had people out there mad at me for not being in the portal? Sorry.”
On tampering in college sports
“I also know — know, positively know — that people are talking to people all year long. If that happens on my staff, people will be gone. But it's not only staffs. It's the fact that we've opened it up to what we call NIL agents, which are non-certified. Some are good and some are not good. But when you're trying to play in a season and people are in your ear ... it's very difficult.
“The problem is, unless you're messing with people, how do you know who's transferring? Now, we can sit here and say, 'Well, you're naive.' I'm not naive, I'm not naive. I'm really not. And I'm not old-school, I'm really not. I just think there's a process, there's a right way to do things. And I'm gonna do them the right way. If that doesn't work out, I'm cool with that.”
You must be registered for see images attach
On colleges paying athletes
“It's very difficult. It's new for all of us. And it's going to sound like I don't know what I'm talking about. First of all, those of you that write or say or listen to people say, ‘Izzo doesn't want to get in the transfer portal. Izzo doesn't want players getting paid.’ I mean, we're in the transfer portal, we've been in the transfer portal. We pay players. A lot more than most of you know and a lot less than what's going on out there. …
“Contrary to popular belief, because I've spoken out, I am in no way, shape or form against players making money. At all. I am a fan of (having) some guardrails, which is prevalent in every single job in America. There is guardrails on every job — what you make, what I make, what the NBA makes, what hockey and football and everybody else makes. The system was set up without any proper guidelines. It has not helped any players make decisions. They're left to get middlemen and other people involved in in their life. I don't think parents could know what they're doing. Because I'm on every committee known to mankind, and as a coach, I barely know what's going on.
“The pressure with no transparency is off the charts. These kids are under pressure from the day the season starts. The only thing that I completely object to — that doesn't happen, I don't think in pro sports — is this constant meddling with our players throughout the year by whoever. I don't know, I can't put my finger on it, I just know it's happening. It's made it hurtful and, even worse, confusing for the players.”
On his issues with social media
“Quit the Twitter wars. Quit getting into these people's families' minds and what they're doing. It's not helping anybody. Spend more time maybe calling the NCAA, (conference) commissioners, our government in Washington, DC, to try to figure out how to help something that has gotten a little bit out of control. … I'm asking you to ask our fans to quit bashing our players on social media, if they left to go to another school, if they left to go to the NBA, if they left to go to war. …
“I am going to try to protect (players). I hate Twitter, so I don't think I'll be getting any NIL deals with Twitter. I really don't give a damn. I think it's disgusting what they do to these human beings. And I just want us to be different at Michigan State. If we can't be, that's that's your prerogative, but I'm gonna be.”
You must be registered for see images
On what he wants his MSU program to be
“Everybody's worried about their brand. I mean, that is a big thing now, 'My brand.' It's all I hear about is, 'My brand.' Let me tell you something: This is a damn good brand that's been tested over time. It's a damn good brand. And some that have left the brand - not the team, not the program, the brand — they've come back. And maybe it's taken five years, maybe it's taken 10 years. Why do they come back? I love the brand. I never left here because of the brand. I think it can help a lot of people be successful.
“If there's a better brand that can help them, if there's a better coach that's gonna spend more time with them, do a better job with them, get them more minutes or jump shots or touchdown passes or whatever, then you gotta do what you got to do. But just remember, this is a competitive world. And if you're not quite good enough here, then you get some of those things, how about rolling up your sleeves and going to work? Because you're gonna have to do that wherever you go if you're going to accomplish your ultimate goals. And that's kind of the way I look at it.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo: College sports navigating crisis of 'bad system' it created
Continue reading...
