Rep. Lee Hamilton, Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, Endorses Graduation Madness
Rep. Lee Hamilton, Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, Endorses Graduation Madness
As former co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, Lee Hamilton knows national security. He also knows basketball. In 1952, he “led his team” to the Final Four, and was later inducted into Indiana’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Today, as the NCAA championship tournament begins, he announced his support for Graduation Madness:
As we tip off March Madness, it is important to remember that we’re rooting not just for our teams, but for the college athletes that make up those teams. We want them to win in the tournament and to continue to provide for this great country long after they leave the court. A college degree is fundamental to achieving that goal, which is why I so strongly support this effort. In fact, it’s madness not to support Graduation Madness.
The thinking behind Graduation Madness is simple: College athletics sponsors like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok make millions of dollars each year by adorning college athletes with their “swooshes” and other brand logos. Now, those corporations have an opportunity to help college athletes in the classroom. Graduation Madness encourages corporate athletics sponsors to start including incentives for academic performance in their sponsorship contracts. It’s an innovative, progressive way to harness market forces to improve the future for our country’s young athletes, the overwhelming majority of whom will go on to careers outside of sports.
Join us today — it’s a fight we can win.
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I think it would be good if we also highlighted the programs who are doing well – that’s one thing that these campaigns, while worthwhile, tend to ignore. They blast the programs that deserve to be criticized, but forget to praise the programs that should be praised.
March 16th, 2006 at 12:37 pmhow many college basketball players even know what the 9-11 commission is?
March 16th, 2006 at 12:37 pmWho cares about graduation madness?
College athletes get a free ride because they can play a little ball. If they don’t take advantage of this opportunity then screw them.
Instead of raising more money to help college athletes graduate, why don’t we raise money to make sure that there are as many academic scholarships as there are athletic scholarships.
Why not give the money to the people who are actually in college to get a degree, and not just to get noticed by NBA scouts?
March 16th, 2006 at 12:49 pmLee Hamiliton can kiss my ass. Mr. Podesta, your support of the man who gave the White House a pass after 9/11 is disgusting.
Mr. Hamilton is a fool. He and his fellow Democrats agreed to keep quiet during the 2004 campaign about the President’s negligence.
Don’t believe me? Here watch this.
Mr. Hamilton could have (and should have) as one of the co-chairs, should have called for the immediate resignation of Dr. Rice (and perhaps even the President).
March 16th, 2006 at 1:10 pmLee Hamilton has sold this country down the river.
March 16th, 2006 at 1:32 pmI am not impressed by Hamilton neither as politician and certainly not as a democrart .He should stick to basket ball > he is very good at blabering and no can do.
March 16th, 2006 at 1:41 pmRussian Report on 1980 ‘October Surprise’ Case
“The Russian assistance was requested on Oct. 21, 1992, by the House task force chairman, Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind. The Russian report asserted that the allegations of secret Republican negotiations with Iran were true. But the Russian report was never released by the task force, whose public findings reached the opposite conclusion.”
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/russianreport1980.html
March 16th, 2006 at 4:27 pmlee hamilton is a stooge.
boooooooooo!
March 16th, 2006 at 5:14 pmwhy would an “independent” commission appointed to investigate 9/11 agree to ANY conditions from the White House, EH?
March 16th, 2006 at 5:15 pmAsking Nike, adidas, and Reebok to “do something” about college academics is ridiculous. They’re easy to attack because they are big targets with a lot to lose. The responsiblity to uphold NCAA academic standards is on the student-athletes and their schools, not the athletic companies.
February 22nd, 2007 at 5:38 pm