Pearl's Situation and the State of College Sports

[otisco]

That article made me very angry. Mushnick uses Pearl as a convenient "example" to write about an issue that apparently bothers him. The problem is ... it is not a good example. Pearl is not homeless or destitute or friendless. He has a home, he has a fiancee, he has friends, and he had a job until the cancer returned this summer. He also has the love of an entire community.

I was with Pearl at an event in the 1000 Islands this summer, one week before the recurrence of his brain cancer. He was the guest of Jim Boeheim at the event, and he definitely was not destitute or friendless. He was surrounded by people who adored him and cared about him.

Brandon Steiner, who is a warm-hearted and very generous human being, become aware that Pearl needed things that were not covered by medical insurance. Very expensive things. And he launched the fund-raising campaign because he knew there would be many people who would want to help. So far, more than 500 people have responded. (And Brandon would probably not want me to say this, but he personally gave considerable aid to Pearl before starting the public campaign).

If Pearl had been abandoned by SU and the people around it, those hundreds of people would not be reaching out to help him. And he would not have been JB's guest at a very nice party in the 1000 Islands.

You should copy and paste this well-written post into an email to Mushnick.

 

[RF2044]

What a hack job. The only "disgust-raising story" is the piece he just authored, which jumps to numerous sensationalist conclusions without fact checking.

Reprehensible.

 

[Moontan]

I'm afraid I'm responsible for this travesty. Couple of days ago I emailed Mike Vaccaro of the Post to advise him of Pearl's situation and the Go Fund Me website. I picked Vaccaro because I knew he had written articles in the past about Pearl. Was hoping to get the donation site some pub. He wrote back - a very nice - short email. Looks like he gave that tool Mushnick the info. Mushnick then does his whole negative thing using Pearl as the poster boy. Both Mushnick and Vaccaro have received some unpleasant emails this morning. My bad.

I just sent Mushnick an email as well.

Cheap shots at Pearl and the student-athlete system in general.

If I read the article right, SU should've kept Pearl from leaving early so that he had a chance to graduate.

 

[CusefanATL]

I just sent Mushnick an email as well.

Cheap shots at Pearl and the student-athlete system in general.

If I read the article right, SU should've kept Pearl from leaving early so that he had a chance to graduate.

I believe I read Pearl came back after retiring to finish his degree anyway.

 

[Cowtown]

Fortunately, scrolling through this thread saved me from reading it and getting all testy. Not like I need the help ...

 

[JoeSU]

I'm afraid I'm responsible for this travesty. Couple of days ago I emailed Mike Vaccaro of the Post to advise him of Pearl's situation and the Go Fund Me website. I picked Vaccaro because I knew he had written articles in the past about Pearl. Was hoping to get the donation site some pub. He wrote back - a very nice - short email. Looks like he gave that tool Mushnick the info. Mushnick then does his whole negative thing using Pearl as the poster boy. Both Mushnick and Vaccaro have received some unpleasant emails this morning. My bad.

Your heart was most definitely in the right place. No need to apologize.
Mushnick is a dickhead.

 

[Consigliere]

Whatever you think...it's an important issue for college sports fans.
But under the circumstances it's sad to see Pearl as the basis for the argument.

http://nypost.com/2016/01/25/how-pearl-washingtons-sad-story-shows-how-we-dispose-of-ncaa-stars/

Stopped reading at "is believed to be destitute." First of all, he's not by any definition destitute. Second, you're reporter. You don't say "is believed to be" you investigate. Lazy reference to Pearl's situation to promote a BS agenda.