Weitsman comments

[im4cuse]

When he left SU and went to the NBA, he became more about activism, and I always felt he harbored some deeper ill will towards SU, or JB, etc. As I stated in another post, he seemed to distance himself from the program almost immediately. He’s still one of my favorite players to ever don the Orange jersey. Just not sure about his true agenda with SU.

Butt hurt Georgetown didnt offer

 

[Zelda Zonk]

What Etan said in that OP: doesn't really have anything to do with whether he donates or not. What he said may or may not be true or justified. But, he's a talking head now, and so that's what he does. Talks. Stirs. Whatever.

That said, the discussion turned to whether or not he has the 'right' to express what he expressed, if he doesn't donate himself. I don't think that question is valid and it has nothing to do with how much he made in the NBA.

• People, no matter what their bank balance says, can have a principled stance against this current NIL system.
• With former SU/college players, pre-NIL—he and Devo, et al—I can understand why some might object to paying college kids. They played for scholarships and a chance to prove themselves to a professional platform. Sending 2025 college kids thousands of dollars so they can preen on instagram with their Chopard Rodeo Drive purchases might seem... objectionable.
• No one knows what is in another person's bank account, despite what the public figures on their career earnings are.

I've said before that i'm not paying into NIL. I counter that with saying that i won't complain about who does or doesn't or how much is there. I have my own reasons, most notably what i just wrote, but also in the grand scheme of things, if i actually had monies to donate somewhere, i'd put them into other causes well before college sports. That's just my thinking and my reasoning, and i can have that perspective and also thank those who do monetarily support our teams, and also recognize that they may be also supporting other (more) worthy causes.

This situation with Adam... i wish there were a way to re-broker peace and an arrangement that benefits everyone. I don't blame him for wanting a personal/social media benefit from putting money into/around our team. It's ROI. It's an opportunity. I don't care. While i did think some of the guests stuff was 'odd' or ungraceful, and while i may question the effectiveness, i don't think it hurt, and it was an effort toward benefiting us. Efforts are good. They didn't embarrass us, did they?

I don't know the full story between him and our AD, and i'm not going to assign blame. Whatever happened in the past is one thing. I just wish it could be erased and we could start anew. I honestly don't think i've ever even heard of the Lallys until today... Sad, that there's now a back and forth between them and Adam. it's all just ugly and i can't help but think the public gnashing of teeth will only stifle others from involving themselves as benefactors. This all needs to be squashed immediately, and i can't think of anyone more responsible for doing that than the AD, but y'all will have to tell me if there's another 'power' who should be tasked with that.

And, yes, putting alums vs 'others' on different planes of worthiness is just stupid and primitive.

 

[kingtidge]

If he’s not, then what are we even doing here? he’s the face of Syracuse basketball history and has a 60-year investment in the program that was the center of his and his family’s life. If he cares about the program he built, and I assume he does, he should be fundraising for NIL and the program. FWIW, I assume he must be.

If you think our 80-year-old retired former coach should be leading the program's fundraising efforts in a full-time capacity, then I can't help.

 

[baggerbob]

That's not what I'm getting at, it's the apparent mafioso-like behavior from the "Powers That Be".

Before the advent of social media I would suspect that's the way all decisions were made.
Now making those decisions behind closed doors to placate someone's feelings can get you in trouble.

 

[grepal]

Etan Thomas' house in Mitchellville, MD

The American professional basketball player who plays for the Washington Wizards in the NBA lives here.

virtualglobetrotting.com

Here’s his house. Think cash flow not a problem. Seems like he could spare some scratch for us. Or at least shut up about NIL.

He played here before NIL, so did Devo. Yeah, he did well, but he gave us four years for free already. Suffered criticism and I never recall him complaining. If he wants to give a donation fine but SU is entitled to nothing from a player who gave us his best effort.

 

[jr4750]

I don't think it's elitism from the other big donors. I think they resent that Weitsman made a huge show without actually giving much money.

Again, after asking people here over and over what AW did, all they could come up with is the tricked out Dome suite and some NIL deals to a handful of non-revenue athletes. That's it.

He can spend his money however he wants, but nearly all of the money he spent regarding SU didn't actually do much for SU. It did much more for the brand of Adam Weitsman.

If the guy wants to dump a couple million a year into our basketball NIL fund, I'm all for it. If he wants to slap his name on a new weight room or practice facility, then hear hear.

But there's been precious little evidence that he wants to do stuff like that.

Tag this at the top, and reuse every time someone says... Man we need Weitsman. Never should anyone respond with anything but this. Argument over.

 

[Sherman20]

He's also 80 years old, not exactly a spring chicken. If anyone honestly believed his new position was anything more than a way to allow him to hang around as he pleased and pay him a nice sum of money each year into retirement, they're not thinking rationally.

Anyone who believes we should pay JB a nice sum of money to sit around and do nothing isn’t thinking rationally, no matter what he did for the school in the past.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Lally are big football contributors. This thread was started because of the comments of them and AW going back and forth.

I understand why you posted it here with respect to the Lally's, but their $25 m donation was really to the Athletics Department in general for facility and support upgrades. I'm not trying to shoot the messenger.

But I'm not sure Devo and Etan are overly concerned with football NIL or fundraising and the issues with Weitsman largely were based around basketball.

 

[im4cuse]

What Etan said in that OP: doesn't really have anything to do with whether he donates or not. What he said may or may not be true or justified. But, he's a talking head now, and so that's what he does. Talks. Stirs. Whatever.

That said, the discussion turned to whether or not he has the 'right' to express what he expressed, if he doesn't donate himself. I don't think that question is valid and it has nothing to do with how much he made in the NBA.

• People, no matter what their bank balance says, can have a principled stance against this current NIL system.
• With former SU/college players, pre-NIL—he and Devo, et al—I can understand why some might object to paying college kids. They played for scholarships and a chance to prove themselves to a professional platform. Sending 2025 college kids thousands of dollars so they can preen on instagram with their Chopard Rodeo Drive purchases might seem... objectionable.
• No one knows what is in another person's bank account, despite what the public figures on their career earnings are.

I've said before that i'm not paying into NIL. I counter that with saying that i won't complain about who does or doesn't or how much is there. I have my own reasons, most notably what i just wrote, but also in the grand scheme of things, if i actually had monies to donate somewhere, i'd put them into other causes well before college sports. That's just my thinking and my reasoning, and i can have that perspective and also thank those who do monetarily support our teams, and also recognize that they may be also supporting other (more) worthy causes.

This situation with Adam... i wish there were a way to re-broker peace and an arrangement that benefits everyone. I don't blame him for wanting a personal/social media benefit from putting money into/around our team. It's ROI. It's an opportunity. I don't care. While i did think some of the guests stuff was 'odd' or ungraceful, and while i may question the effectiveness, i don't think it hurt, and it was an effort toward benefiting us. Efforts are good. They didn't embarrass us, did they?

I don't know the full story between him and our AD, and i'm not going to assign blame. Whatever happened in the past is one thing. I just wish it could be erased and we could start anew. I honestly don't think i've ever even heard of the Lallys until today... Sad, that there's now a back and forth between them and Adam. it's all just ugly and i can't help but think the public gnashing of teeth will only stifle others from involving themselves as benefactors. This all needs to be squashed immediately, and i can't think of anyone more responsible for doing that than the AD, but y'all will have to tell me if there's another 'power' who should be tasked with that.

And, yes, putting alums vs 'others' on different planes of worthiness is just stupid and primitive.

Good grief nobody says he doesn’t have the right to an opinion. Just gives him less credibility when he has not been helpful. He got a free education. As one who paid three SU tuitions that means something.

 

[qdawgg]

While the Lally's appear to be a rich family that just wants to make sure every one knows how rich they are and how much they donate to the university. Interestingly the Lally's are the only ones talking about how much they donated.

Weird take IMO. Because for the last few years all I’ve seen on social media is AW bashing SU because of the millions of dollars he used to donate and “can’t” anymore because he was treated poorly and kicked out of the “club”.

When you make 25 million dollar contribution to athletics people are going to write about that. Why wouldn’t they. It’s not necessarily them being starved for attention. On the flip side you’ve got a grown man acting like he’s in middle school for at least a few years. Always showing off his $ and purchased friends on social media or other people sharing it. Social media is inundated with him doing exactly what you wrote above. So it’s a very weird take because what you described is exactly what AW has done since the big “breakup”

 

[NJCuse97]

When he left SU and went to the NBA, he became more about activism, and I always felt he harbored some deeper ill will towards SU, or JB, etc. As I stated in another post, he seemed to distance himself from the program almost immediately. He’s still one of my favorite players to ever don the Orange jersey. Just not sure about his true agenda with SU.

This article suggests he's tight with Allen Griffin. That said, I think he's more about fighting injustice than fighting for his alma mater.

Former Syracuse basketball star Etan Thomas follows tradition of Jim Brown, Don McPherson

Former Syracuse star Etan Thomas is following a line of Syracuse athletes that have become social activists, following Jim Brown and Don McPherson.

www.syracuse.com

 

[whobut03]

Tag this at the top, and reuse every time someone says... Man we need Weitsman. Never should anyone respond with anything but this. Argument over.

Suffice to say Adam does not line with the Universities mission nor the Universities values... as a business owner, I do not align my business with others who don't align with our company's mission and values.

As a fan, I can accept that. And for the activist athletes that want transparency, this should be enough for them too.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Good grief nobody says he doesn’t have the right to an opinion. Just gives him less credibility when he has not been helpful. He got a free education. As one who paid three SU tuitions that means something.

Good grief, there are literally multiple posts in this thread that assert Etan (+Devo) don't have the grounds to complain or discuss the topic because they haven't contributed.

What does the "free education" have to do with anything i wrote?

You'll have to define "not been helpful" if that doesn't mean monetarily.

You paid three SU tuitions, so your opinion means what, exactly? More than mine? I've only paid for my own.

 

[Jake]

Frankly I have heard accounts that have swayed me to both sides of this debate and don’t really have a dog in the fight. Concerning that individuals can post whatever they want in cyberspace, but more concerning that others immediately take it as fact.
Photo attached is from 2018.

I can absolutely positively tell you some people on that list at the highest level are only there because of the money donated for the box. I know two agencies that fall into that category. They don’t give a dime other than there $ for the box. This proves absolutely nothing,

Do some on this list donate more? Absolutely, but there are others that don’t.

 

[djcon57]

Good grief nobody says he doesn’t have the right to an opinion. Just gives him less credibility when he has not been helpful. He got a free education. As one who paid three SU tuitions that means something.

He had skills you and your family and myself for that matter didn’t have. Dont be jealous.

 

[Jeremy L.]

It seems that the Lally’s would gladly take his money for SU. They just don’t want Adam, the person, around. His money is good for them, but he isn’t.

 

[NJCuse97]

What I get from all this is that AW is a rich guy that wants to use his money to help SU have a better team because he's a fan and because he'd like to show off some of his wealth and friends and give them a good time too. While the Lally's appear to be a rich family that just wants to make sure every one knows how rich they are and how much they donate to the university. Interestingly the Lally's are the only ones talking about how much they donated. And the Lally's seem to be the only ones that care who else donates and how. I'm not sure any of this sounds very altruistic of anyone.

I actually get the exact opposite impression. The Lally's seem to have broken due to the quieter contributions they have made and not understanding why someone else, contributing at a lower scale (still a helluva lot higher than anything I can do) is demanding all the publicity. If you don't want to believe that he is demanding publicity after refusing to donate like everyone else, just look at how he has created his social media following and been a "buyer" on at least three reality luxury real estate shows (I don't think he's bought anything on any one of them) flashing exotic cars, or paying celebs to come to games with him for TV air time rather than just going to see his favorite team, I don't know what to tell you. I think the school (this is bigger than the AD) just don't think that is in the best "mutual" interest, so they have told him he will no longer get special treatment over other high donors.

 

[Idiocuse22&]

I'm honestly sick of hearing about him in every other thread. Made its way from basketball side now to here.

Basketball NIL is fine. Could it be better with AW? Of course. But this guy just sounds like a giant baby and he can go pay to be cool on his own time.

From where I am sitting Mrs Lally appears to be the big baby. This is now the 2nd time the Lallys social media style has been beyond embarressing. Shes had a field day talking about others negatively on and on and on...and for quite some time, no response.
Looks like AW is not the only one that pays for attention.
I honestly cannot believe some of this stuff, its like middle school behavior. If our big donors behave this way they can all take a hike as far as I am concerned.

 

[Idiocuse22&]

This is what Etan just posted in regards to the lalleys.

Good for him, With such an odd and aggressive response from The Lallys, I am for once interested in what did happen...good, bad or sickening for whomever, IDC.

 

[orangecuse]

What Etan said in that OP: doesn't really have anything to do with whether he donates or not. What he said may or may not be true or justified. But, he's a talking head now, and so that's what he does. Talks. Stirs. Whatever.

That said, the discussion turned to whether or not he has the 'right' to express what he expressed, if he doesn't donate himself. I don't think that question is valid and it has nothing to do with how much he made in the NBA.

• People, no matter what their bank balance says, can have a principled stance against this current NIL system.
• With former SU/college players, pre-NIL—he and Devo, et al—I can understand why some might object to paying college kids. They played for scholarships and a chance to prove themselves to a professional platform. Sending 2025 college kids thousands of dollars so they can preen on instagram with their Chopard Rodeo Drive purchases might seem... objectionable.
• No one knows what is in another person's bank account, despite what the public figures on their career earnings are.

I've said before that i'm not paying into NIL. I counter that with saying that i won't complain about who does or doesn't or how much is there. I have my own reasons, most notably what i just wrote, but also in the grand scheme of things, if i actually had monies to donate somewhere, i'd put them into other causes well before college sports. That's just my thinking and my reasoning, and i can have that perspective and also thank those who do monetarily support our teams, and also recognize that they may be also supporting other (more) worthy causes.

This situation with Adam... i wish there were a way to re-broker peace and an arrangement that benefits everyone. I don't blame him for wanting a personal/social media benefit from putting money into/around our team. It's ROI. It's an opportunity. I don't care. While i did think some of the guests stuff was 'odd' or ungraceful, and while i may question the effectiveness, i don't think it hurt, and it was an effort toward benefiting us. Efforts are good. They didn't embarrass us, did they?

I don't know the full story between him and our AD, and i'm not going to assign blame. Whatever happened in the past is one thing. I just wish it could be erased and we could start anew. I honestly don't think i've ever even heard of the Lallys until today... Sad, that there's now a back and forth between them and Adam. it's all just ugly and i can't help but think the public gnashing of teeth will only stifle others from involving themselves as benefactors. This all needs to be squashed immediately, and i can't think of anyone more responsible for doing that than the AD, but y'all will have to tell me if there's another 'power' who should be tasked with that.

And, yes, putting alums vs 'others' on different planes of worthiness is just stupid and primitive.

Nothing 'seemingly' about it. It is one of the most extraordinary acts grown arse adults have so willfully taken part in in today's collegiate REVENUE sports. UNREAL!

 

[NJCuse97]

From where I am sitting Mrs Lally appears to be the big baby. This is now the 2nd time the Lallys social media style has been beyond embarressing. Shes had a field day talking about others negatively on and on and on...and for quite some time, no response.
Looks like AW is not the only one that pays for attention.
I honestly cannot believe some of this stuff, its like middle school behavior. If our big donors behave this way they can all take a hike as far as I am concerned.

I think you're right here in that neither party is behaving particularly adult. I have been a part of some discussions regarding donors and what they want for their donations. It is all VERY ego driven, but when you are laying out $1mm or more, I guess you are paying for that right. My recollection is that the IPF didn't get it's exterior signage (the glowing "S") because there was a bit of a tug-o-war over how big the S would be in comparison to Einsley's name.

 

[OttosShoes]

I have been a part of some discussions regarding donors and what they want for their donations.

Eh, just like people have unique tastes in clothes or cars or food, so too do they with donations.

There are obviously people who donate to see their name on something, but there's also people who donate anonymously. We don't know who they are because they don't even care to be known, they just want to help.

 

[qdawgg]

It seems that the Lally’s would gladly take his money for SU. They just don’t want Adam, the person, around. His money is good for them, but he isn’t.

Well this isn’t accurate because they clearly haven’t wanted his $.

 

[hoopsupstate]

This entire discussion is basically useless. I wonder how the University’s sentiment would change if AW wanted to donate $25,000,001.

 

[gmoney44]

Well this isn’t accurate because they clearly haven’t wanted his $.

I think what he’s saying is SU wants Adam’s money but they want him to give it quietly.