The following is an e-mail discussion I had with our former mayor, Jay Williams, who is now an Assistant Secretary of Commerce with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. This discussion following a panel discussion of the newly constituted “City Club of the Mahoning Valley”. Panelists included: Capri Cafaro, Ohio State Senator, 32nd District, Tom Humphries, President & CEO, Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber, Jim Tressel, President, Youngstown State University, and Jay Williams, US. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. The meeting took place on September 21, 2016 at the Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio. The topic was economic development in the Mahoning Valley:
Sept. 21, 2016
Hey Jay:
My name is Gary Rosati. We met briefly following the City Club meeting at the Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown yesterday (9-21-16). I asked if there was a way to suggest a project or policy to help economic development in the valley and you were kind enough to give me your card and said I should send you an e-mail. So, this is it.
I mention I knew how to bring millions into the city. I’m talk’n millions annually, an endless supply of money for our financially strapped city, all tax free, and, of course, all perfectly legal.
I’m talk’n money for road and bridge repair, hospitals, schools, housing, police and fire, transportation, brown zone clean-up, all that. But its not just the cash. It’s a way to grow pride in our city; it’s a way to help promote downtown business and a way to help with unemployment, particularly youth, particularly minority youth unemployment. And its not just Youngstown. I’m talk’n about something that could benefit struggling city like Youngstown across the country. And it a bi-partisan solution, something that both Progressives and Tea-Party conservatives could support. Did I mention its tax free? Yep, it wont cost tax payers a cent, not in the long run away.
But there’s more. I’m talk’n about something that would go a long way to correcting a long standing injustice that’s corrupted our culture, and in particular our so-called institutions of higher learning. I’m talk’n about college sports, in particularly college football and basketball.
As we all know, sports entertainment is a cash cow. But somehow we have a system that allows the NCAA to siphon-off a large portion of that cash for themselves. The NCAA pays no tax on the income generated, which is in the billions. And of course the NCAA pay little to the young athletes that generate the income. Instead the NCAA uses the fiction of the “amateur athlete” to control the large income that young athletes generate. They do this for three years, often times the most production years for these athletes. The money goes to bloated salaries and bloated sports programs which act as a marketing tool for the universities but does little to promote academics. And worse, to keep the fiction of the amateur athlete viable, the NCAA imposes all these silly rules about not paying the players. Theses rules are routinely broken causing scandal after scandal. The whole thing is so ridiculous, and it doesn’t benefit anyone except the people in university’s sports program and the NCAA.
But I’m not suggesting that the NCAA should change in any way. Far from it. I’m saying the underline conditions that makes this ridiculous and immoral system prosper should be changed. This ridiculous and immoral system is possible because Universities have a monopoly on young athletes. There is simply no viable alternative for football and basketball athletes who want to turn pro. So, the obvious solution is to break this monopoly; give these athletes an alternative.
That’s where you, your office, and organizations like the City Club come in. You – we – need to push for legislation that would establish a Municipal Sports League; a private/public partnership operating in cities like Youngstown that would serve as an alternative for athletes who want to play ball but don’t want to go – directly – into the college system. Eligibility would be restricted to players between, say, seventeen and twenty-four. Players would be paid a salary, of course, plus they would be permitted to have endorsement deals and they would be free to trade on their celebrity: selling autographs, making paid appearances, etc. After eligibility players could go on to university, if they so choose, or to the Pros, if good enough, or into the job market. But here’s the thing: All the profits generated by the League, from gate receipts, broadcasting rights, etc., would go directly to the host cities for all the worthy expenses I listed above. Oh, did I mention the head coaches should be an elected office. That’s a way to get everyone in the city directly involved in and supporting the League.
I think, given the choice between playing for a university – and putting up with all the NCAA nonsense – or playing for cash, most athletes would choose the cash, and why not. Soon the Municipal Sports League would have the best athletes and would be generating large incomes for the players and the host cities alike. And our universities would go back to doing what they’re supposed to do, academics and education. A win/win/win.
Please discuss this idea with your office and with the other members of the City Club and let me know if you think its viable.
Thanks for your time and consideration. I look forward from hearing from you.
Oct. 6, 2016
Hey Jay, did you get my e-mail about the Municipal Sports League? Any thoughts? I’m tell’n ya, this could be a great thing.
Oct. 11, 2016