Longtime Observer

Short term it's too late and players on this team are too invested to leave now. If it's just Teddy getting suspended, it'll probably be similar to what TFA will deal with. If anything, the team might play with more of a chip on their shoulders. LonI don't think many felt Teddy would be there a long time, anyway. How they fare long term depends on how things go at places like Central, Mater Academy and the other Dade schools. If one of those pops off and has an awesome year, they may get more of the talent in the future, so MNW may go back down to what they were before last season.

In "equity" ideology, if ALL kids can't have the benefit, then NONE of the kids should get the benefit. A world where everyone is forced to eat shit sandwiches is seen as vastly superior to a world where many kids get to eat well but others don't eat as well. And, for the most part, nobody is standing up and directly challenging the "equity" push. The reason, other than apathy or cowardice, is confusion around what "equity" really means. The dictionary, and most people, say it means "fairness". Who could be opposed to fairness??? The problem is it's been hijacked to mean "engineered equivalent outcomes for all." Many still have not caught on, so they stay silent. Programs who've won lots of championships have "enrticements" which most other schools don't have. Perhaps they should have to be forced to have smaller roster sizes etc to balance the "enticement not available to all"? The better approach is to step up and oppose the equity monsters.

I think public sentiment has shifted to where most think the rules should be changed so all schools are allowed to offer such benefits to the best of their ability. I also think it's worth noting that, after being hammered by the FHSAA, The First Academy has continued recruiting and simply scheduled an extremely ambitious national schedule, while forgetting about the watered down FHSAA playoffs. We're going to see more programs go this route. Eventually, there will be enough such programs that a new league, operating under an entirely different (and capitalist!) set of rules, is formed and will feature the top programs. This will bring about the "separate playoffs for schools who recruit" idea many here have clamored for. Again, at the root of all of this is the fact that big time, for-profit sports programs have grown beyond what school systems are equipped to deal with. The schools need to see their way out of big time sports. And the big time sports can market themselves on a regional/geographic basis instead of the old "cheer for the alma mater" approach.

yep, see my post below yours and above this one...

As I understand it, Teddy is in trouble, not because he donated out of his own pocket, but because he gave it directly to the football program. The powers that be wanted that money to go to the school admin and/or Dade county schools. And those entities then would distribute equal shares of that money across the entire school and/or district (after squandering a large share for themselves). The spirit or ideology driving that process is "equity", which, by an overwhelmingly gaping margin, is THE biggest focal point of education today. This isn't a secret, or a "conspiracy theory" : they tell us all this themselves. Things like learning to read, do math, operate a business etc are all tertiary in importance now. Primarily and secondarily, the focus is "equity". From Kindergarten through PHD programs in ALL fields (yes, including quantum physics). And, "equity" is measured in outcomes: only when everyone- to borrow the phrase of the former Vice President- ends up in the same place with the same stuff will we have "equity". When Teddy opens up his wallet and gives to the football program, the refrain of "equity" monsters is "but what about the girls tennis team" or "what about the football program at Miami Springs?" Teddy's helping MNW football exclusively means unequal or "inequitable" outcomes, and this is sharply opposed in education at all levels today. When Northwestern beat Jackson 48-6 last year, the "equity" monsters in education likely spiraled into deep depression. Pooling the gate among all schools in a district, instead of keeping it between the teams who actually played, is an example of "equity" ideology fouling things up. Like you said, the top few programs end up propping up the moribund programs, a la "Weekend at Bernies". The number one philosopher in academia and within the "equity" movement is Karl Marx. There's always been semantic games played around socialism/communism/Leninism/Marxism/Maoism. What they all have in common is hatred for capitalism and worship of Marx. And Marx conceded that socialism inevitably leads to communism. The ultimate, overarching goal, is the abolition of the state into a classless society free of private property, international borders, police, jails and, yes, market-based economies. Socialism is understood to be a transitionary phase to communism which often appeals to dimwits. To be an admin in a public school system, one must go through extensive graduate level education programming. These programs are currently DOMINATED by socialists/communists/Marxists...throughout academia everywhere in the world. Therefore, we can be certain that the overwhelming majority of administrators witin Dade County schools are socialists/communists/Marxists. That's what Teddy is running up against. The school and district want all money and benefits distributed equally and Teddy didn't play by those rules.

Yes, in schools there are typically pretty clear and strict rules around who can be a volunteer for much of anything beyond helping pick up a piece of trash. Generally, the school district wants to cover its rear from volunteers who might commit crimes. But, there has to be some discernment here. Unfortunately, reasoning and decision making are not often emphasized in schools (or in much of society, either).

People loathe the fact that TFA has never accomplished anything of note on the field, shoves their religious "purity" in everyone's face, and then proceeded to recruit a bunch of star players out of the blue. It's also a private school with a lot of wealthy families shelling out big bucks for tuition. Everyone knows there are very few wealthy kids attending Northwestern, or any other public school in Dade county. I'm not that familiar with the accusations against TFA. If they really are the same as what Teddy has done for the Bulls, I suppose the consequences should be the same. But, judging from the response I've seen across social media, I think the consensus is the consequences should be zero.

The reference to communism- a very real threat in 2025 given the fact that the three largest cities in the country all figure to have communist mayors come November- applies to Bridgewater's situation because his voluntary donations are a problem only because he wanted the funds to go as he sees put, rather than given to another entity which will distribute funds equivalently (after having fraudulently "lost track" some portion of them). And, related, is the fact that other opposition to Bridgewater is rooted in the desire to see all schools have an equally distributed share of talent, which is much less likely if benefits are dispersed unequally. All of this is being addressed through the awful, communist "equity lens". It should be noted that the communist or "equity" based approach denies any and all outcomes that are not even on the grounds that they are necessarily disciminatory. When executed with fidelity, the "equity" approach means the score at the end of all games must be equal. Stupid and insane? Obviously. But, it's true.

Sure, but going about it this way will bring more attention to the absurdity of it all. Teddy is going to be just fine given his finances and reputation. The average high school coach who occasionally spends his own money like that, couldn't overcome getting caught helping. If coaches REALLY wanted to bring about change, they'd have large email chat groups and decide to all come out together, at once, and proclaim that they, too, sometimes dip into their own pocket to help cover expenses. I suppose the schools and/or FHSAA could always cancel the season so as to administer punishments to all the guilty coaches for their generosity. tl;dr: JUST SAY NO TO COMMUNISM.

Yes, the free market should be allowed to draw the lines between amateurism and professionalism. The beauty of playing strictly for the love of the game will certainly be allowed to persist. And, kids and adults alike play A LOT of games for fun as it is. See adult rec leagues, intramurals etc. This includes those who've been able to become wealthy through playing the sport as well! I think that, eventually, people like most all of us are going to recognize that it is preposterous to have teenagers getting paid to play high school sports, and/or get a free college education along with the extra compensation. Most of us have been fans of the game and of the school, not the "star" athletes. In the long run, I don't think there will be much of a market for paid teenager athletes. But, if someone is willing to part with their $ to allow a kid to be less poor, and that means that School A easily crushes the competition, I don't think that's a bad thing. It IS a thing that will cause a great many people to lose interest. And that will in turn diminish the market, which will of course mean kids aren't making any money anyway. At issue, as I keep harping on, is the fact that the "big time" sports world where NIL money is available is an entirely different, beast of an animal that K-12 schools and even universities are not equipped to manage. Nor should they be. Big time, for profit sports should be separated from schools. The mission of the two entities is competely misaligned.

It is somewhat understandable for a guy who's passionate about the sport, and who reached very close to the pinnacle of it, to be dismissive of the many dimwits making the rules who have none of the above characteristics. And, he may also be considering the possibility that calling attention to the (perhaps) absurd nature of the rules and/or the dearth of funding in high school football may be worth it in the big picture. He's almost certainly going to have the opportunity to coach at the higher levels, and is not likely to be at Norhwestern for very long, anyway. He may make a bigger impact long-term/big picture doing this sort of thing than just winning a couple state titles and jetting.

Given the rules, the suspension seems reasonable. But, as others have suggested, the rules can easily be said to be absurd. Since when, in America, is the voluntary gifting of items or services a bad thing? Are we going to start infiltrating Christmas celebrations to see if anyone got presents deemed to be bad? "Have a look at what's under the Christams tree, there might be some Uber gift cards or other things and we can't have anyone giving those out!" If Teddy Bridgewater is OK paying for some uber rides etc, why is that a bad thing? Sure, it gives MNW an advantage in attracting players. So what? Maybe it'll be a waste of his money. Again, so what? There does need to be more robust conversations around all of this. Yes, the rules should be the same for everyone. Yes, if they aren't the same, and/or some break them while many others don't, that is unfair. But, what, in all seriousness, is the case against allowing free adults to give gifts to poor kids who happen to be good at sports? The only argument I've heard is that it's against the rules. I'm not seeing anyone argue the rule itself makes sense in a free society.

ALL programs in the state of Florida would love to have more money, and really need more. Teddy happens to have enough name recognition and reach- including wealthy current and former NFL players- that he may well succeed in getting money. Whether he succeeds or not, he's calling attention to the problem. (Of course, if the number of schools investing in football programs was sharply reduced, and all of the money which has been spread thin among poor programs was consolidated towards a smaller number of super programs, those super programs would be financed much more effectively.)

Here is the full film: Year of the Bull

Haha. Second-best win in Bartow history. I was present for the top win in their history, on a cold afternoon in Daytona Beach in 1996