Jim Calhoun tyrade

This morning I watched an interesting exchange between Jim Calhoun and pseudo-reporter Ken Krayeske, a local Connecticut activist and UConn law student.
http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/a-question-about-calhouns-salary/

First of all, Krayeske thinks he has a valid argument. Much like many young activists, they feel strongly about a particular issue and will stop at nothing to prove a point. Often times, however, their anger or emotion is misplaced. In this case, Krayeske is picking a battle he cannot possibly win. Krayeske is going to get a lot of hate mail, but he is also going to get a lot of support from people who do believe that college sports are a distraction to college students and do no good whatsoever. From his own story posted on his website http://www.the40yearplan.com/article_022109_Calhoun_and_Comcast.php, he has a lousy argument. There are hundreds of other programs in Connecticut he could be targeting, but he chose arguably, the most visible target. He also knows that Calhoun has had heated exchanges with other people, so going in, he knew that if he pushed the right buttons, he'd get something tasty from Calhoun. Krayeske certainly succeeded in pushing Calhoun over the edge.

Secondly, the coach is in the right in this argument. He has a signed contract the university agreed to. His program contributes millions of dollars to the educational goals of the University of Connect cut as well as jobs for hundreds of people. What could possibly motivate him to give money back? Are we all supposed to revert to socialism when times are tough? Seriously, the achievers in the country (typically labeled the "rich" by the left wing mass media) should be applauded in tough times. These rich people are the world's backbone. The keep the economy from falling flat on its face. There is no reason achievers should have to shoulder additional burden in tough times. Extra effort by those that are not achieving would help our country far more than leaning on the successful for more wealth distribution.

Krayseke would be better served by going out and helping people achieve, supporting programs that elevate those that are not currently successful and helping people to understand that working hard for your goals is the best way to achieve. Tearing down an achiever does nothing to solve any problems, but for many people like Krayeske, it isn't really about the issue, it is about making publicity to satisfy your emotion. The end result doesn't really matter. Publicity rather than action, the primary choice of many activist groups in today's society is very sad.

One thing I will say about Calhoun is that he should have handled it differently. No reason to be an ass. Sure, you can get defensive, but at least do it with class. Let's see if UConn does anything to repremand his behavior. My guess would be no.