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Premier Episode: Black Cager Urban Sports Talk Show
Black Cager Sports Talk
Premiere February 7, 2016 @ 12:00 noon
Black Cager Scouting Service
Kwalifī
Rich Paul, NBA Super Agent Visits Philly & Discusses The Business of Basketball
Rich Paul is CEO and Founder of Klutch Sports Group. He is one of the most influential people in American sports. As a result, he is constantly in demand. People seek his advice, they value his input. One moment he’s talking nutrition and child health with with First Lady Michelle Obama. The next, he’s talking with anyone from hip hop mogul Jay-Z, to Beats Electronics co-founder Jimmy Iovine to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
He’s a very busy man…
Rich Paul, CEO & Founder of Klutch Sports Group (Picture: Kareem Black)
It comes with the territory when you represent prominent NBA players like Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe, Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson, Washington’s Kevin Seraphin, Miami’s Norris Cole, San Antonio’s Cory Joseph and of course, Cleveland’s LeBron James.
Rich Paul & LeBron James (Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Even with all the demands on his time, Paul makes time to deal with issues like Black business development and college preparedness for urban students. Paul and his clients are among the most socially conscious prominent Blacks in professional sports. Early Sunday morning on January 10, Paul joined Rodney Veney, Delgreco K. Wilson and Tyrone Pitts to discuss business development and strategic thinking for Black enterprises in the world of sports.
Veney is a Philadelphia-based, Business Manager with extensive relationships among NBA players and one of the Senior Directors of the Philly Pride Basketball Club. Wilson and Pitts are co-founders of kwalifī, an innovative smartphone app that allows student-athletes to track their progress toward meeting NCAA and NAIA eligibility requirements. The meeting centered on the development of business opportunities for Blacks within youth, collegiate and professional basketball.
Paul offered some very insightful analysis and commentary. Subjected to heavy doses of criticism and skepticism when he founded Klutch, Paul has proven to be a very formidable negotiator and representative for his clients. He has a very clear understanding of the situation faced by urban and rural high school student-athletes attending under-performing schools. More importantly, Paul has developed a very astute business acumen. From the streets to the board room, Paul just gets “it”.
Over the past couple of years, Paul has been through some extremely contentious negotiations. He orchestrated the return of LeBron James to Cleveland and a contract extension for Eric Bledsoe with the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 2014. This past year, he secured a 5-year $82 million contract for Tristan Thompson with Cleveland as well as a “lifetime” contract for Lebron James with Nike.
As noted earlier, Paul is both street savvy and corporate sharp. He lost multiple childhood friends to the penitentiary and gun violence by the time he was 18. Those experiences toughened him and made him the person he is today. Paul is fully committed to making sure young men reach their full potential in life, even when the basketball dreams do not pan out. Access to educational opportunities is paramount for Paul.
He wants to see young men and women from tough situations better themselves through educational opportunities.
Pitts noted, “Rich is a very knowledgeable guy and he really understands where we are trying to go with kwalifī… Everybody doesn’t get it, but Rich got it immediately. I was really surprised by his intimate knowledge of Camden. He knows what inner city kids are dealing with.”
Rodney Veney (left), Rich Paul (center) and Tyrone Pitts (right)
Rodney Veney connected Rich Paul with Wilson and Pitts. Veney said, “Once I understood what kwalifī is all about, I was all in… We had a conference call over a month ago. We were going to fly to Cleveland, but Rich insisted on coming to Philadelphia to meet. I deal with kids and their families every year as they try to gain admission to college. It’s really frustrating because so many people lack a real understanding of the rules and regulations. The kwalifī app is an important tool for families seeking college scholarships.”
The mission of kwalifī is to empower student-athletes and their parents. Delgreco Wilson describes it in the following way, “We want kids to take control of their own eligibility process. If there are no interventions, many, many kids will not make it to college. The new rules are real barriers for low-income Black and Brown kids.”
“We are going to need corporate sponsors and corporate partners to get our app in the hands of every high school student-athlete in America. Rich Paul has demonstrated an ability to build partnerships with some of the most prominent corporations in the world of sports. We are fortunate to have talented people like Rodney Veney on our team. Rodney is able to see the big picture and he immediately understood how a guy like Rich Paul could provide invaluable insight and guidance. From day one, I told Rodney, I trust your judgement. He is truly an under appreciated resource in the Philadelphia basketball community.”
The kwalifī app is available for a free download at www.kwalifi.com.
The Paucity of Black Coaches: Does it Matter?
African-Americans have long dominated college basketball on the court. Every year, college send their coaches into Black communities in search of talented Black basketball players. These coaches beg, plead and some even try to bribe young Black men to come play for their colleges and universities.
In the overwhelming majority of instances, the Head Coaches are white. The players are, for the most part, Black.
Does this matter?
Should players, their parents, AAU coaches and others involved in the school decision process consider the racial background of the coaches?
If they do not consider the racial background of the Head Coaches, will the situation ever improve?
Are Black males destined to remain the “talent”? Will their presence on the sideline ever match their presence on the court?
As you can see on the chart (above), Black players are disproportionately represented in the uniforms. These are ten of the biggest conferences with the largest basketball budgets in the nation.
In the Missouri Valley Conference, Blacks make up about half the players and there are ZERO (0) Black Head Coaches in that league. ZERO!
If Black players never see Black Head Coaches and Black Athletic Directors, how will they envision themselves in these positions of authority?
Where are Today’s John Chaney & John Thompson?
The NCAA has consistently implemented a series of increasingly stringent academic reforms. These reforms have disproportionately impacted Black student-athletes from under-performing urban and rural schools in the South.
When the initial reforms were proposed and implemented John Chaney and John Thompson took incredibly strong stances. They cited the “racist” nature of the measures. They openly criticized the NCAA.
Today, prominent Black coaches and professional athletes are noticeably silent. This despite the fact that the most restrictive and discriminatory reforms are set to become effective August 1, 2016.
This had led me to ask: Where are today’s John Chaney and John Thompson?
I’ve spoken to a couple hundred young student-athletes in the Philadelphia area over the past 3-4 weeks. Maybe 1 in 20 have ever heard of John Chaney and John Thompson.
Our children do not know our history. They have no idea of their place in the struggle for inclusion and equality. As a result, they are not prepared to navigate the traps that have been set for them.
The DEVIL is a LIAR! Our kids WANT to learn!
Black student-athletes don’t care about academics… Inner city High School coaches don’t emphasize the importance of books…
Last week a U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia openly stated “There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well.”
I’m here to tell you…
Out kids are thirsty for knowledge. They want to learn! They want to go to college. They want to create better situations for themselves and their families.
What they lack is a road map. How do they accomplish their goals? They have no idea. What are the obstacles the face? They have no clue.
What I know for sure is that High School Coaches want to see their kids excel and further their education. Coach after coach has demanded that I come in an explain the NCAA eligibility process to their players. Indeed, Lou Williams at Dobbins Vo-Tech insisted that I hang up the phone and come talk to his players immediately. Of course, I jumped in my car and headed to 22nd and Lehigh. Upon arriving, Coach Williams stopped practice because he said, “education is MORE important” than what they were reviewing in practice.
Time after time, the same scenario plays itself out… The DEVIL is liar…
The coaches know that in June of 2013 Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. laid off 3,783 employees, because of the district’s financial crisis. The list included 676 teachers, 283 counselors, 127 assistant principals, and 1,202 noontime aides. Before he said it, the coaches knew that “These … employees are more than numbers: these are people — professionals — who play important roles in the lives of thousands of students throughout our city.”
The coaches see the results… Hite called the layoffs “nothing less than catastrophic for our schools and students… Every aspect of the district will feel the impact — schools, regional offices, and central office — along with employees ranging from senior administrators to support staff.”
I have been amazed by the extent to which the coaches and the student-athletes persist in the desire to pursue higher education… Everyone knows Philly’s students and student-athletes have long received the short end of the stick. Yet, they strive…
When I show up to talk about NCAA regulations and the kwalifī smartphone app, I am frequently told “I already downloaded it and put my grades in…”
I cannot put into words how that makes me feel… To know that my idea, my concept, my plan has come to fruition and the young people are using it without being prompted nearly made me cry! Youngbucks have called me from Baltimore asking how to interpret their results and I have yet to visit a single school in Maryland.
It’s not just under-performing urban schools… Predominantly white and middle to upper class Upper Moreland, Wissahickon and Pymouth-Whitemarsh have embraced kwalifī. But, the intent was and will always remain to help those who are most needy… For years, I have spent hours and hours with some of the sharpest, most intelligent young men in the country. I have seen many of these guys go on to do great things in college and beyond. Here is a partial list…
With the kwalifi app, instead of 10-15 per year, we will be able to help tens of thousands!!
The young brothers pay attention to the message… They ask very good questions…
I love, love, love this particular project… For us, by us… But everyone should feel free to download and utilize the kwalifī app…
I will be visiting schools every day for the rest of the school year… If you want us to talk to your guys/girls contact us blackcager@gmail.com…
We must remain vigilant… We cannot allow a return to the days of yore…
…and remember… The DEVIL is a LIAR!!
The Black Cager 