Nebraska Cornhuskers legend takes issue with 'portal is broken' talk
The debate over the transfer portal is as active as its ever been. There are plenty of people who love what it offers. There are plenty who hate it. And then there are those who simply want to try and figure out whether its good or bad, and who it might be good or bad for.
Count Nebraska Cornhuskers legendary coach Terry Pettit among those who recently waded into the debate on social media. Admittedly, that’s not the best place to have a debate but if someone did, Pettit has the class the gravitas to get it done.
“When we say ‘the transfer portal is broken,’ are we saying that capitalism is broken?" Pettit wrote on X earlier this week. “Should the players who entertain us have the same opportunity to earn money and play where they want to as the coaches who coach them?”
He finished his first tweet making it clear that he wanted a real debate and that he wasn’t just shouting into the echo chamber. “This is not a rhetorical question,” he added.
When we say "the transfer portal is broken," are we saying that capitalism is broken?" Should the players who entertain us have the same opportunity to earn money and play where they want to as the coaches who coach them? This is not a rhetorical question.
— Terry Pettit (@TerryPettit1) December 26, 2023
Pettit, who seems to have become more active on social media in the last few months then proved that he was actually asking and really wanted the debate. When one follower responded that they didn’t think the transfer portal was broken, but needed more structure, the former Nebraska volleyball coach - the man who has been the Bob Devaney of the sport to John Cook’s Tom Osborne - pointed out that other sports are spending money like crazy.
Nebraska Cornhuskers great takes on transfer portal
“The Dodgers just signed two pitchers for a combined 1 billion dollars. Do we need more structure there as well?”
In the end, Pettit ran into the same issue that most people who try to have a real debate on social media tend to find. Those who jumped into the thread and offered their opinions found it more important to look “right” than really talk and exchange issues.
In the end, Pettit seemed to have realized that his question got people angry. One of his final posts showed what the Nebraska Cornhuskers great was trying to get at. “There is a proposal by the Big Ten that the NIL will be paid for by the colleges in the future. I am raising the issue. I do not have a clear proposal for how to resolve several complex issues.”