If you're like me, you have some complex feelings about former Nebraksa Cornhuskers president Ted Carter. As head of the university, he played a rather large part in what looks like it could be a renaissance of the athletic department. On the other hand, after being given unprecedented power (that he reportedly specifically asked for) by the Board of Regents, he up and left for Big Ten rival, Ohio State.
His departure brought more instability to Nebraska when it badly needed stability. It's a safe bet that if Ted Carter was still working in Lincoln, so would Trev Alberts. There are complex feelings about Alberts as well, but it's not hard to say that Nebraska football, basketball, and baseball would all be better off if they weren't dealing with their third athletic director in the last five years. That's true even if Troy Dannen eventually turns out to be very good at his job.
With all that said, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm enjoying the apparent massive misstep Carter was caught making at his new school in the past few days. And that misstep has led some journalists around the program to blast him and question his ethics absolutely. I'm ok with a man who left Nebraska in the lurch, having his ethics questioned, quite frankly.
Former Nebraska president smack dab in the middle of Commencement uproar
The crux of the matter is that at Ohio State's recent commencement address, the man who was picked to give the speech was an absolute clown. Chris Pan, a Bitcoin bro who has admitted to writing his speech while high on psychedelic drugs led a bewildered crowd in a sing-along that he claimed would defeat depression better than prescription drugs do and was booed when he tried to sell the virtues of his favorite digital currency.
The Rooster, a publication that's dedicated to covering Ohio State has broken down all that happened in the bizarre incident but among the chief issues should set off alarm bells regarding the former Nebraska Cornhuskers president, is the fact that bringing in Pan was reportedly entirely his decision.
People who were embarrassed by the Commencement address were quick to blame Carter and claim he overruled the people who would normally have a say in that kind of decision. And the reason he did it, according to those same people is because he happens to be heavily invested in the Bitcoin industry.
"The committee did not recommend Pan," D.J. Byrnes of The Rooster wrote. "His name was nowhere to be seen in the list of 79 names originally considered by the committee after the recommendation period. After soliciting recommendations."
One has to think that this particular Commencement speech (which has been billed as the worst ever at Ohio State) would have gone over equally poorly at Nebraska.
So after all the turmoil of the last few years. After losing members of the Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic administration no one really wanted to lose, maybe we can all revel at Ted Carter wearing some serious egg on his face, at the very least.