2025 Jaime Ffrench WR Mandarin

I think one of the things we underestimate is the devastating effects of a poverty mindset. For those who don't have it, it's almost impossible to understand it. It's not limited to age or income...I just met with a 79 year old this morning who, after a lifetime of bad financial decisions, will have to work till she dies.

The poverty mindset is generational, to an extent cultural, and isn't cured by throwing money at it. If you put a hammer in the hands of a skilled individual (not even a professional), you can do some amazing things. But if you put that same hammer in the hands of a 2 year old (and that's the maturity level of a lot of folks), they'll kill themselves and someone else.
Poverty is like a curse it affects in many ways and stunts your growth in all ways mentally, emotionally, physically, etc.
 
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Without putting too much of myself into this, I grew up in a challenging situation. Culturally, socially, financially **** was rough. We'd act a fool when dope boys(John Doe,bud,ant,chill will, pops)would come out and shoot us 20 bucks as a lil jit in pop Warner and give our people a few hundred to make sure we were straight. That couple of bucks was a big deal for us. I got to high school and the same people would give us a lil more. (Don't know if most understand the gambling that goes on with those crowds over sports with kids that age)got to college and we didn't have enough money to eat half the **** week and we'd have to rely on our coaches or other dope boys to get by. Or in some instances some of us(obviously not myself)would terrorize cars in the gables for lap tops or radios. But that's what we did to get by. Our financial aid would come in and we thought we came up. We'd all just take that couple grand we'd get in for the semester mind you and go straight to banana Joe's,Union lounge,Charlie Brown's,(i can't remember the name of the other one we all went to that was other than banana Joe's our main spot)& we'd act a fool. We thought we ran the world to have a couple thousand bucks in our pockets and have all these chicks tryna suck us up and all these dudes sweatin us. When I left school and got drafted I was just turning 21. I remember clear as day what it was and some of the lessons I had to learn REAL QUICK when I signed my contract & woke up the next day to see my account with several million in it... So you all can go acting like this is how it should be and it's no big deal. But to be a child, a teenager & within 24 hrs go from food stamps,allowance poverty or anything similar to several hundred thousand in your account and your ole girl, your pops,your brother,your chick,all your boys, those same dope boys that used to shoot you a few bucks as a jit all acting brand new and expecting hand outs... That **** changes you in a way that I don't envy for anyone. I lost a lot of people from my life because I had to LEARN how to say no. Should you feel bad for them? **** no. It's amazing the opportunity they're getting now. But they need help with all of this for their own sake. Otherwise everyone of them is being set up for catastrophic failure
One of the best posts I've read in sometime.
 
My comment is directed at most of the board, as my opinion appears to be in the minority, as I've observed over time.

Every person has the responsibility of managing his own money. Spending less than you earn isn't brain surgery. Opening a savings, brokerage, and checking account isn't postgraduate physics.

If someone becomes an overnight millionaire and then blows it, I'm not laying the blame at someone else's feet. I'm out of sympathy.
I see both sides of the argument. I do agree with you but it’s like a toddler who hasn’t learned what happens when you touch a stove that is on or was very recently used.

You’re saving them from themselves. Now if they don’t heed your warning then they get burned.
 
One of the best posts I've read in sometime.
You were around for enough of it that you know how we lived. You know how often Chuck,Sarge,kehoe,coach o etc would take us out to eat cause we couldn't afford anything otherwise. You know how we used to run around campus. Imagine us with this kind of bread.
 
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You ever walked a day in your life as a young black male who happens to be a millionaire from one day to the next from more often than not some inner city neighborhood or other rural area? You have a clue what I'm speaking on when it relates to this? I'm asking you this cause I'm assuming your comment was geared towards me. I don't think they are clueless at all and I'm more than aware what they do on them. In this world you're either a predator or your prey. You take a kid who grew up inner city more than likely doesn't have the best group of friends around them or in many other instances even a support system and you give him this money with no responsibility you're just setting them up as prey.
Certainly agree here, there's absolutely an environmental/upbringing aspect to it that can steer predisposition. But my family experience leads me to favor nature over nurture. My father had a middle-class Miami upbringing, joined the service, then as @TrojanCane talked about - proceeded to buy new fast cars etc on credit. He then married my 3rd world, inner-city mother who saved **** near every penny she found. Unbeknowst to my father, she used to buy cases of cigarettes on post and sell them off-base; she smuggled enough cash for a down payment on our first home by sewing it into the lining of her clothes to get it back stateside. All that to say she was dirt poor, and then first shot at $ she had she made the most of it - probably kept my dad from being trailer-bound. Ironically, my and my two brothers grew up middle class, but I'm the only one who has managed $$ effectively.
 
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I've always thought there should be an optional degree for scholarship athletes called professional athletics. Emphasis on team infrastructures, financial literacy, sports/media contracts. Make a whole degree that teaches you about the business of sports and tailor it to the player side with just enough info to give kids insight into coaching, front office, or whatever other branches of professional athletics they may wish to pursue if the professional career falls through. I know things like sports management exist, but I don't think those degrees really go at it from a player perspective.
I’ve always felt the same. Music students get credit for practicing their instruments, but we expect football players to get a real education when their class selection has to fit around the 40 hours of week of practice. I’d include public relations and basic finance in the curriculum as well
 
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You ever walked a day in your life as a young black male who happens to be a millionaire from one day to the next from more often than not some inner city neighborhood or other rural area? You have a clue what I'm speaking on when it relates to this? I'm asking you this cause I'm assuming your comment was geared towards me. I don't think they are clueless at all and I'm more than aware what they do on them. In this world you're either a predator or your prey. You take a kid who grew up inner city more than likely doesn't have the best group of friends around them or in many other instances even a support system and you give him this money with no responsibility you're just setting them up as prey.
the sad part is how taken advantage these kids by their own families. theyre just lottery tickets in a lot of cases and theyre left helpless at the end.
 
& Kehoe with big cheese!
Be Quiet Season 2 GIF by Martin


The NCAA ain’t above penalizing us retroactively
 
the sad part is how taken advantage these kids by their own families. theyre just lottery tickets in a lot of cases and theyre left helpless at the end.

Speaking of lottery, the same financial issues plague a lot of past lottery winners. They get it, spend it like it's always going to be there, and it's gone before they know it. Like @Brains I put that on them, but yes, there are factors at work as @Brooklyndee that made them not ready for that winning moment. Heck, it happens all the time in the real world as well with everyday jobs.
 
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Speaking of lottery, the same financial issues plague a lot of past lottery winners. They get it, spend it like it's always going to be there, and it's gone before they know it. Like @Brains I put that on them, but yes, there are factors at work as @Brooklyndee that made them not ready for that winning moment. Heck, it happens all the time in the real world as well with everyday jobs.
beyond the obvious issues with Lamar Odom, didnt he say he was paying for a ton of cell phone plans for family members.
 
My comment is directed at most of the board, as my opinion appears to be in the minority, as I've observed over time.

Every person has the responsibility of managing his own money. Spending less than you earn isn't brain surgery. Opening a savings, brokerage, and checking account isn't postgraduate physics.

If someone becomes an overnight millionaire and then blows it, I'm not laying the blame at someone else's feet. I'm out of sympathy.

That’s a tough take. Why can't it be both? Everyone is responsible for their financial situation, yet recognize the majority of people worldwide lack the education or background to manage their finances effectively? Life is not always black and white.
 
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That’s a tough take. Why can't it be both? Everyone is responsible for their financial situation, yet recognize the majority of people worldwide lack the education or background to manage their finances effectively? Life is not always black and white.
Really should be a class in HS that every student has to take to graduate. There were a bunch of classes I took in HS that I never used again that I had to take to graduate but something like this that everyone will need is ignored.
 
Without putting too much of myself into this, I grew up in a challenging situation. Culturally, socially, financially **** was rough. We'd act a fool when dope boys(John Doe,bud,ant,chill will, pops)would come out and shoot us 20 bucks as a lil jit in pop Warner and give our people a few hundred to make sure we were straight. That couple of bucks was a big deal for us. I got to high school and the same people would give us a lil more. (Don't know if most understand the gambling that goes on with those crowds over sports with kids that age)got to college and we didn't have enough money to eat half the **** week and we'd have to rely on our coaches or other dope boys to get by. Or in some instances some of us(obviously not myself)would terrorize cars in the gables for lap tops or radios. But that's what we did to get by. Our financial aid would come in and we thought we came up. We'd all just take that couple grand we'd get in for the semester mind you and go straight to banana Joe's,Union lounge,Charlie Brown's,(i can't remember the name of the other one we all went to that was other than banana Joe's our main spot)& we'd act a fool. We thought we ran the world to have a couple thousand bucks in our pockets and have all these chicks tryna suck us up and all these dudes sweatin us. When I left school and got drafted I was just turning 21. I remember clear as day what it was and some of the lessons I had to learn REAL QUICK when I signed my contract & woke up the next day to see my account with several million in it... So you all can go acting like this is how it should be and it's no big deal. But to be a child, a teenager & within 24 hrs go from food stamps,allowance poverty or anything similar to several hundred thousand in your account and your ole girl, your pops,your brother,your chick,all your boys, those same dope boys that used to shoot you a few bucks as a jit all acting brand new and expecting hand outs... That **** changes you in a way that I don't envy for anyone. I lost a lot of people from my life because I had to LEARN how to say no. Should you feel bad for them? **** no. It's amazing the opportunity they're getting now. But they need help with all of this for their own sake. Otherwise everyone of them is being set up for catastrophic failure
yeah, Thats Why I said learning how to say no is the most important thing to try to teach

Learning about why they need to not **** around and just pay their taxes, how to best handle their cash for short term and long term savings, how to invest in, the impact of staying out of debt, etc are all things that should for the most part just be taught like a couple times max, and shouldn't even take very long... Do it a semester their Freshman Year, a semester Junior/SR Year before they graduate, After getting Drafted for those that are, and then again like after their 2nd contract for those that get one. For the most part I think you're kind of just already mostly a financially disciplined person to begin with or you're not, as far as just buying stuff. Like typically people either have that desire for the designer clothes+chains and out of budget expensive car or they really don't regardless if they had the money or not. People who have the desire for that stuff aren't going to change very easily even with classes/speakers, Because its not really an information thing. Usually for people that aren't financially disciplined it takes some major negative to kinda push them into that. But again this is mostly the easy thing and is just fully on the person to do what they know they should or not.

But saying NO is different and probably a class that should be required all the time as long as they are receiving NIL period.
 
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