Comments on: Adonal Foyle

By: Crooked Timber » » March Madness

Crooked Timber » » March Madness — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 14:03:48 +0000

[...] One report says that “Albany could receive as much as $800,000 for its first NCAA game, money the school has to share with other members of the America East Conference.” I have no idea how much of that will stay at Albany. But surely, by far the greatest benefit will be the publicity of making it to the tournament. How many people this week are looking over the brackets in their office pool and seeing the name “Albany” for the first time? I am sure that applications will jump. I’ve seen it happen before – when my brother decided to go to Colgate. [...]

By: George

George — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 03:18:56 +0000

Adonal also volunteers at many local educational events in Oakland. Such as family reading night, put on by my former employer, the Oakland Parents Literacy Project, http://www.oplp.org.

That’s me planting flowers.

Adonal really gets it.

Best,

George

By: ArC

ArC — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:46:23 +0000

I guess I should say in fairness, as Foyle mentions, that the Nash backlash back in what, 2003, was astounding and it’s easy to understand why players would shy away from politics after seeing that.

(tangentially, I’m sadly quite frequently surprised at how fast and vicious politics can get – Janet Jackson’s Superbowl flap, GTA’s “Hot Coffee” scandal – I thought for sure both of those would die down after a day or two.)

By: ArC

ArC — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:27:46 +0000

I remember reading a few years ago how well thought out Adonal Foyle’s stance was on the Iraq war, but I didn’t realize just how politically active he was. A huge and very welcome contrast to certain other players cough who resolutely practice neutrality strictly to maintain maximum marketability…

(also, I’m very glad C-Span makes transcripts. I hate watching or listening to clips if a transcript is available.)

By: Cannoneo

Cannoneo — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 17:57:54 +0000

Whoah, I’m disoriented; in a matter of minutes, a set of statistics has been replaced by not only a live human being, but a paragon of thoughtful virtue. Until now, Adonal Foyle existed in my mind as that center from Colgate who I had a frustrating fling with early this fantasy season. Frustrating because his game is not stat-driven – he’s good enough to start on many NBA teams, but doesn’t pile up numbers. He plays as part of a team and does those famous intangibles. Little did I know his intangibles go far beyond setting screens, helping out weak side, and making good outlet passes.

By: a fan

a fan — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 01:27:01 +0000

Wow is right. What an intelligent, fun, interesting, talented man. Years ago I was fortunate enough to meet Jon and Adonal socially when they were in the bay area. Unfortunately for me I didn’t know what extraordinary individuals Jon and Adonel are. I regret that I didn’t get to talk with them more.

Jon said something like, “I’d like you to meet my brother” and introduced 6’9” Adonal. I thought he was pulling my leg. They must take secret delight in bursting people’s preconceptions.

[BTW, that’s a very cool AJAX-y posting tool on crooked timber!]

By: Jon Mandle

Jon Mandle — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 01:18:36 +0000

Thanks, Todd – I had forgotten about that piece.
Slocum – Adonal doesn’t necessarily support a proposal just because it is called “campaign finance reform”. Democracy Matters doesn’t have a party line that all members must adhere to. In fact, there is real disagreement among members about what kinds of reform efforts to support. Nonetheless, it’s fair to say that their typical focus is on promoting “clean elections” in which candidates voluntarily limit private donations in exchange for public support. There are obviously many possible variations, and I’d suggest looking at the Democracy Matters website for lots more information and discussion of some of these proposals.

By: Slocum

Slocum — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 22:10:19 +0000

Sounds like a great guy. If only his organization were fighting for something other than campaign finance reform—which has, in my view, resulted in appalling, indefensible restrictions on freedom of political speech (Laws against mentioning candidates by name?!? Near an election?!? WTF?!? And that’s not to mention the possibility of regulating political speech on blogs).

By: Mark Schmitt

Mark Schmitt — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 17:42:01 +0000

Wonderful post. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to watch Democracy Matters develop and really catch on on campuses. It’s such a wonderful model for what an athlete can do that’s real and aims for big structural change, vs. feel-good philanthropy.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:56:35 +0000

That's awesome. I was just trying to convince a friend to add Foyle to his fantasy basketball team, because he's hurting for rebounds. I personally have been a huge fan since this Eric Neel piece.

By: Cryptic Ned

Cryptic Ned — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 14:44:56 +0000

Wow!

I didn’t realize he’d been on the Warriors for his whole career. It seems like the rare thoughtful pro sports player is much more likely to want to stay in one place during his career, rather than compete for the highest salaries.