By: Donald V. Watkins October 10, 2023 An Editorial Opinion We all make mistakes in life. Universities make them, too, especially when it comes to picking the right president. On October 7, 2023, I published an article outing Alabama A&M University President Daniel Wims’ closet donor relationship with the top MAGA Republicans in Alabama. I also exposed Wims’ secret deal to forgo a genuine effort to collect the $527,280,064 that is owed to the university by the state of Alabama. After the publication of my article, I was flooded with credible information that suggests Dr. Wims may be unfit to serve as Alabama A&M's president. Based upon my independent investigation of this information, it appears that the background check conducted on Dr. Wims prior to his appointment as president was woefully inadequate in many material respects. A majority of Alabama A&M board of trustees members were apparently hoodwinked about who Dr. Wims really is. For the sake of Alabama A&M's future growth, Dr. Wims should do the right thing and promptly resign his presidency. If Wims does not resign, Alabama A&M's board of trustees should remove him as president, immediately. Alabama State University Suffered Through a Similar Nightmare Experience On July 27, 2014, I publicly apologized for picking Gwendolyn E. Boyd as president of Alabama State University (ASU). I had made a serious error in judgment when I nominated Dr. Boyd for the presidency in November 2013 and urged ASU's board of trustees to appoint her to the job the next month. At the time, I sincerely believed that Dr. Boyd was qualified for the position. After Boyd assumed the ASU presidency, I learned that her prior executive experience had been greatly exaggerated. Additionally, Dr. Boyd's administrative skills were sorely lacking for what was required to be an effective ASU president. When the search for a president began in March 2013, ASU was on top of the world. She was an ultramodern, well-run, and well-respected urban university. ASU had an “A” category credit rating on Wall Street, Level-Six accreditation from its university accrediting agency, and the longest string of "unqualified" or pristine annual financial audits for any university in Alabama. Even though Dr. Boyd had never led any type of educational institutional, I thought she could be successfully mentored in the presidency by those who had high-level experience in running major institutions. By all objective measures, ASU had reached heights as a university that no HBCU had ever experienced. U.S. District Court Judge Harold L. Murphy, the distinguished jurist who presided over the 25-years-long higher education desegregation case in Alabama, praised ASU’s transformation from a small unaccredited college for “Negroes” to a diverse, doctoral degree granting institution with nationally recognized centers for academic excellence. Then came Dr. Boyd in 2014. As soon as she finished taking the oath of office as president, Dr. Boyd swore her personal allegiance to the state's right-wing, racist governor -- Robert Bentley -- and his married paramour -- Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Last Sunday, we revealed for the first time that Robert Bentley was the beneficiary of a $1,000 personal campaign contribution from Dr. Wims in 2010. With Bentley’s encouragement and backing, Dr. Boyd immediately distanced herself from every ASU official who contributed to the University’s astounding success in the higher education desegregation litigation. Additionally, Dr. Boyd routinely treated ASU trustees like they were social pariahs and political outcasts. Dr. Wims has engaged in the same kind of "distancing" behavior with respect to Alabama A&M’s trustees. Like Dr. Boyd, Dr. Wims has sworn his personal alliance to the state's top MAGA Republican official -- Gov. Kay Ivey. Instead of making a financial commitment to Dr. Wims to correct the state's $527,280,064 in underfunding for Alabama A&M, Gov. Ivey issued an empty, "feel good" proclamation on October 1, 2023, that declared the month of October to be "HBCU Month." After six months on the job, I discovered that Dr. Boyd simply lacked the administrative skills needed to be president of any university. While she quickly mastered the ceremonial and superficial aspects of the presidency, Dr. Boyd failed to display the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to run a major university, especially one that was under a direct and politically-motivated gubernatorial attack from Robert Bentley. Dr. Boyd, who was paid a full-time annual salary of $300,000 in 2014, functioned much like a part-time president. She lived and worked on ASU’s campus about four days per week. Dr. Boyd sprinted out of town every Thursday or Friday to advance her ministerial career. For the first time in ASU’s history, we had a “drop-in” president. Like Dr. Boyd, Dr. Wims is a minister and “drop-in” president of sorts who lives and votes in Georgia. Wims' personal campaign contributions to top MAGA Republicans in Alabama were made from his home addresses in Georgia. Like Dr. Boyd, Dr. Wims shares other failings of a personal nature, all of which are deeply troubling. These failings are considered by many to constitute conduct that is unbecoming of a sitting president of a public university. By September 2016, I had concluded that my nomination of Dr. Boyd for the presidency of ASU was a serious mistake. Hence, I issued a public apology for this mistake. Then, I worked diligently with ASU trustees to correct this mistake. In November 2016, Dr. Boyd was suspended as president by the ASU board of trustees. The following month, the board terminate Dr. Boyd's contract, citing her "failure to maintain the confidence of the board.” Alabama A&M and ASU are sister public historically black institutions in Alabama. Based upon what I know today, Dr. Wims appears to be the professional reincarnation of Dr. Boyd, albeit in the male form. He should resign or be fired!

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 8, 2023 An Editorial Opinion Is Alabama A&M University President Daniel K. Wims a closet MAGA Republican? Campaign financing documents and Dr. Wims' actions as president suggest that he is. Dr. Wims was appointed as the university's 12th president on October 2, 2021, on a 7-4 vote. Wims succeeded Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr. as president, effective January 1, 2022. His base salary as president in 2023 is $403,800, or $33,650 per month. Dr. Wims started his employment with Alabama A&M in April 2010 as Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Wims, who is registered to vote in Georgia, has voted by absentee ballot in Georgia elections since 2018. According to campaign financing records, Wims donates cash to Republican candidates, exclusively. There is no record of any campaign contribution Dr. Wims has made to a Democratic Party or Independent candidate. On September 1, 2010, Dr. Wims made a $1,000 personal campaign contribution to disgraced Alabama Republican governor Robert Bentley. Bentley commandeered the Alabama State University board of trustees under false pretenses in 2012 in order to impede the university's growth. Bentley resigned from office in disgrace in April 2017 after I published an exclusive series of investigative articles in 2015 that exposed the governor's secret love affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his married paramour and senior policy advisor. Bentley was also convicted on state ethics charges arising from his sex scandal. On October 17, 2022, Dr. Wims made a $1,000 personal donation to the campaign of Republican state Senator Sam Givhan, whose district includes Madison County, Alabama. Sen. Senator Givhan serves as Chairman of the Madison County Local Legislation Committee and Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee. He is also a member of the Senate Rules, Finance & Taxation General Fund, and Confirmations Committees. Dr. Wims used different variations of his name and different Georgia addresses for his donations to Republican candidates, commencing in September 2010. In making his campaign contributions, Dr. Wims followed an unofficial political protocol set by his predecessor at Alabama A&M, Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr. Dr. Hugine was the former president of South Carolina State University before coming to Alabama A&M as president. Hugine groomed and handpicked Wims as his successor. Like Wims, Hugine also supported Republican candidates with personal cash campaign donations. Unlike Wims, Hugine contributed money to Democratic Party candidates, as well. In 2006, Hugine contributed $1,000 to Republican Mark Sanford, Jr.’s campaign for governor of South Carolina. In 2008, Hugine contributed $250 to Republican Hugh Kenneth Leatherman, Sr.’s senate campaign. Hugine was appointed as president of Alabama A&M on June 26, 2009. Dr. Wims is Beholden to MAGA Republicans, Not Alabama A&M Trustees Since he assumed the Alabama A&M presidency on January 1, 2022, Dr. Wims has been tightly controlled by a small but powerful group of MAGA Republicans in the state. Gov. Kay Ivey, who is president of the university’s board of trustees and a diehard Donald Trump supporter, is one of them. Beyond his devotion to Gov. Ivey, Dr. Wims has little regard for the university's other trustees. In his private discussions with MAGA Republicans, Wims reportedly expresses a personal view that his school's trustees are weak, uninformed, and useless. As such, Wims maintains a cordial but measured distance from them. Wims’ core support as president of Alabama A&M appears to be anchored in his relationship with Gov. Ivey, state Sen. Sam Givhan, and first-term state Representative Kenneth Paschal, the only black Republican in the Alabama Legislature. Paschal serves on the House Education Policy Committee. For all practical purposes, these MAGA politicos control the education policy agenda at Alabama A&M University, as well as the university's destiny. To peacefully co-exist with Alabama A&M's trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and Democrats in the state legislature, Dr. Wims interacts with them on a limited and superficial basis. Meanwhile, the University of Alabama at Hunstville, a school that was founded for white students under the state's dual system of higher education, is thriving with the unabashed and growing support of Gov. Ivey, Sen. Givhan, Rep. Paschal, and other MAGA Republicans in the state legislature and Alabama's Congressional delegation. In Alabama, Money Talks, Walks, and Makes Things Happen The MAGA Republican connection to Alabama A&M caused Dr. Wims to cave-in to Gene Hallman, the Bruno Event Team (now known as Eventive Sports), and the Alabama Sports Council last week. With Wims' approval, Alabama A&M abandoned its superior bargaining position and signed a controversial new Magic City Classic deal with the Council that enriches Hallman and Eventive Sports over a four-year period at the expense of Alabama A&M and Alabama State University. Gene Hallman and the Bruno Event Team have been big financial donors to the MAGA Republicans for years. For example, they contributed campaign donations to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville ($3,300 on April 24, 2023), Gov. Kay Ivey ($5,000 on August 31, 2017), and state Senator Jabo Waggoner ($3,500 in 2013, $1,000 in 2018, and $5,000 in 2022). In the last 5 years, the Bruno Event Team contributed $19,000 to Republican candidates in Alabama and $6,500 to Democratic candidates. As an individual, Gene Hallman has contributed $17,300 to Republican candidates and $2,000 to Democratic candidates. The Bruno Event Team made contributions of $2,500 in 2017 and $1,000 in 2018 to former state Rep. John Knight (D-Montgomery), who awarded Gene Hallman/Bruno Event Team a series of Magic City Classic contracts with ASU from 2000 to 2014. Additionally, Gene Hallman made personal contributions of $1,500 in 2017, $2,800 in 2019, and $2,800 in 2020 to former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Alabama). Jones was an influential director and member of the Alabama Sports Council from 2017 to 2020. After Dr. Wims initially balked at signing the new Magic City Classic deal, Hallman reportedly used his MAGA Republican "juice card" to pressure Wims into approving the deal. Despite a wealth of information available to Dr. Wims that documented how badly Alabama A&M was being commercially exploited under the new agreement, Dr. Wims surrendered to this pressure. Cosmetic changes were made to the Magic City Classic agreement to provide Dr. Wims with a "fig leaf" to cover his naked collapse under pressure. These changes, however, did nothing to diminish the enhanced and enriched economic benefits in the deal for Gene Hallman and Eventive Sports. On a related note, MAGA Republicans in Alabama have advised Dr. Wims to forgo any genuine effort to collect the $527,280,064 in state funds that are owed to Alabama A&M, as described in a formal September 18, 2023, letter of notification to Gov. Ivey from the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture. Dr. Wims has reportedly committed to following this advice in order to protect his job. Today, Alabama A&M University is under the firm, complete, and total control of MAGA Republicans in Alabama. These are the same MAGA officials who are currently engaged in a campaign of massive resistance to the creation of a second black Congressional district in the state's redistricting map. Stay tuned! Much more information is coming your way.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 6, 2023 An Editorial Opinion Most Alabamians have never heard of Walter F. Johnsey (1924-2007). Johnsey was a longtime political operator for Alabama Power Company and the Drummond Company. By the time Johnsey was 50 years old, he was Alabama Power's senior vice president and chief financial officer. Johnsey reported directly to Joseph Farley, Alabama Power’s chief executive officer. During this time, Johnsey also served as a consultant to and director of the Drummond Company, the chief supplier of coal for Alabama Power's coal-fired power plants. The two companies had an incestuous relationship for many decades. Walter Johnsey perfected the art of capturing and controlling elected and appointed officials in Alabama with campaign cash, perks, and "feel good" trinkets. Johnsey's personal financial contributions, coupled with corporate donations he directed, bought him considerable political influence within the state's political community. Johnsey also had a superb ability to capture and control the voices and votes of black public officials on matters of concern to Alabama Power, Drummond, and their growing network of strategic alliance partners. In one of his candid private talks with me before he died, Walter Johnsey explained his method for controlling black public officials in Alabama. According to Johnsey, black elected and appointed officials loved to be “wined and dined” in fancy restaurants. This hospitality gesture made them feel important and validated. If Johnson gave them a ride on Alabama Power’s or Drummond’s private jets, this experience would send the politically seduced public official into a state of euphoria. Johnsey also made modest cash donations to the political campaigns of black elected officials and hooked up their family members, girlfriends, and mistresses with jobs and/or small consulting/vendor contracts. In return, black elected and appointed officials in Alabama gave Walter Johnsey their undying loyalty and devotion. Whenever Johnsey needed these officials to sellout the black community, they did so with pride and joy. According to Walter Johnsey, the white politicians he seduced did not want to be “wined and dined” or flown on private jets. They only wanted cash, and it had to be BIG cash. Alabama's law enforcement and judicial officials were always in Walter Johnsey’s back pocket. His ability to “fix” a state or federal civil or criminal cases was just a phone call away. While I found Walter Johnsey to be an interesting and personable character, I never fell under his seductive spell. Johnsey’s Method of “Capturing and Controlling" Black Public Officials Lives On After Walter Johnsey’s death in 2007, the methodology he perfected for capturing and controlling black elected and appointed officials in Alabama has lived on through a succession of similarly situated political operatives in the state. Two of these operatives oversee and direct the political agendas of most black political and appointed officials in the Birmingham-Jefferson County area, at Alabama State University, and at Alabama A&M University on matters of interest to Alabama’s corporate community. Protecting the financial interests of a member of their business alliance network is a matter of interest to the state's corporate community, especially when the member's wealth is derived from contracts awarded to this member by government entities that are run by black officials. This is why the Drummond Company and five other industrial polluters were able to poison the air, ground, and water in three black neighborhoods in North Birmingham for decades, without fearing or facing any costly adverse consequences from local black politicians or law enforcement officials. This is also why I was not surprised by the embarrassing, one-sided business deal that Alabama State and Alabama A&M made with the Alabama Sports Council and Eventive Sports to produce and promote the Magic City Classic from 2023 through 2026. Gene Hallman, the CEO of the Bruno Event Team/Eventive Sports, is a longtime member of the established business alliance network in Alabama. He regularly participates in their program to capture and control black public officials in the state. As was the case with the previous Magic City Classic production and promotion agreement, the new deal has far more cash and tangible economic value for Gene Hallman and Eventive Sports than it does for Alabama State and Alabama A&M. It is a four-year contract with two state institutions that is enhanced by financial subsidies from the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County. The two participating universities have never known the total cash and economic value of the deal to the Bruno Event Team or Eventive Sports because they have repeatedly failed to ask the right questions during the contract negotiations. As a result, both universities have enriched Gene Hallman’s sports promotion company, while getting “pocket change” or "tip" money in return. Hallman is a seasoned businessman who knows how to metaphorically “skin a cat" in numerous ways. For example, Hallman's Bruno Event Team was able to pocket $760,117 in management fees from the Alabama Sports Council in 2020, even though the Council reported revenues of only $512,038 that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 29, 2020, the Bruno Event Team was able to grab another $886,400 in the form of a “First Round” federal Paycheck Protection Program loan. On August 3, 2021, Hallman was able to convince the government to forgive the loan, together with $11,025 in accrued interest. Gene Hallman snagged an additional satchel of taxpayer's money in 2021 by partnering with the Alabama Department of Public Health to distribute the controversial COVID vaccines at Alabama State and Alabama A&M football games (as well as 11 other universities in the state). According to published reports, neither university shared in this Bruno Event Team cache of money that was made on game-day at their campuses. Following the same PR template that the industrial polluters used to pacify the poisoned black residents in North Birmingham, Hallman is protecting his financial gains under the new Magic City Classic agreement by unleashing a group of minions in the state's black community who have been given talking points to parrot on social media sites and black talk radio. These talking points highlight the amount of money ASU and AA&MU will be paid over the next four years. They totally avoid any mention of the financial jackpot Eventive Sports won from the deal. Once again, Alabama State and Alabama A&M surrendered their economic clout as "owners" of the Magic City Classic. In doing so, these two universities financially empowered Gene Hallman, Eventive Sports, and their network of MAGA friends, including U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) and others of Tuberville's political ilk. As a result, millions of dollars in cash and tangible economic value that should be going to ASU and AA&MU over the next four years will now go to Gene Hallman and Eventive Sports. The new Magic City Classic deal sends this subtle message to the larger business world: As a people, blacks do not value what we own and what it is truly worth. We tend to wallow in a perpetual state of self-imposed financial illiteracy. Magic City Classic football games will come and go each year. However, the ghost of Walter Johnsey seems destined to live on forever in Alabama. The guardians of our political, educational, and economic interests in the state appear to be hopelessly trapped between the enduring legacies of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and political operative Walter Johnsey.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 4, 2023 An Editorial Opinion After a year of refusing to sign a new four-year agreement with the Alabama Sports Council to promote the annual Magic City Classic, Alabama A&M University (AA&MU) ended its holdout and announced a new deal Tuesday. Despite numerous red flags regarding the manner in which the Alabama Sports Council and Gene Hallman’s Bruno Event Team managed the finances associated with the Magic City Classic from 2017 to 2022, Alabama A&M abandoned its superior bargaining power and surrendered to the dominion and control of the Council and Gene Hallman for the next four annual Magic City Classic games. It was a classic sellout of a historically black university's power to leverage its strong business advantage in a very profitable sports deal. Furthermore, this sellout financially benefits one of Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville's acolytes -- Gene Hallman -- in a very big way. The Magic City Classic is the largest black college football Classic game in America. It is also the largest sports event produced and managed by the Alabama Sports Council and the Bruno Event Team (now known as Eventive Sports). The Classic accounted for 66% of the Council’s reported revenues in 2021. These factors, together with many others, placed Alabama A&M in a superior bargaining position. However, the university gave away all of its bargaining power yesterday because it lacked the confidence, preparation, and courage needed to convert its contract negotiating leverage into maximum financial payouts from Magic City Classic events. Alabama A&M Left Big Money on the Table Alabama A&M signed a new agreement with the Alabama Sports Council without demanding that the Council and Eventive Sports: 1. Pay AA&MU an upfront signing bonus of at least $2 million, in addition to the guaranteed game day payout each year. 2. Submit to a financial audit by a certified sports accounting firm for each Magic City Classic, from 2017 to 2022, and for each Classic, from 2023 to 2026. 3. Guarantee that ASU and AA&MU, as co-owners of the "Magic City Classic" trademark, will split 80% of all monies generated by the promoters from Classic-related events, net of capped management fees and expenses pre-approved by the designated "home" team for each year. 4. Guarantee AA&MU a minimum $1.5 million payment each year, whether the university is the “home” or “visiting” team. This minmum payment would be in addition to any support money provided directly to the universities by the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County. 5. Guarantee ASU and AA&MU "preferred vendor pricing" for all expenses where Alabama Sports Council and/or Eventive Sports procures goods and services for the Magic City Classic using their known discounted "wholesaler" purchasing power. When aggressively marketed nationwide and properly managed with tight financial controls, constant oversight, strict accountability, and full transparency, the Magic City Classic can easily generate the dollars needed to make these payouts. ASU and AA&MU signed a terrible new Magic City Classic deal with the Alabama Sports Council for 2023 to 2026. They clearly do not know how to negotiate football Classic deals in the modern era. To this day, neither ASU, nor AA&MU, has independently verified how much money the Alabama Sports Council and Bruno Event Team made from the 2017 to 2022 Magic City Classic events. The financial books and records from the 2017 to 2022 Classic events have never been properly audited by certified sports accounting firms for the benefit of these two participating universities. The Alabama Sports Council and Bruno Event Team have clearly established their dominion and control over ASU, AA&MU, the city of Birmingham, and the Jefferson County Commission with respect to all financial aspects of the Magic City Classic. None of these government entities had the nerve to demand an audit of the monies generated and spent in connection with past Classic events before ASU and AA&MU signed the new agreement. Throughout the contract negotiations with the Alabama Sports Council, ASU and AA&MU never exhibited the confidence, preparation, or courage necessary to win a great financial deal as the registered co-owners of the "Magic City Classic." As they did from 2017 to 2022, ASU and AA&MU will play in the Magic City Classic from 2023 to 2026 for what amounts to “pocket change” or "tip” money in the "Super Bowl" of HBCU football. For reasons that are hard to understand in today's business world, HBCUs in the "Old South" knowingly and willingly subject themselves to financial exploitation by promoters in Classic football games. These universities typically conduct their negotiations with the promoters under the dark cloud of an inferiority complex that neutralizes their bargaining power. To be clear, the new Magic City Classic agreement is NOT the product of white racism. It is the product of ASU's and AA&MU's lack of confidence in themselves and inadequate preparation for negotiations, coupled with a healthy dose of institutional cowardice. Winners and Losers The Magic City Classic financial sellout is not the fault of the sports promoters involved here. In multi-year contracts negotiations, these promoters are expected to seek the best deal for themselves. The Alabama Sports Council and Eventive Sports are clearly big "winners" in the new Magic City Classic deal. The city of Birmingham is also a "winner" of sorts, to the extent that the Magic City Classic will be played in the old, outdated, and structurally dangerous Legion Field in Birmingham for the next four years. At the same time, $90 million of the city's neighborhood improvement money is paying for a new downtown stadium for University of Alabama at Birmingham football. That's a great deal for UAB, which used tax money earmarked for improving poor Birmingham neighborhoods to pay for a new stadium that UAB cannot fill up with fans on game days. The presidents and trustees of Alabama State and Alabama A&M must take full and solely responsible for creating this embarrassing lose-lose Magic City Classic situation for their respective universities. In the eyes of the sports world, sports financing institutions, and the general public, ASU and AA&MU are big "losers" in this new financial deal. The old Jerry Maguire saying,"Show me the money," meant nothing to these universities. ASU and AA&MU handled the financial dealings associated with the new Magic City Classic agreement like they were beggars in a charity line, rather than power players in a highly profitable college football Classic event. Now, we know for sure that Alabama A&M will NEVER get the $527,280,064 the state of Alabama has owed the university since September 18, 2023. If the university folded under the pressure from the Alabama Sports Council and Gene Hallman over a multimillion dollar football Classic deal, Alabama A&M will NEVER muster up the courage to ask Gov. Kay Ivey for its $527,280,064.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 2, 2023 An Editorial Opinion Last year, a team of top officials from Alabama A&M University (AA&MU) met with Mayor Randall Woodfin and his staff to discuss several topics relating to the recently concluded 2022 Magic City Classic. They questioned whether Gene Hallman’s Bruno Event Team had been skimming a 20% commission on the support money the city of Birmingham provided directly to Alabama State University (ASU) and AA&MU to play the Magic City Classic in Birmingham. They also expressed the need for an audit of the revenues and expenditures associated with the Classic. The meeting occurred because the 2018 Legion Field Stadium Agreement had expired. The Agreement provided direct payments to ASU and AA&MU as an incentive to play the Classic in Birmingham. It was time to begin the discussions on a new agreement. The AA&MU team thought the money that the Bruno Event Team provided to both universities was inadequate, and said so to Woodfin. They also wanted an audit of the monies generated from the Classic and the expenses paid out by the promoters of the event. Financial Documents Prepared by the Event Promoters Raised Red Flags In 2016, Hallman's company teamed with the Alabama Sports Council, Inc., to produce and promote the Magic City Class from 2017 to 2022. Their job was to grow revenues for the Classic while minimizing the expenses associated with producing and promoting a high quality event. In 2017, the city paid ASU and AA&MU a total of $400,000 for the Classic, which was split on a 50/50 basis. In 2018, this amount increased to $425,000. The 2018 Legion Field Stadium Agreement provided the following payments, which were also split on a 50/50 basis: (a) $650,000 in 2019, (b) $700,00 in 2020, (c) $750,000 in 2021, and (d) $800,000 in 2022. In total, the city paid ASU and AA&MU a total of $3,725,000 to play in the Magic City Classic during this six year period. The Bruno Event Team's 20% commission on the city's support money, alone, would equal $748,725. Reportedly, Gene Hallman considered the city's support payments as "sponsorship money" which, in his view, was subject to a 20% commission for his Bruno Event Team. To the consternation of Gene Hallman, AA&MU did not share this view. This matter was never resolved. During this period, the Alabama Sports Council increased its "management fees"from $448,980 in 2017 to $770,469 in 2021, even though the number of major sports events under management by the Council remained the same. What is more, the financial statements provided by the Bruno Event Team to AA&MU for 2021 showed total expenditures of $2,937,188 for the Fall and Spring Magic City Classic events that year. However, the Alabama Sports Council's tax return for 2021 reported total Magic Classic expenses of $3,269,979. The $332,791 difference between the amount of expenses reported on the tax return and the amount reported in the financial statement provided to AA&MU is not explained or reconciled in the documents. Magic City Classic Revenues and Expenses Have Never Been Properly Audited by ASU or AA&MU From 2017 to 2022, neither ASU, nor AA&MU, has ever audited the financial books and records of the Bruno Event Team or Alabama Sports Council with respect to Magic City Classic revenues and expenses. The universities simply trusted the two sports promoters to do the right thing during this period. To this date, there has been no independent audit by a qualified and capable sports accounting firm on what the actual revenues and expenses were for Magic City Classic events from 2017 to 2021. [Tax returns and financial reports for the 2022 Magic City Classic are not publicly available.] The Bruno Event Team, together with the chairman of the Alabama Sports Council from 2016 to 2020 (Nick Sellers), ran up a $15 million deficit with their management of the World Games 2022. The city, together with Jefferson County, the state of Alabama, and other entities, had to bailout the World Games with a $15 million debt relief package. Yet, no official at the city of Birmingham, or ASU, or Jefferson County, has pushed to audit the books and records of the Alabama Sports Council or Bruno Event Team with respect to the revenues and expenses related to the Magic City Classic. No public reason or justification has ever been provided for why the Magic City Classic's financial books and records have never been properly audited by certified public accountants who specialize in sports accounting. Magic City "Grifting" Interestingly, some public officials whose actions, or lack thereof, financially benefitted the Alabama Sports Council, the Bruno Event Team, and World Games 2022 saw a significant upturn in their personal financial wellbeing between 2017 to 2021. In one case, a key public official experienced substantial debt relief in his personal finances, even though no new income or revenue was reported on his ethics forms as a source for reducing his personal debt obligations. These public officials also saw lucrative Magic City Classic event contracts awarded to their tight circle of friends, family members, surrogates, mistresses, and lovers, with little to no deliverables expected or provided. Some of these officials enjoyed free access to luxurious beach homes, hotels and resort accommodations for romantic getaways, private jet rides, fine dining, and other valuable perks that are not disclosed on their Alabama Ethics Commission annual disclosure forms. The endless stream of tangible economic benefits that flowed to certain public officials involved in the Magic City Classic financial decisions that benefitted the event's producers and promoters appears to follow the Clarence Thomas model of "gifting" and "grifting." Finally, the Bruno Event Team is known to have provided certain public officials and “influencers” who were NOT part of Magic City Classic game-day operations with free admission tickets, parking passes, and VIP access beyond the number authorized in the Agreement between the city and the participating universities. The public officials in this category also worked to thwart public accountability and transparency with respect to the financial books and records of Magic City Classic events. In an upcoming article in this series of investigative articles, we will tell you who got the the money from the 2021 Magic City Classic events, how they got it, and why they did not want their names revealed in the annual financial statements that were eventually provided to ASU, AA&MU, and the city of Birmingham. Stay tuned!

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 28, 2023 An Editorial Opinion On September 19, 1995, Alabama State University (ASU) and Alabama A&M University (AA&MU) had the foresight to trademark the name “Magic City Classic.” [Click here to read the trademark ownership record issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.] ASU and AA&MU intended to commercialize and profit from the use of their trademarked “Magic City Classic” with respect to all “entertainment services, namely organizing collegiate football games and parades associated therewith, along with social and recreational events, including, concerts, dances, band and other competitions, live entertainment and performances and fund raisers such as golf tournaments.” Generally, a trademark owner gives merchandisers permission to use his/her trademark if you pay him/her a licensing fee and sign a licensing agreement incorporating the specific terms of any commercial and noncommercial use. The licensing fee money from the Magic City Classic trademark was supposed to be split 50/50 between ASU and AA&MU. From 2017 to 2021, the trademarked name “Magic City Classic” was used by hundreds of vendors and merchandisers each and every year that the Alabama Sports Council, Inc., and Bruno Event Team produced, promoted, and managed the Classic. This trademark should have yielded hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees each year, especially since the Classic has evolved into the "Super Bowl of HBCU football." In May 2023, the Bruno Event Team (now known as Eventive Sports) provided ASU and AA&MU financial statements for the Magic City Classic for 2017 to 2021. All of them follow the format of the financial statement for 2021, which is hyperlinked here. All of the financial statements begin with a section on “Revenue.” None of them lists money from “licensing fees” anywhere in the statements. A causal observer to the annual Magic City Classic events described in ASU’s and AA&MU’s trademark ownership record knows that hundreds of vendors locally and across America have used the trademarked name “Magic City Classic” to sell millions of dollars in merchandise and drive tens of thousands of paying patrons to their parties, bars, clubs, private receptions, concerts, and Classic-related events where the trademarked name was used to make money. The Internet is littered with the commercial marketing of the “Magic City Classic“ name for private commercial purposes between 2017 to 2021. An example of the commercial use of the Classic name is depicted in the 2021 photo below. Where is the licensing fee money from all of the commercial vendors across America who used the trademarked name "Magic City Classic" to sell goods and services? It does not appear that ASU and AA&MU got this licensing fee money between 2017 and 2021. In an upcoming article in this series of investigative articles, we will tell you who got the the money from the 2021 Magic City Classic events, how they got it, and why they did not want their names revealed in the annual financial statements that were eventually provided to ASU, AA&MU, and the city of Birmingham. Stay tuned!

By Donald V. Watkins September 27, 2023 An Editorial Opinion The sports promoters at the center of the financial scandal involving the Magic City Classic are the same guys who ran up $15 million in debt with the World Games 2022. We are talking about World Games 2022 CEO Nick Sellers and Bruno Event Team CEO Gene Hallman. According to the Regions Bank news site, “Doing More Today,” the Bruno Event Team was “The Secret Behind the World Games.” Of course, the World Games were a financial bust. While World Games vendors struggled to get paid, the Bruno Event Team found a way to make millions of dollars from the debt-ridden World Games. Who Bailed out the World Games, and Why Does this Matter for the Magic City Classic? World Games promoters Nick Sellers and Gene Hallman failed to meet their financial projections for this sports event, in a big way. So, who bailed them out? The answer to this question begins with the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Remember, Nick Sellers and Gene Hallman also promoted and managed the Magic City Classic together from 2017 to 2020, via the Alabama Sports Council, Inc. After Sellers left the Council in 2020, Hallman continued to promote the Classic with the Council’s new chairman, Birmingham businessman Larry Thornton. Since 2017, the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County have been the Alabama Sports Council's financial partners in producing and promoting the Magic City Classic. Apart from the Classic, the taxpayer “piggy bank” for bailing out struggling, cash-strapped, white organizations and institutions in Birmingham since 2017 has been the city of Birmingham. For example, in March 2018, the city committed $90 million in neighborhood improvement funds to help build a new football stadium for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). In July 2023, the city gave $5 million to the developers of a new downtown open-air amphitheater. In August 2023, the city gave financially destitute Birmingham Southern College (BSC) $5 million to keep this historically white, private college afloat. Additionally, city officials, together with Jefferson County legislators, served as the proud drum majors for $30 million in loans to BSC from the state of Alabama. In stark contrast, these same officials have not lifted one finger to help Alabama A&M University (AA&MU) collect the $527,280,064 debt the state owes this historically black institution. They have been as quiet as a church mouse on this important subject in the black community. In August 2022, the city of Birmingham gave the World Games $5 million from its reserve fund money for debt relief. In exchange for this much-needed cash, Nick Sellers promised to provide “data and professional consulting services … to better assist the city in hosting future large-scale international sports and entertainment events,” including a database of sponsors, volunteers and corporate donors and training on security protocols. Whether the city has received $5 million worth of "data and professional consulting," a "database of sponsors, volunteers and corporate donors," and "training on security protocols" from World Games promoters, as promised, is an open question. If it has, no one at City Hall is talking about it. Instead, they are busy looking for the next failed project to bail out in a city that is reeling from decaying neighborhoods, failing schools, and a surge in violent street crime. In September 2022, the Jefferson County Commission joined the city in the World Games bailout crusade by giving the debt-ridden Games a $4 million bailout In 2023, the state of Alabama and other entities picked up the tab for the remaining $6 million in World Games debt. In 2021, Gene Hallman secured millions of dollars, via funding from UAB and the Jefferson County Department of Public Health, for the Bruno Event Team to work on COVID-related projects. Hallman's sports management company: (a) oversaw a COVID program for college students that involved contact tracing, (b) managed an advertising campaign that encouraged Alabamians to get the controversial COVID-19 vaccines, and (c) distributed these vaccines on campuses for all college football programs in Alabama. Reportedly, the Bruno Event Team's COVID contact tracing program was a “debacle,” while its software app for the program was considered a “joke.” Against this backdrop, the city of Birmingham never conducted proper audits on the financial books and records of the World Games, or the Alabama Sports Council, or the Bruno Event Team, or the Magic City Classic, even though the city has poured millions of taxpayer dollars into the World Games and the Magic City Classic. In the aftermath of the staggering and embarrassing World Games financial losses, Gene Hallman rebranded the Bruno Event Team to Eventive Sports. This rebranding was announced on March 14, 2023. The Magic City Classic is a “Cash Cow” for Everybody, Except ASU and AA&MU The Magic City Classic is the largest historically black college football Classic game in the country. It attracts over 60,000 attendees each year who purchase tickets to the game. The Classic is a "cash cow" for everybody affiliated with producing and promoting this event, except ASU and AA&MU. Despite the demonstrated revenue generating power of the Magic City Classic, the money paid out to Alabama State University (ASU) and AA&MU after the game is little more than “pocket change” or “tip” money. Like the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County, neither ASU, nor AA&MU, has properly audited the financial books and records of the Alabama Sports Council or the Bruno Event Team. What is more, ASU and AA&MU have never known or certified all of the ways the Bruno Event Team derived tangible economic value for itself from the Magic City Classic platform. In 2021, alone, the Alabama Sports Council and Bruno Event Team made between $1,289,378 and $1,487,258 in “management fees” for Magic City events that produced $3,897,417 in reported revenues that year. The $716,789 portion of the management fees that was paid to the Alabama Sports Council helped this non-profit entity end the 2021 tax year with a hefty $534,333 surplus of funds. In an upcoming article in this series of investigative articles, we will tell you who got the rest of the money from the 2021 Magic City Classic events, how they got it, and why they did not want their names revealed in the annual financial statements that were eventually provided to ASU, AA&MU, and the city of Birmingham.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 26, 2023 A Commentary and Editorial Opinion On September 27, 2022, a podcast featuring then-Jackson State University head football coach Deion Sanders by the company “Earn Your Leisure” was uploaded to YouTube. During his interview, Coach Sanders made the following comment: “How can we have 60,000 people in the stadium, and you told me we sold out? I check the receipts and we only sold 28,000 tickets? Y’all better find out who’s stealing because that affects my pocket.” Sanders had a clause in his contract that stated if a Jackson State game sold over 30,000 tickets, then he would receive 10% of the total revenue of ticket sales. In December 2022, Coach Sanders left Jackson State to accept the head football coaching job at the University of Colorado. At the time, I did not understand Deion Sanders’ comments. Now that I have reviewed and published the Form 990 tax returns filed by the Alabama Sports Council for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, I fully understand what Coach Sanders was saying. What is more, the Magic City Classic-related financial statements prepared by the Bruno Event Team and submitted to Alabama State University (ASU) and Alabama A&M University (AA&MU) for 2017 to 2021 have added more clarity and context to the type of concerns Sanders was expressing about the money from these Classic football games. The Magic City Classic is the largest historically black college football Classic game in the country. It attracts over 60,000 attendees each year who purchase tickets to the game. The festivities kick off on the Wednesday before the game and include a press conference, luncheons, pep rally, parade, pre-game tailgate party, and halftime show. Despite these highly profitable Magic City Classic events, the money paid out to ASU and AA&MU after the game was little more than “pocket change” or “tip” money. Something is mighty wrong with this financial picture. In Deion Sanders’ case, he simply accused somebody at Jackson State of “stealing” his money. The university denied his allegation. The situation with the Magic City Classic is far more complicated and insidious than Sanders’ predicament at Jackson State. Here, officials at ASU and AA&MU were grossly negligent in their oversight of the highly questionable Magic City Classic financial expenditures that were made by the Alabama Sports Council and Bruno Event Team. Did entities and individuals affiliated with the Magic City Classic pocket money that should have flowed into the bank accounts of ASU and AA&MU? Here is one clue that will help you answer this question: In 2021, the Alabama Sports Council and Bruno Event Team pocketed between $1,289,378 and $1,487,258 in “management fees” for Magic City events that grossed $3,897,417 in revenues that year. These fee payments, alone, accounted for 33% to 38% of the Magic City Classic revenues in 2021. The precise percentage of the fees is difficult to determine because the financial documentation that was submitted to ASU and AA&MU is too vague, ambiguous, and incomplete to make such a determination. The management fee payment to the Alabama Sports Council was so lucrative that it helped this non-profit organization end the 2021 tax year with a hefty $534,333 surplus of funds. In our next article in this exclusive investigative series of articles, we will disclose who got the rest of the money from the 2021 Magic City Classic events, how they got it, and why they did not want their names revealed in the annual financial statements that were eventually provided to ASU, AA&MU, and the city of Birmingham. We followed the money and connected the dots. This is one hot mess! Stay tuned!

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 25, 2023 An Editorial Opinion On September 22, 2023, I published an exclusive investigative article exposing the fact that the Alabama Sports Council ripped off Alabama State University (ASU) and Alabama A&M University (AA&MU) in producing the Magic City Classic in 2021. The article analyzed the Council’s Form 990 tax return for 2021, (which is the latest full year tax return publicly available) and four prior years (i.e., 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020). The article left thousands of ASU and AA&MU alumni and Magic City Classic patrons bewildered and heartbroken. This article is about the inexcusable lack of financial oversight by ASU, AA&MU, and Birmingham City Hall over the millions of dollars made and spent from the nation’s oldest and biggest black college football Classic game, from 2017 to 2021. The groups that are hurt by this lack of oversight are the taxpayers of the state of Alabama and city of Birmingham and the loyal patrons who have built the Magic City Classic into the largest football game in the nation between two historically black colleges. Lax Institutional Oversight Permeates Every Aspect of the Magic City Classic Financial Deals From 2017 to 2021, ASU and AA&MU utterly and completely failed to: (a) understand the business model used by the Alabama Sports Council (the event producer) and Bruno Event Team (the "event planning manager") to create dynamic economic value for themselves, and (b) leverage their collective clout and resources to maximize Classic-related financial benefits for ASU and AA&MU. Several months ago, Eventive Sports (formerly known as the Bruno Event Team) provided financial statements to ASU and AA&MU covering the period from 2017 to 2021 for Magic City Classic events. These statements contained bare minimum financial information, with no backup documentation for a proper financial audit of the event’s revenues and expenses. From 2017 through 2021, the public officials who were supposed to be the guardians of the money produced by Magic City Classic events were NOT doing their jobs. During the 2021 Fall Magic City Classic weekend, for example, trustees from ASU and AA&MU were busy getting into chic parties, sitting in skyboxes at the game (for free), and dining on catered food and drinks (for free), all while engaging in endless photo ops in and around Birmingham during the 2021 Classic weekend. Yet, the Bruno Event Team charged these extravagant trustee freebies as expense items to each institution. Additionally, the officials in Birmingham City Hall who were supposed to subject the Magic City Classic events to proper financial due diligence and who pushed city taxpayers to subsidize the Classic with city services, perks, and direct cash to each university simply looked the other way. . As was the case with the universities, no one inside City Hall served as a guardian of the tax money the city of Birmingham invested in promoting the Magic City Classic events. We will explain why the city's failure of financial oversight occurred in an upcoming article. ASU and AA&MU Never Properly Audited the Financial Books and Records of the Event Producers/Managers ASU and AA&MU have never had full and complete access to the financial books and records of the Alabama Sports Council and the Bruno Event Team for the purpose of conducting proper annual audits on the Magic City Classic events handled by these contractors, from 2017 to 2021. As a result, the universities have never properly audited the money generated and expenses pay in connection with the Classic events during these years. The financial books and records for the 2022 Magic City Classic, including the Alabama Sports Council's tax return for that year, have not been provided to the Internal Revenue Service or ASU and AA&MU. In 2021, the Alabama Sports Council reported $5,878,430 in revenues on its tax return for sports events it produced that year. A whopping $3,897,417 (or 66.3%) was derived from Magic City Classic events (i.e., the Fall Magic City Classic and the much smaller Spring Magic City Classic). As stated earlier, Eventive Sports provided AA&MU with financial statements for Magic City Classic events held from 2017 to 2021. For financial accountability, transparency, and auditing purposes, the financial statements are useless. A review of Eventive Sports' financial statement for the 2021 Fall Magic City Classic event illustrates this point. [Click here to read this financial statement.] The financial statement provides virtually NO details on any item of revenue or expense. It is a “bare bones” financial statement for a multimillion dollar event. No vendor, professional service provider, consultant, or influencer is listed in the financial statement by name, address, amount paid, and nature and scope of services rendered. No supporting documentation of any kind was supplied to aid the universities in verifying the reasonableness and/or necessity of the expenditures listed. “A whopping $175,710 in undefined “Miscellaneous” expenses were listed across multiple categories in the 2021 financial statement. There is $89,351 listed in “Food and Beverage” expenses, with no record of what vendor(s) provided this service. It is not known whether the food and beverage service for the Classic was provided by Five Start Concessions, LLC, which is co-owned by Gene Hallman and Ronald Bruno, or a third-party food and beverage vendor. If Five Star provided this service, in whole or in part, who vetted, waived, and/or approved this conflict of interest? Remember, the Alabama Sports Council paid the Bruno Event Team a management fee of $770,469 for the Magic City Classic events in 2021. The “Celebrity Fee” is listed as $117,212. Yet, there is no itemization of all of the persons who feasted off this fee, and in what amounts. There is no explanation for what the non-profit Alabama Sports Council did to earn and/or retain a profit of $401,399 for the Fall Magic City Classic. Likewise, there is no explanation for what the Council did to earn and/or retain $226,039 for the Spring Magic City Classic event in 2021. In a May 24, 2023, email from Eventive Sports to AA&MU, the Alabama Sports Council’s $716,789 in total Magic City Classic payments to itself in 2021 was characterized as a “management fee” that was charged to ASU and AA&MU on top of the $770,469 “event planning management" fee that was paid to Gene Hallman's Bruno Event Team that year. Instead of conducting the proper due diligence and full audits on the financial books and records of the Alabama Sports Counsel and Bruno Event Team/Eventive Sports with respect to Classic-related revenues and expenses, ASU and AA&MU merely focused on the amount of money that the Alabama Sports Council paid to each university each year. Between 2017 and 2021, ASU and AA&MU handled the financial dealings associated with the Magic City Classic like they were beggars in a charity line, rather than major players in a highly profitable college football Classic event. Who Got the Money? ASU, AA&MU, and City Hall officials should have been asking the questions raised in this article. They apparently failed to do so -- each year. Why? Our next article will focus on who got the money from the Magic City Classic, how they got it, and why they did not want their names revealed in the annual financial statements that were ultimately provided to ASU, AA&MU, and the city of Birmingham. In investigative journalism, there is always a money trail available somewhere. All we did for this story was follow the money and connect the dots.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 22, 2023 An Editorial Opinion In 2021, the Alabama Sports Council, Inc., reportedly paid Alabama State University (ASU) and Alabama A&M University (AA&MU) about $375,000 each (for a total $750,000) to play in the Magic City Classic at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Alabama Sports Council is a non-profit corporation that was formed on April 18, 2016 to promote amateur sports events in the state. The organization has produced the Magic City Classic in recent years. According to the Alabama Sports Council’s Form 990 tax return for 2021 (which is the latest full year tax return publicly available), the organization reported $5,878,430 in total revenues and $5,344,097 in expenses that year. The tax return was signed by Birmingham businessman Larry Thornton, who was listed as the Council’s Board Chairman in 2021. Nick Sellers, who is best known as the CEO of The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, was listed as a Board member. Sellers was the Council's chairman from 2016 to 2020. Nichelle Nix, former director of the Alabama Office of Minority Affairs, was also listed as a board member on the 2021 tax return. Of the Council’s $5,878,430 in revenues in 2021, a whopping $3,897,417 (or 66.3%) was derived from the Magic City Classic. The remaining $1,981,013 in revenue was derived from the Council's production of Hammerfest, SEC Baseball Tournament, and SEC Women's Golf (which cost the Council $1,210,484 to produce and netted the Council a separate $770,529 profit). The Alabama Sports Council reported expenditures of $3,269,979 for the Magic City Classic in 2021. Off the top, the Council made a hefty $627,438 profit on the Magic City Classic, alone (i.e., $3,897,417 in revenues, minus $3,269,979 in expenses). Despite their creation of $3,897,417 in revenues from the Magic City Classic, ASU and AA&MU received only $750,000, or a mere 19.2% of the total money generated by the Classic in 2021. In the world of sports promotions, the 19.2% awarded to ASU and AA&MU is viewed as “pocket change” or “tip” money. So, Where Did the Money From the Classic Go? The Alabama Sports Council’s Form 990 tax return itemizes $863,634 in general expenses related to the 2021 Classic and the three smaller sports events (i.e., Hammerfest, SEC Baseball Tournament, and SEC Women's Golf) that were produced by the Council that year. These payments included: 1. $770,469 paid to Gene Hallman’s Bruno Event Team for event planning management. Hallman's fees for managing the Council's sports events have ranged from $448,980 in 2017 to $770.469 in 2021. During the 2020 COVID pandemic year, Hallman's company pocketed $760,117, even though the Council reported an overall loss of $378,921. Today, Hallman's company is called Eventive Sports. What is more, Gene Hallman is a big-time Republican donor who contributed $3,300 in campaign contributions to U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) and $2,900 to U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama). 2. $11,048 for accounting services. 3. $78,000 for lobbying. 4. $1,500 for advertising and promotions. 5. $148 for office expenses. 6. $2,469 for insurance. Only 66.3%, (or $572,589) of the Alabama Sports Council's $863,634 in general expenses can be rightfully attributed to the Magic City Classic, especially since the other three sports events produced by the Council in 2021 returned a $770,529 profit. The Alabama Sports Council's Form 990 tax return does not say how the remaining $3,324,828 (or 85%) in revenues generated from the 2021 Classic was spent. However, we know from published reports that ASU and AA&MU received about $375,000 each for playing in the Classic that year. Apart from the payment of $750,000 to ASU and AA&MU and the expenditure of $572,589 for the Classic's portion of the Council's general expenses, the remaining $2,574,828 in Magic City Classic revenues was disbursed to a cadre of politically-connected consultants, "influencers," and vendors who received non-bid contracts from the Council in amounts under the $100,000 threshold for reporting these payments on the Form 990 tax form for 2021. We will identify the consultants, "influencers," and vendors who received this $2,574,828 in Classic-related money, along with their undisclosed financial relationships to certain politicos in Alabama, in an upcoming October article. It appears that ASU and AA&MU had zero input in managing and minimizing the Council's $3,269,979 in direct Classic-related expenses in a way that maximized a financial return for the two participating universities. Reportedly, trustees from ASU and AA&MU were content with the opportunity to attend chic parties, sit in skyboxes at the game (for free), and engage in endless photo ops in and around Birmingham during the 2021 Classic weekend. A Pattern and Practice of Financially Abusing ASU and AA&MU The Alabama Sports Council's Form 990 tax return for 2021 evidences a disturbing pattern and practice of financial abuse of ASU and AA&MU with respect to the revenues generated, expenses paid, and amounts paid to each university. The Council's tax returns for 2017, 2018, and 2019 reflect the same structural flaws in the Magic City Classic's financial deal that appear in the 2021 tax return. Again, the money paid to ASU and AA&MU in 2017, 2018, and 2019 from the millions of dollars in revenues generated by the Classic fell well within the category of "pocket change" or "tip" money. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have been a factor in limiting the Alabama Sports Council's financial abuse of ASU and AA&MU for 2020. The financial abuse resumed with the 2021 Classic, and likely occurred with the 2022 Magic City Classics, as well. [Note: The Council's tax return for 2022 is not expected to be filed until January 2024]. The financial abuse of ASU and AA&MU is poised to continue with the upcoming 2023 Magic City Classic in October because there are no adequate guardrails against this kind of abuse. Likewise, there is no effective institutional oversight to prevent it. It should be noted that both ASU and AA&MU voluntarily agreed to the bad financial deal embodied in their Magic City Classic agreements with the Alabama Sports Council. As such, they bear the ultimate responsibility for this unfortunate situation. Considering the ease with which the Alabama Sports Council was able to garner a one-sided advantage over ASU and AA&MU in connection with the $3.9 million derived from the 2021 Magic City Classic, it is inconceivable that Alabama A&M is ready, willing, and able to collect the $527,280,064 debt that the university is owed by the state of Alabama. Gov. Kay Ivey and the Republican majority in the Alabama Legislature have far more experience in financially abusing historically black educational institutions and majority-black government agencies than the Alabama Sports Council has ever exhibited. As structured, the Alabama Sports Council's Magic City Classic deal in 2021 was a lose-lose proposition for ASU and AA&MU -- from every financial angle. Both universities were ripped-off in a classic fashion. As shown in the Form 990 tax return for 2021, the Classic was a financial bonanza for the Alabama Sports Council and its tight circle of political friends, "influencers," and networking partners.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 17, 2023 Jann S. Wenner, the 77-year-old co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, made news last week when he explained his reason for failing to include women and black musicians in his forthcoming book, “The Masters.” Wenner’s book includes interviews with white men like Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and Bono. When asked by the New York Times why “The Masters” did not include interviews with women or black musicians, Wenner gave this candid and shocking response: "Just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level," Wenner is quoted as saying about the women of rock. He expressed similar thoughts regarding black rock artists, some of whom created the music and culture Wenner reflected upon and profited from with Rolling Stone. “Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right?” Wenner said, according to the interview. “I suppose when you use a word as broad as ‘masters,’ the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level.” Wenner also stated that he did not feel the need to include even a token woman or black musician in “The Masters.” “You know, just for public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism,” he said in the interview. “Which, I get it. I had a chance to do that.” After a firestorm of criticism about his comments, Jann Wenner released a statement on Saturday apologizing for his comments about women and black musicians. "In my interview with The New York Times I made comments that diminished the contributions, genius, and impact of Black and women artists and I apologize wholeheartedly for those remarks," said Wenner’s statement. Late Saturday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame removed Wenner from its board of directors.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 15, 2023 Deion Sanders, after just two wins at Colorado this season, I can feel the hatred towards you growing in the college football coaching world. I also see the jealousy that some blacks have towards you solely because you exude confidence, courage, and success in the coaching ranks of big-time college football. You and the Colorado Buffaloes have turned the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA football upside-down. You and your team are the talk of the nation. Today, the Buffaloes are drawing more TV viewers than any FBS team. You and the Buffaloes are the epicenter of the FBS world. You have single-handedly changed the paradigm and narrative on FBS football. You have proven that the impossible is possible! Because of this paradigm shift, the hatred towards you is flaming like a barn fire. Using Hatred and Jealousy to Fuel Success As was the case in my long and successful legal career, you must use this hatred and jealousy to fuel your professional success. When I actively practiced law in Alabama for nearly five decades, I achieved two national records in American jurisprudence that are unbroken today. First, I am the only attorney who led a criminal defense team in defeating federal prosecutors on 85 felonies counts against a single defendant – U.S. v. Richard Scrushy (2005). Scrushy was actually innocent of the charges against him. This remarkable feat was profiled in the July 25, 2005 edition of Fortune Magazine. The hatred directed against me in Alabama for winning Richard Scrushy’s case was searing. I took a break from practicing law and moved to Miami one day after the six-month trial ended in the Scrushy case on June 28, 2005. Second, I hold the longest winning streak for major courtroom trials – at 155 straight victories. This winning streak was broken in October 2017 by a Tampa, Florida-based lawyer named David S. Shankman, who is the best trial lawyer in America today. Abuse Comes in All Forms While amassing my 155 straight courtroom victories, I was subjected to every kind of verbal and courtroom abuse you can image from some of Alabama’s most racist federal and state judges. The cheating schemes devised and implemented by these judges for the benefit of my white opponents were non-stop, cold-hearted, and nasty. Yet, I always found a pathway to victory. After 74 straight wins for the city of Birmingham, taxpayers filed suit in April 1992 to enjoin the city from utilizing my legal services to represent this client. The plaintiffs claimed I was winning too many cases and making too much money in legal fees. They also sought to have me to repay the legal fees I earned for being victorious in these 74 cases. In other words, my excellence in the courtroom was not good enough for them. The trial judge in this case ostensibly agreed with the plaintiffs by allowing the case to meander in his courtroom. I appealed the trial judge's mishandling of this case to the Alabama Supreme Court. On July 16, 1993, I won my appeal and continued my successful representation of the city of Birmingham until I retired from law (for the first time) in 1998. The Rating System for Lawyers The white lawyers who formed the peer review panels in Alabama’s legal community for the Martindale-Hubbell publication did not award me an “AV” peer review rating until 2005, even though I defeated an army of “AV” rated lawyers while amassing my 155 straight victories during the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early to mid 2000s. Martindale-Hubbell rates all of the lawyers in America who are worthy of a rating. An “AV” peer review rating is the highest one that is conferred upon an elite group of attorneys in America. For 45 years, I coped in the legal profession with the same intense hatred and jealousy you are experiencing from dominating the FBS football coaching profession today. The Bar Association elites in Alabama viewed my courtroom victories as “miracles” and “stunners,” rather than the consistent display of intellectual acumen, intense preparation, and flawless execution in the face of a flood of cheating by some judges who created an unlevel playing field. Deion Sanders, you will face the same circumstances with each victory the Buffaloes win this season, especially as you continue to outshine top-tier white coaches in FBS football. I never allowed my decision-making inside the courtroom to be influenced by emotional outbursts, even when a couple of white lawyers physically attacked me in the courtroom solely because I was winning my cases. I acted indifferent to this violence and the cheating by trial judges and focused on the flawless execution of my courtroom game plan. I totally ignored the negative news coverage that was constantly generated by many reporters from Alabama media organizations who covered my trials. They have always protrayed my clients and me in the most demeaning way possible. In my personal case (2018-2019), a reporter and columnist for the Birmingham News named John Archibald literally made up a fake racist quotation and attributed it to me on multiple occasions to poison potential white jurors against me. Even after the News belatedly retracted Archibald's fake racist quote and publicly apologized to me, it was too late – the damage had been done in Birmingham’s white community. Which brings me to my next point – always control the narrative around your name, image, and likeness, to the extent possible. I do this today by publishing multimedia content under my name and brand across multiple social media platforms owned and controlled by me. Because of my long and effective record of protecting and advancing civil rights in Alabama, leading members of the state’s ultra-conservative political establishment, law enforcement community, right-wing judiciary, and captive mainstream media have gone to great lengths to portray me in the most negative light possible on various Internet platforms. This concerted effort is a continuation of Alabama's well-known and documented role in the FBI's original COINTELPRO program. Today, these regressive forces are leading Alabama’s open defiance of federal court orders in Mulligan v. Allen that seek to create a second black Congressional district in a state that is nearly 27% black. I never outsource my professional brand to news reporters who are free to re-imagine it through the lens of their personal prejudices and the media spin dictated to them by my adversaries. I also realize that, in America, no one will tell the true in our favor, but us. I fully understand the historical reasons for this sad fact, especially during this turbulent period when so many right-wing politicians are trying to erase the 400-year history of our people in America. You have the opportunity to tell our stories to a national audience. Keep it doing it. Your stories are our stories in more ways than you know. I realized early on that very few blacks in America have the courage to do what it takes to dominate within in a traditionally white zone of business competition. In fact, many "Old School" blacks still preach to talented and gifted young black men and women that they cannot achieve dominance in a traditionally white businesses and professions that require specialized knowledge, skills, abilities, and access to capital and other tangible resources. As a result of this false programming, many of our talented and gifted young men and women often surrender their competitive aspirations to a self-imposed inferiority complex. As a race, we must break out of this kind of inferiority complex. Deion Sanders, I don’t subscribe to this misguided philosophy, and neither do you. My parents, K-12 schools, childhood community, and church never yoked me with the badge of inferiority that cripples so many black professionals and business owners today. My performance in the courtroom was always driven by the unrelenting exercise of intellectual acumen, intense preparation, and the ability to motivate my litigation team members to achieve excellence in reaching a common goal -- victory. You exhibit the same attributes in the FBS football coaching profession. Deion Sanders, whatever you do going forward, do not let anyone stand in your way as you climb to the mountaintop of FBS football. Tune out all haters and their small-minded jealousy. I believe!