Poverty And The College Football Money Machine

Connie Schultz wonders how Americans can justify Ohio State University paying Urban Meyer over $4 million a year to coach its football team while 18 million children live in poverty in her new column, Homeless Children And Millionaire Coaches:”

Before I weigh in on the heart-stopping salary of Ohio State’s new football coach, let me tell you about the kids I met last Sunday evening.

You may have met them, too. Their names are Arielle and Austin Metzger, and they starred in a “60 Minutes” story by Scott Pelley.

Arielle is 15; her brother is 13. For the past five months, they’ve been living in a truck with their father, Tom. He is an out-of-work carpenter in Florida’s Seminole County, where one-third of America’s homeless families live.

Pelley described how Arielle and Austin eat their meals out of cans, bathe in gas station bathrooms and spend their evenings in libraries — not just for the computers but also for the lights.

Pelley asked the children what it’s like to be a kid in America with no place to call home:

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}