Legal Commentary

So, Isiah Thomas is going to coach for free in his first year at FIU--upon finding out about the substantial budget cuts and firings, Thomas agreed to donate his first-year salary (the amount of which was not reported in any story I have seen) back to the university. This is a truly impressive and classy move for which I give Thomas a ton of credit (although I wonder what is National Association of Basketball Coaches brethren will think). It also is a great PR move; it might assuage faculty who might have objected to the hiring and its cost and it might keep some national media attention on the program next year to watch the novelty of Thomas not only coaching in college, but coaching for free.

I do not think this changes most of what I wrote this morning; I admit to remaining skeptical--about whether he can create a successful basketball program, about whether it is going to be expensive at a time the university cannot afford it (he will be getting paid beginning in his second year, although 3-7% budget cuts still are planned throughout the university), and about whether it will cause off-court problems. But it certainly is off to an interesting start.

Anyone out there want to talk about the tax implications of this?