Many people have had something to say about Nick Saban’s opinions on the new name, image, and likeness landscape in college football. Jimbo Fisher and Deion Sanders have already fired back at him for bringing them up in his rant, but that was merely the start of it.
Miami-area billionaire and University of Miami booster John Ruiz clapped back at Alabama head football coach Nick Saban on Saturday after he took aim at multiple programs while talking to local business leaders Wednesday in advance of the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, saying the following about Miami, per AL.com’s Mark Heim:
“These guys at Miami that are going to play basketball there for $400,000, that’s in the newspaper. The guy tells you how he’s doing it. But the NCAA can’t enforce their rules because it’s not against the law, and that’s an issue, that’s a problem. And unless we get something that protects them from litigation, I don’t know what we’re going to do about it.”
Ruiz had plenty to say about Saban’s comments to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson:
“This was a very, very poor display of judgment and character,” Ruiz told Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “It felt like a little teenager whining about why previously they had free reign and all of a sudden when you level the playing field [it changes for Saban]. It was very ugly of him.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral Football stories via Google! Follow Us
Ruiz added:
“Shocked, shocked that somebody in the business for such a long time and on top of his game was totally clueless of what all of this means. He basically said, ‘I’m losing my market dominance because of everything that is going on’ and then starts … throwing everyone under the bus.”
Ruiz also called Saban’s comments a “very, very poor display of judgment and character,” and said it was “totally inappropriate the way he conducted himself and handled everything.”
On Saturday, Saban appeared on ESPN’s PGA Championship simulcast and told Joe Buck, “It was not my intention to really criticize anyone,” per AL.com’s Mike Rodak.
