OK, so technically the issue is a scoreboard, not a billboard... but tomato, tomato. (That doesn't work in print, does it?)
Anyways, ThePostGame is reporting that our own Henderson brothers, E.J. the Immortal and Erin the... Lesser? wanted to donate some money back to their old high school, Aberdeen High, to help patch up some much needed repairs- scoreboard, lights, paint, etc. The total cost anticipated is roughly $50,000, and the Hendersons pitched in more than $20K towards it.
As with most such generosity, they wanted their name somewhere- the scoreboard. However, school rules apparently prohibit naming anything... anything. In fact, they wanted to name the field after Marine Lance Col. Patrick Ryan Adle... former captain of the football team and also killed in action serving our country... and the school board said: no.
Seems a little draconian, no?
Anyways, the Hendersons now want their money back. Not quite sure how I feel about this... granted, its common practice that big donations = names on stuff. And the rules regarding this again seem awfully strict, and in a pretty silly way. Heck, if the Hendersons wanted to say, re-do my room for me or something, I'd slap their family name on my door.
That said, it's a bit interesting that the Hendersons now want the money donated to their alma mater back simply because the school board has some weird rules. Erin Henderson called it a "slap in the face", which I get to an extent. But still- seems like potentially bad PR to ask for the money back just because your family name doesn't get to go up on the scoreboard. (Again, worth pointing out- a scoreboard you just bought.) Oh, and by the way, apparently the donation was just going to be the beginning- the Hendersons apparently intended to help fully refurbish the entire football area.
What say you, Viking faithful? Are the Hendersons right to ask for the money back, or is it just a little petty?
(And is anyone proud I just wrote that whole story without making a "Harry and the Hendersons" reference? Cuz it was really tough to do.)