New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is a one percenter, all right. A Boston Globe review of IRS filings by more than 50 athletes found that the charity established by Rodriguez gave substantially less than it was supposed to give to charitable causes.
Along with those of other notable players, Rodriguez' charity failed to donate 65 to 75 percent of its revenue to charitable causes, which nonprofits are generally expected to contribute. In fact, the injured ballplayer reportedly paid barely 1 percent of a $403,862 total the A-Rod Family Foundation raised in 2006. Rodriguez teamed up with Jay-Z that year for a charity poker tournament, and though the celebrity duo was able to raise over $700,000 before facility use expenses, the IRS reported only $5,090 of that total went to charity—$5,000 to the Shawn Carter Scholarship fund and a whopping $90 to a Little League baseball team in Miami. The organization soon stopped submitting financial reports to the IRS altogether, subsequently stripping it of its tax-exempt status.
According to the Boston Globe, Rodriguez was not the only athlete who fell short of the general nonprofit expectations for charitable donation. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett's foundation only gave 37 percent, Baltimore Ravens receiver Anquan Boldin's gave 17 percent and former Yankee Roger Clemens' foundation reported donations of baseball memorabilia totaling 10 percent higher than the amount the items actually sold for.
Talk about a ripoff.
Before you start condemning all athletes, The Globe also reported some strong cases, as well. San Francisco 49'ers QB Alex Smith gave 91 percent of his donations, Michael Phelps submitted 75 percent and New York Knick Carmelo Anthony passed along 87 percent of his charity's income.
What do you think of A Rod's troubles? Is this worse than his admitted steroid use? Let us know how you feel about the troubled Yankee with your opinion.