Mike Krzyzewski Implores People To Stop Complaining About NIL And The Transfer Portal

Former Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski believes that college sports fans should accept the fact that NIL is here to stay and stop complaining about it.

Speaking on "The Dan Patrick Show," Coach K talked about how NIL has radically changed the landscape of college athletics. Despite many of the negative side effects it has caused, Krzyzewski said that it did not contribute to his retirement in 2022.

"I didn't retire because of the new environment in college sports. It would've been exciting to try to adapt to that. You have to keep adapting. This is the biggest adaptation, I think, in the history of college athletics," Krzyzewski said. "It's not been coordinated. You don't even know who to call into a meeting to discuss what needs to be discussed. This has been three years now, Dan."

Many people incorrectly believe that his response was a direct jab at former Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban. Fans far and wide said that Saban implied he retired because of how NIL changed everything, but he even said that was not the case.

Coach K beleives that someone needs to create rules for how to proper handle NIL and the transfer portal. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Krzyzewski then stated that fans should stop focusing on the negative effects of NIL, and instead embrace it, since it isn’t going anywhere.

"Instead of complaining about what it is, just accept the fact that this is a new time. Just because it isn't like the old, doesn't mean it's not okay," Krzyzewski said. "This is what it is, and we should figure out how to do what it is in the best interest of everyone."

He is right, it’s a new time and creates a different dynamic in the relationship between players and schools. But something needs to be figured out quickly, because we can all agree that no oversight and no direction has led to an insane number of problems.