The problem with not admitting a problem

I can understand why Russell Wilson would be defensive about the criticism of the Why Not You Foundation, but his response has become the biggest issue here.

The biggest problem with Russell Wilson’s foundation is the reluctance to admit there is a problem.

He’s had plenty of chances to do so. So have the people that work for and around that foundation. They could have addressed or at least acknowledged the issues when Jason Wolf of the Arizona Republic was reporting the story that was published last week. They could have done so after the story was published. Instead, they’ve chosen to dispute the methods used to measure the fund-raising totals while refusing to earnestly engage with scrutiny.

This is too bad for a number of reasons. It’s too bad for the people who donated to Wilson’s non-profit organization because they’re not getting the transparency that the rules governing non-profits are supposed to provide. It’s too bad for those fans who understandably love Wilson and are being led to defend him in a way that doesn’t line up with the reality of the situation. Most of all, it’s too bad because the inability to honestly reckon with the potential shortcomings is actually intensifying the skepticism and hostility he’s facing from people who already assume the worst about him and they’re making someone like me — who certainly doesn’t dislike Wilson — roll my eyes because he won’t acknowledge what are fairly obvious issues.