Rick Reilly To J-School Grads: 'Don't Write For Free'

Boys and girls, take the advice of ESPN.com columnist Rick Reilly.

Don’t write for free.

Reilly gave the commencement address at the University of Colorado (his alma mater) and had some great advice for the graduating class of 2011.

“When you get out there, all I ask is that you: DON’T WRITE FOR FREE! Nobody asks strippers to strip for free, doctors to doctor for free or professors to profess for free. Have some pride! What you know how to do now is a skill that 99.9 percent of the people don’t have. If you do it for free, they won’t respect you in the morning. Or the next day. Or the day after that. You sink everybody’s boat in the harbor, not just yours. So just DON’T!

“And don’t ever use the word ‘enjoy.’ Ever.

“One of my rules is to write sentences that have never been uttered before in the history of the English language. . . . So when you get out there, say things people have NEVER said before, like: ‘Tiger, I’d like you to meet my sister.’”

And if you do write for free, there’s always the reputable Bleacher Report.

[H/T SportsGrid]

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