HS Turns Down Vikes LBs 20K Donation

Two Vikings Brothers, who are also two of the teams LBs, tried to donate 20K to their small HS in Baltimore so that they could replace the scoreboard which had fallen into disrepair. The problem? They wanted their name on the board...Apparently it's against the law for a public building to name ANYTHING after ANYONE...and so the school declined the proposition. What I'm sure they didn't expect was the call from the brothers for their money back.

Now there's two things you can say...
1.How dumb can a school be to turn down 20K in these times?
or 2. What happened to selfless donation?

The worst part is that the brother's were planning on giving additional money that included improving the field and facilities, but now that plan's been scrapped saying the decision was "like a slap in the face".

I see both sides. I don't think that taking the money back is in the "spirit of giving" but I also see how they feel disrespected that the school just turned down the proposition outright. I don't see simply getting a name on something as bragging like some people might, but taking that money back doesn't exactly make you seem as generous as when you first donated the money.

As for the school, I really find it difficult to see the point of a rule like that. Sure I bet its about not putting up companies names or avoiding controversy, but when it stands in the way of a huge donation, you should probably look at the specifics of the rule. It lessens the chance of someone donating money while maybe stopping a controversial name to go up once every 20 years. I would rather get the money and deal with the very occasional controversy.

I'm not sure who's really at fault here...I don't think they should be taking the money back, but at the same time it's their donation and they have the right to have a say in it's implementation. On the other side, I think the school is really hurting itself by the strictness of the rule and giving a very legitimate reason for the brothers to withdraw the donation. You shouldn't need something in return for a donation, but you also should be aware of financial situations and take advantage of generosity when it comes your way...sometimes that includes honoring the person who made the donation.
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201111/high-school-surprisingly-turns-down-nfl-players-large-donation