When it comes to high school sports these days we’re increasingly in an era of “haves and have-nots.” Many states have open enrollment, allowing athletes to transfer to sports powerhouses without penalty. Both public and private schools are being accused of illegal recruiting across the nation. Economic disparity and other factors have resulted in some […]
Continue Reading →: High School Sports Need to Be Based on Competitiveness
In a deal that was unanimously approved by the compensation committee of the University of Alabama System board of trustees, Alabama football coach Nick Saban will make $5.3 million for the 2012 season as part of a new contract worth nearly $45 million total, not including incentive bonuses. The new contract comes at a […]
Continue Reading →: Saban’s New Contract Latest Evidence NCAA is Broken
A League of Fans Special Feature
William Dowling
William C. Dowling is University Distinguished Professor of English and American Literature at Rutgers University. He specializes in 18th century English literature, literature of the early American Republic, and literary theory. He is the author of Confessions of a Spoilsport: My Life and Hard Times Fighting Sports […]
Continue Reading →: Q’s & A’s with Leading Sports Activists: William Dowling
Filling out March Madness brackets is an annual rite of spring for many of the nation’s sports fans. For three weeks, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament captivates the nation with upsets, buzzer beaters, and athletic excellence.
However, many of the top teams on the hardwood don’t have the same commitment to academic excellence as they […]
Continue Reading →: Considering Academic Prowess Would Change the Look of March Madness
For an organization that purports to be all about the “student-athletes,” the NCAA sure operates as if it’s all about the money. The current men’s basketball tournament has made it very clear what the NCAA values most: dollar bills. The long timeout breaks for commercials completely ruin the flow of the basketball games for the […]
The win-at-all-costs (WAAC) mentality — and all its ramifications — is sadly becoming more and more pervasive in our society. Two recent events highlight how warped some people’s priorities can be when it comes to youth sports.
After his son’s team lost a game, an angry dad allegedly attacked the coach of the opposing […]
“The appetite is there,” said David Branch, the president of the Canadian Hockey League, […]
Continue Reading →: NHL Quickly Becoming the Last Hockey Organization to Hang Onto Fighting
A League of Fans Special Feature
Taylor Branch
Taylor Branch is a civil rights and presidential historian best known for his trilogy on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. He won the Pulitzer Prize for the first part of that trilogy, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63. He also […]
Continue Reading →: Q’s & A’s with Notable Sports Figures: Taylor Branch
Sports columnists and commentators across the country love to play the “good guy vs. the bad guy” game. Target the bad guy and try to bury him. Identify the good guy, paint him as super human. and place him on a pedestal. (At least for a time, until there’s a slip up, and then they […]
Continue Reading →: There Aren’t Any Good Guys in the Saints Bounty Case
Famed civil rights historian and author Taylor Branch calls it a modern-day civil rights issue.
“College athletes are citizens and their rights are being deprived by the NCAA in a way that’s basically collusion,” says Branch. “The NCAA system is not only unjust, it’s unstable. The NCAA is in perpetual scandal mode.”
New York […]