It was recently reported that football players at the University of North Carolina made up over one-third of the total students enrolled in questionable classes taught in a department that the university itself has recently investigated for academic fraud.
The school said the football players represented 246 of 686 enrollments (36 percent) in the 54 courses within the Department of African and Afro-American Studies between summer 2007 and summer 2011. Those classes lacked appropriate supervision and were called “aberrant” or were “taught irregularly” with limited contact between instructors and students, according to a university report.
School boards have begun work getting budgets in place for the new 2012-13 school year. The people who do the budgets and the people who vote on the budgets probably aren’t too worried about the 2012 high school football season, but there will come a time when school districts will have to evaluate the value of fielding junior high and high school football teams.
There is evidence that football is causing major health problems for former players later in life. Some National Football League players have been quite vocal about post-career problems, which include depression, thoughts of suicide, family problems, bankruptcy, homelessness, and for some, like Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, suicide.
Biggest Losers? Minnesota Taxpayers
(Editor’s Note. The following article is reprinted here with the express permission of The Heartland Institute. This article appeared on their site’s blog at the time of the vote in the Minnesota Legislature to provide public funding for a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. The group has just released a policy brief arguing that the most viable longterm model for pro sport franchise stability is for fans to own teams, as is the case with the Green Bay Packers).
The Minnesota House of Representatives voted recently to approve a $975 million plan to build the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings a new football stadium and the state Senate was expected to also approve the measure. The House plan forces the owners of the Vikings to raise $427 million of the tab from private sources.
“The taxpayers of Minnesota will be the big losers if forced to subsidize a new playground for millionaire players and multi-millionaire owners,” said Joseph Bast, president of The Heartland Institute and author of its recent work on sports stadium subsidies.
Even the Mighty Can Fall
On May 3 a number of news outlets reported the story that the Florida State athletic department may be forced to cut as much as $2.4 million in expenses for the 2012-13 budget year so that the budget can be balanced. Athletic director Randy Spelman attributed the shortfall to declining revenues from the sale of football tickets.
Are We a Nation of Fat People?
Taming the obesity epidemic in this country needs an all-hands-on-deck strategy so that schools provide students 60 minutes of physical activity daily, fast-food restaurants offer healthier fare for kids, and communities build recreational spaces that encourage physical activity, says a new report.
This was a conclusion drawn from presentations at a recent conference at the Center for Disease Control. The conference was convened by the Institute of Medicine, which provides independent advice on health issues to policy makers, foundations and others.
I didn’t know Junior Seau although I met him on the day he was drafted into the National Football League in 1990 and probably interviewed him after a football game a few times more. From all accounts, he was a fearsome presence on the football field; a killer who at times could control a game defensively.
(Editor’s Note: This article is a counterpoint to one by Dr. Richard Vedder and they are being posted together on this blog. The purpose of a blog should be to facilitate thought and discussion on serious issues. The views expressed in both articles are not necessarily the views of the Digest editorial staff or of the United States Sports Academy as a whole.)
The blog article by Richard Vedder, “College Sports and the Seven Deadly Sins,” promotes serious thought and consideration in the field of sports as it relates to intercollegiate athletics.
However, this article is the one drop of rain that has made my bucket overflow and I am prompted to respond. Professor Vedder and Professor Roy Boyd, who are both with the Department of Economics at Ohio University, expose yet another duplicitous attitude which has infested university campuses ever since the inception of intercollegiate athletics.
(Editor’s Note: This article and a counterpoint by Dr. Arthur Ogden are being posted together on this blog. The purpose of a blog should be to facilitate thought and discussion on serious issues. The views expressed in both articles are not necessarily the views of the Digest editorial staff or of the United States Sports Academy as a whole.)
My colleague, Roy Boyd, and I were complaining about the latest excesses in intercollegiate athletics (ICA) at our school (Ohio University), when Roy opined that a large number of the seven deadly sins were involved. Upon further reflections, I think all seven of those sins have been part of the ICA scene in recent years.
BountyGate: The Crime and Punishment
Taxation without representation is a famous statement of the American Revolution.
Punishment without evidence is not allowed by the American Constitution.
Commissioner Roger Goodell wants players to “trust” him based upon his word and his alone.
(Editor’s Note. How hard and how often to train are issues that concern both serious and recreational runners. Dr. Buns is an experienced runner and coach. This article presents ideas that can help runners as they contemplate how best to train. More is not necessarily better).
