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Ride it like you stole it, NM

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September 15, 2011, 03:31 PM

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This article appears in the Oct. 2011 edition of "The Atlantic" magazine, and is exaustively researched by Taylor Branch. 'The Shame of College Sports' is, I think, the definitive expose of the NCAA: its history, its monopoly over the college sports cartel, its hypocrisy involving academic eligibility and amateur status of players, its self-proclaimed 'Non-Profit' label, and its desperate attempts to remain relevant and in control of an increasingly destabilizing free market that is college athletics.

One caveat: It's a long and complex read.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-s hame-of-college-sports

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September 15, 2011 04:13 PM ET

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Great read, Harley.

Here is the article

The opening quote is by Sonny Vaccaro, a Nike marketing representative, talking to school presidents back in 2001:

We want to put our materials on the bodies of your athletes, and the best way to do that is buy your school. Or buy your coach.

The president of Penn State says, "Why would we allow that?"

The Nike rep responds:

You sold your souls, and you???re going to continue selling them ... not one of you in this room is going to turn down any of our money. You???re going to take it. I can only offer it.

The story goes on from there. Everything from how the NCAA made itself so powerful, to an inside peek at the committee on infractions in the FSU tutoring case, to examples of schools using the concept of 'student-athlete' to avoid liability when players get severely injured.

And LSU's Dale Brown referring to himself and fellow coaches: