SIDELINES
Television revenue increasing corruption in snorts
So pro football players are on strike.
So what's new? In only a few decades,
sports at all levels have become increas
ingly glamorous, lucrative, and
therefore, corrupt.
The high salary a pro football or
baseball player makes today allows him
to drive around in a Mercedes. When a
star quarterback ends his NFL career, he
often can go on to an even higher celebri
ty plane when he makes movies and does
play-by-play announcing. Meanwhile,
the seamier side of the world of sports is
becoming increasingly exposed: drugs,
gambling, crime.
Commentary by
D.M. Holiman
Here’s a brief listing of the more
celebrated cases of the last few years:
•Several members of the Minnesota
Iwsketball team are accused of raping a
female guest while playing on the road
in Wisconsin The coach resigns in
disgrace. The Gopher basketball team
limps through the rest of the season
• Southern Methodist University is
severely penalized by the NCAA for
recruiting violations and other forms of
cheating. The team's schedule is erased
for one year. The next year they are
allowed only seven games, all away,
which forces the university to cancel the
1988 season as well.
Meanwhile, the football players
transfer to other universities. Those
players with enough years of eligibility
left will probably be able to acquire a col
lege degree, if they want to. but those
transfer players who are juniors and
seniors will in all probability not
Another example of athletics coming
before academics.
•Len Hias, the Maryland basketball
star, dies of cocaine poisoning just days
after he was made the number-one draft
pick of the NBA champion Boston
Celtics Mis friends and family maintain
that Bias never before indulged in drugs.
• Basketball players for Tulane Univer
sity are investigated for participating in a
gambling scheme in which they affected
the outcome of games so insiders could
benefit from pre-game oddsmaking The
players deliberately altered their play in
order for Tulane to win or lose outside
the margin of odds, thus enabling the in
siders to safely make money off their
bets. The players were paid off for their
services.
There are many less celebrated cases
too. ranging from the discovery of
athletes using steroids and other illegal
drugs to rather "commonplace"
recording violations, lust this fall,
several players, including Chris Carter,
the Ohio State All-American wide
receiver, were denied college eligibility
because of illegal contact with profes
sional sports agents and the passing of
money. Carter, by the way. was allowed
to enter the NFI. supplemental draft Me
was selected by the Philadelphia Fogles
and negotiated a relatively lucrative
contract.
So what's going on? Are the scandals,
crime, and corruption new to the world
of sports? Of course not They've always
been around. Even big money has been
around fora long time Bain* Ruth made
much more money than the president of
the United States (Conlidge) back in the
'20s And the Bambino didn't have to
pay any income taxes either. And there
have always iieen scandals Remember
the Chicago "Black" Sox? What about
Denny McLain and his gambling
shenanigans? So. no. the headlines
aren't new But what Is new is the scope
and magnitude of the wealth, fame, anil
corruption, anil we can thank television
for that
Television, by the very fact that
millions of people can witness the spec
tacie of sport, providing for bountiful
advertising revenue, has magnified the
arena of athletics. People can become
famous "overnight." Ami wealthy. Con
sider Len Bias. Here was a voting man,
21 years old. a university student (of
sorts) At the time of his death. Bias
wasn’t enrolled in the university. At
least he wasn't taking any classes. Yet he
was still rooming in the athletic dorm
Bias, if he had lived, would have made
perhaps $1 million a year playing for the
Celtics.
Ur take Brian Bosworth. the former
Oklahoma All-American and now Seat
tle Seahawk linebacker Bosworth.
known for his rather outrageous antics,
signed an Slt-million contract.
Welcome to the wacky world of sports,
where excess and obsession is tiecoming
the name of the game.
And why? Because it pays Why else
would otherwise healthy, normal, young
women train eight hours a day for seven
years just to win an Olympic medal? But
this is what the American women's
vollnytiull team did.
Of course, a female volleyball player is
not likely to acquire a lucrative advertis
ing contract with Pepsi or Wheaties or
anything, but there are smaller, still
handsome contracts to be had with
smaller companies where the athlete
celebrity. even a relatively obscure one
like an Olvmpii volleyball player, can
push some product in a specialty
magazine
And. of course, other opportunities
appear as well, such as coaching, giving
lectures and sponsoring workshops
This is not to say that these athletes,
especially the Olympic athletes, aren't
impressive in their dedication to their
sport, in their diligence, in their talent
They are. Hut there is something
disproportionate, and curious, about
people spending most of their lives Im
mersed in a game because, after all. that
is all sports essentially are: games
And there is another concern about
our society's obsession with sport [am
ple who become so expert at their sport,
who spend 12 hours of the day in the
pursuit of excellence, who train so
rigorously, who regulate every aspect of
their lives from diet to sleep habits to
sexual practice, so as to "optimize” their
performance are, ironically, making
themselves into freaks and thus lessen
ing the impact of their athletic feats
So we have sports evolving into some
weird wonderland where the par
ticipants are freaks, not only by virute of
their height and girth, but because of
their earning power, their celebrity
status, their narrow specialization.
Graduate Teaching Fellow Federation
MEETING TOMORROW
Thursday, 5 pm, Room 106C, EMU
TO DISCUSS THE UNIVERSITY’S LATEST
OFFER WITH THE GTFF BARGAINING TEAM
NO MOVEMENT ON:
HEALTH CARE-The University has refused to implement a GTFF proposal to
deduct the cost of ASUO insurance from GTF’s paychecks.
EVALUATION-Currently GTF’s may be dismissed as a result of student
evaluations. The University has refused to provide evaluation criteria in the
contract.
NEWSLETTER CENSORSHIP-The University wants to have prior censor
ship over the union newsletter.
APPOINTMENT-REAPPOINTMENT-The University refuses to provide
information to GTF’s who are denied reappointment.
uln Unity There Is Strength”
GTFF
870 E. 13th Upstairs
344-0832