Business of Sports

As countless fans of the National Football League wait for an outcome in discussions between the Players Association and owners (see story in New Yorker), it is an ideal time for a group of New Hampton School students to consider the state of sports given the amount of money that is at stake. Whether it is the NFL or the NCAA (watch ESPN Outside the Lines on the exploitation of college athletes), there are countless stories in the news that force us to confront this question: 

"Has the spirit of athletics been lost with the corporate takeover of professional sports, the mercenary philosophy of big-time college athletics, the exorbitant price of taking a family to a game, the fanaticism of the media and the behavior of fans as well as athletes."

Yes, the behavior of fans. Read in this ESPN story about the lawyer wrapped up in the scandal at Ohio State and take a moment to consider the intersection of sports, money, and delusional behavior. So we're in the final stages of planning for our migration to Boston for a visit to Fenway Park and the offices of the Boston Red Sox, Northeastern University's Sport in Society Foundation, Metro Lacrosse, the Boston Blazers Indoor Lacrosse team, and a meet-up with CSN New England sports personality Chris Collins, a 1986 graduate of New Hampton School.