The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA

by Taylor Branch

"College athletes are not slaves," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Taylor Branch in "The Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA." "Yet to survey the scene—corporations and universities enriching themselves on the backs of uncompensated young men, whose status as 'student-athletes' deprives them of the right to due process guaranteed by the Constitution—is to catch the unmistakable whiff of the plantation."

Branch, best known for his award-winning trilogy about the civil rights movement, "Parting the Waters", argues that decades of greed and self-interest have finally caught up with the NCAA and that the organization is poised to collapse under the weight of its own hypocrisy.

From Reggie Bush and Cam Newton to Ohio State and the University of Miami, it's been one big sports scandal after another. But the true scandal, argues Branch in this gripping, deeply reported narrative, is the parasitic structure of college sports, a business that generates billions of dollars in revenue every year yet fails to provide even workers' compensation for its young performers. The outrage, he writes, is "not that students are getting illegally paid or recruited, it's that two of the noble principles by which the NCAA justifies its existence—'amateurism' and the 'student-athlete'—are cynical hoaxes, legalistic confections propagated by the universities so they can exploit the skills and fame of young athletes. The tragedy at the heart of college sports is not that some college athletes are getting paid, but that more of them are not."

A portion of "The Cartel" was first published in different form in the October 2011 issue of The Atlantic, and it set off a firestorm of controversy and an avalanche of praise. Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford, speaking on National Public Radio, said Branch’s story "may well be the most important article ever written about college sports."

Now the full, landmark story is available. "The Cartel" is classic investigative journalism of the highest order, by one of America's most admired historians.

"The Cartel" is published by Byliner through a partnership with The Atlantic.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, History, Business, Economics

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2011

About the author

Taylor Branch is an American author and historian best known for his award-winning trilogy of books chronicling the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and some of the history of the American civil rights movement. The third and final volume of the 2,912-page trilogy — collectively called America in the King Years — was released in January 2006. Branch lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife, Christina Macy, and their two children, Macy (born 1980) and Franklin (b. 1983).

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read- it's a long article not a book. I dont know jack about college sports, or at least I didn't until I read this book. But I am so not surprised that the NCAA is evil. Great insight into the NCAA, it's history, how it got here, how college football escaped its grasp, and... man. This organization totally shafts the kids. Here's a fun quote: "At the start of the 2010 football season, A. J. Green, a wide receiver at Georgia, confessed that he’d sold his own jersey from the Independence Bowl the year before to raise cash for a spring-break vacation. The NCAA sentenced Green to a four-game suspension for violating his amateur status with the illicit profit generated by selling the shirt off his own back. While he served the suspension, the Georgia Bulldogs store continued legally selling replicas of Green’s No. 8 jersey for $39.95 and up."

Also they didn't let Michael Phelps swim for his college.

They are so dodgy.

[Seth Farber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Branch straddles the line between analysis & polemic, but it's hard to criticize his obvious disdain for the NCAA. Still, I don't feel like there was enough additional substance to make the full e-book any more worthwhile than Branch's Atlantic cover story. It's a topic worthy of reflection for any sports fan, but given the choice, I'd go with the shorter version.

[Jimmy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should college athletes be paid? That is a question I hear at least once a week these days as I spend my time trolling on the internets. I do believe there should be some sort of compensation but I’m not exactly sure if it should be, in the words of the prophet Randy Moss, “Straight Cash Homey”. I have read essays and listened to speeches that fall on both sides of the argument and I understand how complicated of a situation it is. Unlike most internet trolls I try to do as much research as possible and form my own opinions. Where I come from there is a “sign on the door that says no biting allowed”. This is how I came across this book “The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA”. While reading essays and listening to interviews and speeches, as well as watching documentaries, this book was constantly referenced. So I went on to my Kindle (I don’t do regular books because I’m saving the environment and what not) and purchased this book.



Taylor Branch does a great job of discussing this concept of “Amateurism” and how it is a bunch of “mamba-jahambo”.

To read more click here ==> http://warroomsports.com/blog/2014/06...

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

College athletics is an odd phenomenon. Universities and coaches make millions. The players make nothing. It's always struck me as an odd and potentially unstable arrangement.

This e-book gives a lot of background on how this came to pass, on all the legal battles the NCAA has fought over the years, and media deals they've landed. It also serves as a primer on some of the current legal cases which could reshape college athletics. The NCAA does not come across well. They depend on the universities and are afraid of antagonizing them, lest they bolt and form their own organizations (like the BCS). As a result, they typically mete out punishments on individual athletes or tutors, rather than athletic programs. The book presents many examples of this, and it winds up being a fairly depressing read for that reason.

Branch seems to be in favor of paying college athletes, but he never really explains why this is a solution or what the world of paid college sports would look like. This would have been the positive story to counter the capriciousness of the NCAA which he documents so thoroughly. But it's entirely missing.

[Brendan Babish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worthwhile read, but doesn't do much but skim the surface. The most interesting sections deal with the history of the NCAA and college sports, which helps me understand how this corrupt system was built in the first place. But what was most disappointing is that Branch does very little explaining where the money made from these sports goes or what the repercussions would be if the football and basketball programs suddenly stopped producing such largesse for their schools. Not that is does much to mitigate the unfairness of the system, but still relevant when you argue to make such massive changes.

[Val Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband encouraged me to read this book and I enjoyed it more than I had anticipated. The author sheds light on just how hard college athletes work, how they are prevented from profiting from their accomplishments on the field (or even getting a part-time job), and how the NCAA makes millions and millions from kids who can't even afford to buy pizza when they finish practice and the cafeteria is closed. Most of these athletes will not go pro, and many lose their scholarships and are left with no degree and no healthcare after being injured playing their sport. It is a shame how the athletes are treated and the system needs to change.

[Nathan Hipol]

This book shows the controversial side to college athletics. The NCAA is a money making machine that doesn't provide for it's most important employees. This topic is a shaky one and you can understand each side. The idolization of sports makes this problem very relevant. A interesting book to say the least.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The NCAA is dead and should be buried right away. The gross hypocrisy of its leaders is enormous. Calling the athletes from every college student-athletes, allows the NCAA to never have to pay for injuries suffered in competition or in practice. This is so even though these same athletes pull in billions of dollars for athletic programs. The book details many instances of outright bribery and dishonesty in student-coach relations. Highly recommended.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a collegiate sports fan, there's nothing that you don't already know revealed through Branch's prose. However, to read it all compiled into one, quick-reading ultra-article is depressing and heart-wrenching. The time has long passed to do something about the state of collegiate athletics, and remove the price that corporations and colleges put on the heads of these young men and women.

[Jarrad Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good look into the way college sports are administrated and the history of how such a corrupt system has been allowed to germinate over 50+ years.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book on how shrewdly the NCAA operates. I still believe as I did before reading the book that college athletes should never be payed for playing.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accomplished author detailing one of the most, if not the most, corrupt organizations of all time. Incredibly interesting.

[Troy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Solid background on the formation of AAU and the NCAA. Examines the debate on whether or not to pay college athletes in great detail. Certainly worth the time.

[Stuart Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great takedown of a ridiculous organization. I eagerly await the day when the NCAA is gone.

[Bobbi Ruddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot more than I thought I would. Quite interesting!

[Jesse Lansner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good expose of the NCAA's hypocrisy, though the book could have been structured a bit better.