In America, sports are a popular passion, and an astoundingly lucrative business as well. Americans pay out millions of dollars annually for channels and stadiums to bring them closer to their favorite players, and every year, young athletes go to greater lengths to reach those exalted fields of play themselves. Unfortunately, in the quest to offer an ever more compelling product, the sports industry is blind to the manner in which that product is created. Doping, playing through injury, and eating disorders are widespread problems in both professional and college athletics, and speak volumes about the lengths to which people will go in order to make themselves successful. Dirty play, hazing, and cheating are common even at the lowest levels. Most troubling of all, however, are the societal problems created by the sports industry, which include racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. Peter and Laura Finley's comprehensive work confronts the many problems facing athletics today. Using numerous examples (both historical and current), they begin with the issue as they exist at the highest levels and as they are represented in the media. They then go on to look at how the values and models expressed by professionals are adopted and utilized by coaches, parents, and eventually by amateur athletes of all ages. Finally, the Finleys provide recommendations for improving the sports environment in America, suggesting ways we can work to counteract some of these many harmful influences to ensure that sports realize their potential as a positive and rewarding activity.

Cheaters, gamblers, drugs, and violence. Sound like the latest action/adventure film? It is most likely playing in a stadium, ice rink, track field, basketball court, or ballpark near you. We're talking about the larger-than-life scandals that often surround and sometimes engulf the world of sports. Covering everything from the little leagues to college and professional sports, Sports Scandals offers students an intriguing, readable guide to the most notorious scandals in American sports history. Each chapter focuses on a specific category of scandal, including race-related, gender-related, drug-related, violence-related, recruiting and academic-related, and coaching scandals. Insightful, in-depth entries offer and overview of the historical and cultural context, what occurred and who was involved, as well as the response to the scandal. Entries within chapters clearly outline the diversity of viewpoints surrounding the scandal as well as the associated ethical, moral, and legal issues. Highlighting why sport scandals matter to athletes, to coaches, to teams, to organizations, to the media, and to the public, this volume is an ideal resource for both ready reference and for reading cover-to-cover. Among the scandals featured: BLMichael Vick busted for bad newz kennels BLBasketbrawl BLMike Tyson bites Evander Holyfield BLBay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) BLBarry Bonds, home run king BLWorld Series for sale! The 1919 Chicago Black Sox BLPete Rose banned from baseball BLUniversity of Colorado recruiting and sex scandals BLAcademic cheating shocks West Point in 1951 BLSouthern Methodist University Football given death penalty BLDon Imus takes cheap shot at Rutgers basketball playersBLMuhammad Ali versus the U.S. military BLBombing of Atlanta Olympics in 1996