Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime, and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry is a tale of the University of Washington’s 2000 football squad, which included at least 24 players arrested or charged with crimes during their years at the university, crimes for which they did little or no time. Complicit were university officials, team coaches, local police and prosecutors, members of the media, even victims, all in the name of sustaining a winning program.
Winner of the 2011 Edgar Award, Best Crime Fact category
2009 Michael Kelly Award (Atlantic Monthly)
See information at Amazon
Author website
Please post a comment about the book and whether it would be suitable for the SJSU Campus Reading Program. Thanks.
2 comments:
Scoreboard, Baby is a realistic and interesting look into athletics (football specifically) at big name universities. While the book directly discusses the football program at the University of Washington, I think much of the information could be and probably is true of many other institutions.
The book is a well written, easy read that highlights scandals, cover ups, special privileges, etc surrounding college athletes. I think it would be a timely pick for the CRP given the recent news about Penn State's football program. It is not an upbeat or happy story, but rather an informative piece that makes one question the money and hype that goes along with college sports and the way the player are viewed.
I think it is a relevant read in our society even past the university level since professional athletes also garner much money/popularity while enjoying societal privileges simply for playing a sport. The book really speaks to things we value in this nation.
With the myriad scandals plaguing college sports programs (and SJSU's recent experience with hazing and hockey) this book definitely fits the relevance bill.
Much like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, it reads like an exceptionally long magazine article. This is probably due to the nature of the authors, who have previous newspaper experience.
Although at times it reads as an expose, and at other times as a human interest piece, scoreboard baby offers a compelling and interesting look at the dynamics and tension between academics, sports and funding at universities.
I think this could be a good read, and could get many people who might not otherwise be interested in reading to pick up the book since it is about college football.
I also think we could do some interesting programming around its themes.
Although I endorse this book for the CRG, I think that it is surpassed by another book on the list.
-SG
Post a Comment