I want to do something with student athletes. I would maybe like to write about the everyday life or how they are treated in terms with injuries and medicine.
I think the issues with student athletes are very important. If you are most interested in injuries, you might focus on the concussion crisis.
A really big question you might consider is whether or not student athletes should be paid. That question has attracted increasing attention over the past decade, and it is surprising that it has not happened yet, though California's move to allow student athletes to benefit from their likenesses is one big step forward.
That article was the basis for his book The Cartel.
The documentary film Schooled: The Price of College Sports (2013) built on Branch's work and helped advance the ball even further downfield. Watching that film might be a good place to start.
A relatively recent book that pushed even further was Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA by Joe Nocera. It's a more popular, journalistic book, but it had a wide impact, and Nocera has made paying college athletes his mission in recent years.
I am sure tons of publications have come out since then and I am sure you would not have a hard time making the case, if you are interested in pursuing that project.
In scouting the territory, it is sometimes useful to watch some documentary films where available -- and if you can access them. Two are interesting: 1) The Business of Amateurs makes a similar argument to the one advanced by Branch.
2) HBO has a doc titled Student Athlete that looks very good and definitely talks about how athletes are unpaid -- and how few actually make it to the pros (let alone get a good college education that will actually help them land a job when they do not make it to the pros). It might be hard to access without HBO, but maybe a friend has access.
I think the issues with student athletes are very important. If you are most interested in injuries, you might focus on the concussion crisis.
ReplyDeleteA really big question you might consider is whether or not student athletes should be paid. That question has attracted increasing attention over the past decade, and it is surprising that it has not happened yet, though California's move to allow student athletes to benefit from their likenesses is one big step forward.
Taylor Branch wrote a widely influential article on the issue back in 2011 that got the ball rolling:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-shame-of-college-sports/308643/
That article was the basis for his book The Cartel.
The documentary film Schooled: The Price of College Sports (2013) built on Branch's work and helped advance the ball even further downfield. Watching that film might be a good place to start.
A relatively recent book that pushed even further was Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA by Joe Nocera. It's a more popular, journalistic book, but it had a wide impact, and Nocera has made paying college athletes his mission in recent years.
I am sure tons of publications have come out since then and I am sure you would not have a hard time making the case, if you are interested in pursuing that project.
In scouting the territory, it is sometimes useful to watch some documentary films where available -- and if you can access them. Two are interesting:
1) The Business of Amateurs makes a similar argument to the one advanced by Branch.
2) HBO has a doc titled Student Athlete that looks very good and definitely talks about how athletes are unpaid -- and how few actually make it to the pros (let alone get a good college education that will actually help them land a job when they do not make it to the pros). It might be hard to access without HBO, but maybe a friend has access.