Praise for Unwinding Madness

Praise for Unwinding Madness

In general, big time college sports have become so far removed from any reasonable connection to higher education as to be a sham.  Who better than Zimbalist to lay out the issues and provide a sensible plan for reform?

— Bob Costas, Broadcaster, NBC Sports and MLB Network

 

College and sports are an instant pairing for most of us.  But sports have come to play an outsized role at many colleges, and they now overshadow the core college mission: to educate.  The authors of Unwinding Madness carefully and dispassionately dissect the problem and offer a realistic path forward that makes education central again.

— Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, 2009-16

 

The NCAA is a dirty cartel hiding under the skirts of a sham called “amateurism.”  Everybody, however, pretty much accepts this as just one more prize example of good old American exceptionalism.  While Unwinding Madness might not expose this obvious, long-standing hypocrisy, it provides, in comprehensive, scorching detail, every unfair and cruel aspect of the NCAA humbug.  The book is a powerful indictment of our most shameful sports sin, and it should be read, foremost, by school presidents and university board chairs.  And, too, by those athletic directors and coaches still bearing a conscience.

— Frank Deford, Author and Commentator