For Love of The Game (And The Money)

Because I’m exceptionally organized and my class a
well-oiled machine with every move carefully timed . . . Okay, no.  But a combination of luck and planning
meant that today my Taboo Trades
and Forbidden Markets seminar covered amateurism and the NCAA. 

There was something especially rewarding about our
discussion of the NCAA cartel as the nation (Erik
Gerding excepted) prepared to root
against my employer, which apparently continues to be the most
hated team in America.  The
class was notable for another reason as well: we read a Duke law journal note, The NCAA's
Lost Cause And The Legal Ease Of Redefining Amateurism (59 Duke L. J. 555 (2009)), authored by a student from last year’s Taboo Trades seminar, Virginia Fitt (Class of 2010).  From the abstract:

Calling for a shift to a “new amateurism,” this Note
contributes a novel redefinition of amateurism that reflects the current
environment of intercollegiate sport. Modern amateurism should recognize the
profit motive of the student-athlete. Under a less restrictive NCAA rule-making
regime, the remaining rules are enforceable and fair. In substituting
protections for student-athletes in place of the current paternalism, the NCAA
will reduce the likelihood that future rules will be overturned by court
challenges.

Our other reading for this week, Cartel
Behavior and Amateurism in College Sports, by Lawrence M. Kahn, attacks
the presumed value of amateurism more directly. But for Erik, I have a
different reading recommendation.