The Sports Industry in a Political World
July 7, 14, 21, 28 Aug. 4
On Campus – Wednesday – 1:10 pm – 2:50 pm
Explore the often-overlooked role of government, media and gambling in shaping the sports industry. Presidential interventions, political controversies at the Olympics, media deals, gambling, and the evolution of pro sports as big business—discover how public policy, taxpayer dollars and politics have shaped the games we watch. Contains some previously covered material.
- Week 1: Presidential Impact on Sports from Andrew Johnson to Donald Trump:
- How Theodore Roosevelt saved college football
- Franklin Roosevelt green-lighted baseball to “play ball” during World War II
- Jimmy Carter barred American Olympians from the 1980 Moscow Olympics
- Week 2: The Olympics has always been intertwined with politics
- 1904 St. Louis Olympics – featured the “Anthropology Days” to prove white supremacy
- 1914 Paris Olympics – Women were banned
- 1936 Berlin Olympics – Legitimized the Nazi leader
- 1964 Tokyo Olympics – South Africa was banned
- 1980 Moscow Olympics – US boycott
- 1984 Los Angeles Olympics – Soviet boycott
- Week 3: The role of Media
- 1890s – While competing fiercely for readership, newspapers popularized baseball
- 1920s – Radio pushed baseball and college football to new heights
- 1930s – Radio features the NFL
- 1958 – Television gets into the act and pours money into sports
- 1961 – The Sports Broadcasting Act is enacted
- Currently – The US Justice Department is investigating the MLB and NFL for alleged violations of the Sports Broadcasting Act
- Week 4: Sports and Gambling
- 1919 – The Baseball World Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds is enveloped in scandal when several Chicago players conspired with gamblers to throw the games.
- 2018 – The Supreme Court allows states to independently legalize and regulate betting.
- Week 5: The Development of the Sports Industry
- How the NFL developed from a smaller “Mom & Pop” type business, and exploded into a monumental industry, helped by taxpayer dollars and television exposure.
Evan Weiner started his journalism career in 1971, hosting a high school radio talk show. He has worked in radio and been a contributing columnist for many media outlets, including New York Newsday, and won two Associated Press Awards. For several years he hosted a daily commentary show, “The Business of Sports,” for Westwood One Radio, and is currently a podcaster.