Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth [Mass Market Paperback]

Dan Wetzel (Author), Don Yaeger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

This controversial expos reveals the exploitation of junior high, high school, and college basketball players by billion-dollar sneaker companies competing for national endorsements.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book examines a particularly seedy side of contemporary sports: the devious, distorted, duplicitous multibillion dollar search for the next Michael Jordan. That is, not for the next great basketball player but for the supreme corporate pitchman for the new millennium. According to Wetzel (managing editor, Basketball Times) and Yeager (a staff writer at Sports Illustrated), the principal players in this debased drama are Nike, Adidas, NCAA athletics, prep schools, summer basketball camps, and AAU teams and tournaments. Strikingly, all these influences are coming in contact with younger and younger kids, dipping down to the junior high school ages of 12 and 13. When these kids go to choose a college, a contributing factor is whether that institution's shoe endorsement contract matches their own. The story is very convincingly laid out and makes the ironic point that the phenomenon of Mr. Jordan so changed the landscape that there probably never will be another player with the same drive and relative innocence who so appeals to such a wide demographic. Highly recommended for all libraries.
-John M. Maxymuk, Robeson Lib., Rutgers Univ., Camden, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Details a war waged by two multinational sneaker companies and profiles the two men who serve as field marshals for each side.... A sobering read for anyone who cares about the future of basketball." -- Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated

"For all its clever advertising campaigns, the real story of the sneaker industry is one of influence peddling and the unholy, unscrupulous recruitment of children. This is that story, in excruciating detail." -- Phil Mushnick, New York Post and TV Guide

"For those who care about the game, SOLE INFLUENCE sends a most disturbing message. Read it and weep. But read it. The nasty Vaccaro-Raveling rivalry and the story of Nike pitchman Myron Piggie are alone worth the price of admission to college basketball's house of horrors." (Armen Keteyian, CBS and HBO Sports) REVIEW "We always knew something stunk about basketball and the sneaker business, and SOLE INFLUENCE lets us know where the stench is coming from.... A most revealing and insightful book." -- Jackie MacMullan, Sports Illustrated

Details a war waged by two multinational sneaker companies and profiles the two men who serve as field marshals for each side....A sobering read for anyone who cares about the future of basketball. -- Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated

For all its clever advertising campaigns, the real story of the sneaker industry is one of influence peddling and the unholy, unscrupulous recruitment of children. This is that story, in excruciating detail. -- Phil Mushnick, New York Post and TV Guide

For those who care about the game, SOLE INFLUENCE sends a most disturbing message. Read it and weep. But read it. The nasty Vaccaro-Raveling rivalry and the story of Nike pitchman Myron Piggie are alone worth the price of admission to college basketball's house of horrors. -- Armen Keteyian, CBS and HBO Sports

We always knew something stunk about basketball and the sneaker business, and SOLE INFLUENCE lets us know where the stench is coming from....A most revealing and insightful book. -- Jackie MacMullan, Sports Illustrated --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446608947
• ISBN-13: 978-0446608947
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #486,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Eye Opening, January 24, 2000

By 

David Stringer (Fort Wayne, Ind.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth (Hardcover)

As a pretty dedicated fan of college basketball, I had heard coaches rail on about summer recruiting, AAU middle men and shoe companies. Now I know why. I encourage anyone who cares about the game to read this. It details not only how things have gotten corrupt, but why. Instead of using broad strokes to declare summer recruiting as a bad development, Sole Influence shows why in detail. Myron Piggie stuff alone is worth the read. The solutions are complex, but given the amount athletic directors and college coaches are working on it, something is inevitable. After reading this, fans will know why the sooner the better. The best basketball book I've read in years. Authors make a complicated story very readable and easy to follow.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Outrage, a complete lack of ethics..., June 19, 2000

By 

Charles W. Adams "Charles W. Adams" (Adel, Iowa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth (Hardcover)

I've suspected for decades that the college recruiting process was (is), to a certain extent, corrupt.

To even the casual observer of college basketball, at the upper echelon of Division I, there is (has been) an uneven playing field. It's as if some colleges have had the top five picks in the annual draft for several years in a row.

On the surface the uneven playing field seems impossible to explain, but books like "Sole Influence" begin to shed light of the corruption that mars college basketball -- the search for the next Michael Jordan.

In a series of anecdotes, the authors provide case studies of how, especially, Nike and Addidas have made a mess of AAU basketball, especially in large urban centers.

It's difficult, almost impossible, to get first hand information, especially from big-name college coaches -- few go on the record. What "Sole Influence" reveals, seems to me, is the tip of the iceberg.

The most shocking revelations surround the role played by George Raveling, the former head coach at Washington State, Iowa and USC. Thankfully, Raveling made himself available to the authors and provides candid comments which, while attempting to rationalize his role in this sorry mess, tend to indict him as one of the prime offenders.

The book, although poorly edited, contains much food for thought and is worthy of reading and reflection by serious college basketball fans.

The authors include a good index, but omit footnotes and a bibliography of sources. Also, a complete list of names of persons interviewed for the book would have been appreciated. To the layman, many of these "characters" are complete strangers.

The authors have included capsule introductions to the book's key "characters," which are especially helpful for those of us unfamiliar with the shoe company corruption of AAU basketball.

I agree with those who've commented about the book's excessive repetition, as the authors do a thorough job of indicting the shoe companies.

The authors do provide some implied remedies for the problems they've documented. Whether these recommendations are feasible, given the hunger for dollars, is questionable and discouraging.

Again, this title is recommended for college basketball fans who care about the integrity of the game. The book makes me wonder to what extent college basketball has integrity.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth (Hardcover)

Anyone who has been around amateur basketball can appreciate the intense look Sole Influence takes at the seedy side of shoe companies. As the book explains, the chase for the almighty dollar has escalated into a procurement war for the top high school and even grade school prospects. Some of the tactics of companies like Nike, Adidas and And 1 may turn your stomach, but the book is a must read.