Review of Fouling in Business and College Athletics

[Harshitha Nayak]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Fouling in Business and College Athletics" by Gonzalo Fernandez.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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This book serves as a platform for the author to discuss his views on business, the situations he witnesses, the benefits and drawbacks of company expansion, and the use of money to gamble on morality or immorality. Using paper articles, sorted lists of data, and statistical data, the book explores sports business management. Two sections divide the book: the first tackles commercial fraud, while the second concentrates on the sports industry.

In the business portion, the author begins with deceptive accounting manipulations in corporate America—often referred to as "management of earnings" or "accounting padding"—and narrates his story. The author then proceeds to explain the TNS adjustment, a corporate practice of modifying transactions without any supporting data. In the corporate sphere, there were company collapses, share sales, and resignations of well-known people whose unethical behavior made national news. The Wall Street Journal, among other publications, references an item titled "SEC Chief aims to attack abuses in firms."

Auditors and the Accounts Association established "The Treadway Commission" to curb the company's fraudulent activities and provide financial reports. The commission disregarded articles on ethical business practices and ideals. The author provided a thorough discussion of several businesses, their drawbacks within the sector, and the outcomes. The author was particularly interested in the American energy corporation, Enron Corporation, which was the subject of his attention. It was a well-crafted deception, as was its relationship with Arthur Andersen's auditing company.
There's full-detailed narration about this company, including its growth, strategy, fall, and, ultimately, termination for unethical—or, more precisely, well-crafted—fraudulent actions. The entire section included comprehensive information about each department's firm. The chaos within the company sparked business headlines, prompting the government to take action. On July 30, 2002, "The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002" went into force. The Act imposed several measures to combat corporate and accounting fraud, improve financial disclosures, strengthen corporate accountability, and establish the "Public Company Accounting Oversight Board."
This portion of the book included a wide range of subjects, such as significant scandals, well-known news stories, legislative actions, lists of well-known individuals who are unpopular, and the implications for the reader's knowledge of the businesses and their owners.

The following section discusses the athletic world. The writer gave a synopsis of collegiate sports. Football and basketball, two popular sports, provide a substantial amount of annual revenue for the profitable sector of athletics. Just like the players, the coaches also aspired to significant earnings, prompting a study on their pay scale and sponsorships. Sponsorships, brand value, and tickets generated the majority of the income. Some began to recoup their losses by selling the complimentary gifts they received from the company, while others presented significant issues that required resolution. For their benefit, the NCAA supported the complete scholarship system, which included a clause to ensure the athlete's future education. However, Mary Willingham, a sports literacy counselor at UNC, exposed the dishonest tactics of several organizations, leading to the removal of many senior leaders.

On the other hand, there are unethical behaviors that tarnish the sports industry, such as the bribery system, the overuse of rookies, the intervention of agents, and poor conditions. After their arrests, authorities classified several coaches, players, and agents as unethical practitioners. In these instances, the author included statistics. Realistic expectations from sports are discussed, as only a small number of players can make it to higher leagues; underachievers are singled out by some agencies; NFL eligibility regulations; the NBA draft; power branding; and the National Collegiate Athletic Accountability Act protects athletes. In this part, the author addressed a wide range of subjects, such as government actions, associations, lists of wealthy players, scandals, and the misuse of brands.

This book gets a 5 out of 5 rating from me. The raw statistics and the author's candid assessment of the corporate world are the book's strong points. The book's sections successfully supported the author's arguments with facts, lists, figures, and articles, which helped with a simple understanding of the information. When I read some facts, I was completely unaware of them, but they opened my eyes to new angles in the business world. Reading the news pieces was insightful. The author revealed the dark corners and hidden aspects of the sports industry while providing evidence to back up his claims. Since we are only spectators and cannot learn more about the inner workings of the action, the author's account has improved our understanding of the sports world. I thus really liked the book. Considering that the author provided us with information on the business world, there wasn't a single thing that I found objectionable or disappointing. The writing and narrating styles were impressive. The editing crew did a fantastic job of presenting a flawless book.

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Fouling in Business and College Athletics
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[Gerry Steen]

This review points out essential elements and topics found in the book. I am keenly interested in the topic of corruption in NCAA sports. University sporting events reel in a lot of money. I always assumed that this helped pay for excellent educational programs with the hiring of the best professors and experts in their field of study. The student athletes could benefit from receiving a great eduacation for free. I understand how the athletes feel that they should be paid , as an injury can destroy their hopes of ever playing professionally. There is a dilemma as the focus becomes less and less on education. I am interested in learning what the author's viewpoint on this is. Thanks for this great review.

[MAHAD BAIG MIRZA]

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the book's content, praising its thorough exploration of business and sports industries while highlighting the author's use of statistics and real-life examples to support arguments. It effectively communicates the reviewer's high rating, emphasizing the book's informative and insightful nature, making it a valuable read for anyone interested in these fields.

[Harshitha Nayak]

This review points out essential elements and topics found in the book. I am keenly interested in the topic of corruption in NCAA sports. University sporting events reel in a lot of money. I always assumed that this helped pay for excellent educational programs with the hiring of the best professors and experts in their field of study. The student athletes could benefit from receiving a great eduacation for free. I understand how the athletes feel that they should be paid , as an injury can destroy their hopes of ever playing professionally. There is a dilemma as the focus becomes less and less on education. I am interested in learning what the author's viewpoint on this is. Thanks for this great review.

I too thought same before diving into this book, it explore some dark side of athelete world where it seems to be just money making machine and unfortunately some college support this.

[Harshitha Nayak]

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the book's content, praising its thorough exploration of business and sports industries while highlighting the author's use of statistics and real-life examples to support arguments. It effectively communicates the reviewer's high rating, emphasizing the book's informative and insightful nature, making it a valuable read for anyone interested in these fields.

Thank you. It's good with great insight of business and athelete world.

[Priya Murugesan]

What a great review! You have analyzed the book very well. Even though I am not interested in this field, I would like to give the book a try.

[Stephen Christopher 1]

Oooh as a retired accountant this book is right up my alley. I've read and watched a lot about Enron, and even though sports don't interest me as much, I know a lot of 'creative accounting' goes on in that field, and I'm curious to learn more. Thanks for introducing me to this book.

[Cristiano Bellucci]

Great review. The author can mix sport and business, giving suggestions on how to work there. The statistics support his theories. I am glad you enjoyed it.

[Rajaee]

It seems like a good option. This book contains a lot of information about unethical behaviour and scandals in business and sports. Books like this should come out more often.
Thanks for the review.