The End of College Football?

On the human cost of the All-American game

With pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training in a matter of days, you’d think football talk was done around here. Well, HATM has no offseason. And that means we’ve got quite the discussion for you today.

I invited Dr. Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Dr. Derek Silva on to talk about their new book, The End of College Football: On the Human Cost of the All-American Game. During our discussion we explore the complexities of college football, particularly focusing on its commercialization, exploitation of student-athletes, and the cultural implications of the sport. We also get into our personal connections to college sports, the differences between Canadian and American college athletics (that’s right, I invited Canadians to the pod), and the urgent need for change in the system.

To do so, we revisit 1993’s The Program as a cultural marker that reflects the state of college football and its issues. As it turns out, this movie was way ahead of its time, speaking to the complex dynamics of college football, focusing on class and racial exploitation, structural coercion, and the lived experiences of student-athletes. Nathan and Derek argue how socioeconomic factors influence players' choices, the coercive nature of their decisions, and the systemic inequalities present in college sports. They also explore the implications of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) legislation and how it affects the landscape of college athletics, emphasizing the need for fair compensation and labor rights for athletes.

We’re also talking about the film’s portrayals of labor relations, the physical and emotional costs of participation, the impact of performance-enhancing drugs, and the troubling issues of sexual violence. The result is maybe surprising because what Derek and Nathan argue for is the abolition of the sport itself and the need for unionization and reparations for former players. Listen and subscribe below or wherever you find your podcasts.

About our guests:

Dr. Nathan Kalman-Lamb’s scholarly work sits at the intersection of social theory and the sociology of sport, with a particular focus on labor, racism, and exploitation. His most recent book Game Misconduct: Injury, Fandom, and the Business of Sport, based on qualitative interviews with former professional hockey players and fans of the sport, uses Marxist-Feminist social reproduction theory to explore how the political economy of sports like hockey is predicated on an affective transfer from athletic workers to fans through the physical sacrifice that is fundamental to these 'games.'

Dr. Derek Silva’s areas of interest include sociocultural studies of sport, critical sociology and criminology, labour, racism, and inequality. My work can be found in the peer-reviewed journals Critical Sociology, Punishment and Society, Crime, Media, Culture, Sociology of Sport Journal, Journal of Sport & Social Issues, Policing & Society, Annals of Leisure Research, Social Science & Medicine – Qualitative Research in Health, Sociological Forum, Race & Class, Educational Gerontology, and in media outlets such as TIME Magazine, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, The Chronicle of Higher Education, ​Jacobin Magazine, and The Baffler Magazine.

Own the book:

Link: The End of College Football (use code 01HATM30 for 30% off)

Alright, that’s enough for tonight. Have yourself a terrific Thursday. And if someone asks, the answer is yes, you will look at the dessert menu.

Jason