Dynamics of the US Men's Basketball System
Exploring the power dynamics and system drivers characterizing the sport across levels
Faculty Lead:
Cheryl Dahle
Class:
Systems and Systems Theory
Student:
J. Smyk
“This project afforded an opportunity to deeply explore the system in which I am a willful participant, and allowed me to reflect on my own beliefs, biases, and feelings in support of basketball, and collegiate basketball in particular. It also was my first attempt at capturing very detailed information about how a system works and the dynamics at play in it. While visually representing that information to convey a point of view was difficult, I found it very worthwhile. ”
This nested dynamics map shows a snapshot of the driving forces, relationships, and influences that have come to define the current iteration of the US men’s basketball system. Research focused on the major leagues of competition (NBA, NCAA, and AAU), media and shoe companies that partner with those leagues, and the groups of fans that spend massive amounts to consume the product being sold by those entities. After an exploration of the current economic, governing, cultural, and technologic structures regnant in basketball and elsewhere in society, I synthesized five primary drivers that shape the system today:
Propagating the “myth of amateurism”: reflects the self-interest of the collegiate governing body (the NCAA) in protecting the term “student-athlete” to justify its own existence, as well as to sell an image of purity in athletics; in this idealized scenario, athletes aren’t tainted by money, even while the schools, conferences, and coaches surrounding the players are permitted to profit heavily.
Basketball oligarchy: defines those in power pulling the strings — the NBA owners, shoe and media companies, and university athletic departments that profit from the increasingly large number of dollars being spent on the consumption of basketball by the American public.
Plantation mentality: defines the mindset present in powerful actors who view athletes and student-athletes (in particular) as a useful tool for the furtherance of their own financial well-being — rather than as equal partners.
Obsession with the hero’s journey: describes the adoration of the athlete by the American public and the imagery provided by the Basketball Oligarchy (see above) to perpetuate widely appealing narratives about athletes and student-athletes.
Revolt against financial oppression: describes current forces pushing back against exploitation of non-professional student-athletes; players are fighting for their right to receive a portion of the financial benefit they help to generate for their parent organizations.
To learn more about this project, click here.