US: Defending the shards of amateurism

When CBS Sports began to use Division I college football players' names this season in its online fantasy game, the National Collegiate Athletic Association was none too pleased, writes David Moltz in Inside Higher Ed. The association stated that this usage violated its rules and threatened its commitment to amateurism but went no further, admitting that its hands may be tied by a federal court decision that upheld the use of names.

Last week, at its first meeting since the move, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics - an athletics reform group made up of college presidents, former athletes and other officials - criticised the commercialisation of athletes in such fantasy games and urged the NCAA to show more leadership in the fight against them.

"College athletes in fantasy games and video games may seem trivial to some, but these and other forms of new media pose new challenges to the long-held distinction between commercial activity featuring teams and that which focuses on individual athletes," said R Gerald Turner, commission co-chairman and president of Southern Methodist University.
Full report on the Inside Higher Ed site