Group of Historians Recognized for Best SCOTUS Brief of the Year

by Ronald A. Smith

A group of six historians has been recognized by the Education Law Association for the best Supreme Court brief of the year. Their historical deconstruction of the myth of amateurism in college athletics influenced a unanimous decision that the NCAA cannot bar college athletes from profiting from the commercial use of their names, images, or likenesses.

Amateurism, Sneaker Money, and the Forgotten Protest of the 1968 Games

by Harry Blutstein

Tommie Smith and John Carlos are remembered for their gloved-fist protest of American racism at the 1968 Mexico City Games. But they also demonstrated against the hypocritical and exploitative rules of amateurism and opened the door to endorsement payments for Olympians.

How Historians Convinced SCOTUS that the NCAA's Idea of Amateurism is a Myth

by Ronald A. Smith

The Supreme Court was influenced by the work of a team of historians to reject the NCAA's arguments about amateurism and open the way for college athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses – something history shows they did extensively before the NCAA's rules. 

Billie Jean King, Foremother

by Robert Lipsyte

Billie Jean King's legacy runs far beyond tennis, and has become even more relevant with the passage of time as challenges to the doctrine of amateurism and the NCAA make clear. 

Will the Supreme Court Uphold the NCAA's Version of Amateurism?

by Ronald A. Smith

A pending Supreme Court case will test whether the NCAA can bar student athletes from making money from products that make use of their images, a form of property right of "Name, Image, or Likeness." A historian who wrote an amicus brief says the NCAA's claim to protect the amateurism of the athletes is selective and hypocritical.