Ed O'Bannon

COURT JUSTICE by Ed O'Bannon and Michael McCann is the recounting of the class action filed by O'Bannon against the NCAA, which challenges the use of college athletes likenesses and identities without compensation. The NCAA contended that college athletes are students and "amateurs" and therefore are not allowed to be paid, by them or anyone else. O'Bannon and McCann walk the reader through the case, while also explaining other faults in college athletics. O'Bannon's basketball career is also reviewed and the reader sees through O'Bannon's collegiate days some of the faults in the system as well.
The case itself is very complex, with lots of nuances and complicated arguments throughout, but the authors do an excellent job of breaking down each part and explaining those parts as simply as they can. Chronically the book jumps around a bit, from the beginning of the trail, to near the end, to the pre-trail filing, but done in a logical way to properly explain the entire timeline and how it evolved. O'Bannon's life experiences are used throughout to emphasize different points in the case and at the same time reading many of his stories were entertaining and kept the book from getting too heavy. That balance of fun and complex was done quite well and kptp the courtroom details from becoming too exhausting to read. O'Bannon personal opinions on much of the matter are interspersed in the book and towards the end, O'Bannon writes a list of changes he would like to see in college sports that he thinks will make life better for the athletes without losing the quality of collegiate sports.
Well-crafted from beginning to end, COURT JUSTICE does an excellent job of presenting O'Bannon's side of the court case and also delving into what life is like for a college athlete. I certainly had misconceptions about the court case, but after reading this book, I don't see how anyone wouldn't understand what the case was really about: fairness.
Thank you to Diversion Books, Ed O'Bannon and Michael McMann, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!… (plus d'informations)