Commodification in Basketball

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Schoffman, Coby Professor Dr. Yair MacClanahan-Shophet Globalization and Political Economy December 11, 2011 Commodification In Basketball When James Naismith, the Canadian clergyman, educator, and physician, first introduced the game of basketball in 1891 (Laughead Jr. 2004), it was designed to be a form of exercise and an innocent act of entertainment. Since then, the popularity of the sport grew rapidly starting with the assembling of U.S. college basketball teams between 1893 and 1895. Following the formation of the college league (later known as the NCAA), in 1898, The National Basketball League, the worlds first fully professional association of competing teams, was born. In 1949 the National Basketball League reached an agreement with a subsequent basketball league entitled the Basketball Association of America and thus the National Basketball Association (NBA) was created. The National Basketball Association (NBA) became a business that generated profit for the league itself and its 30 franchised clubs from corporate sponsorship, ticket sales, media coverage, and merchandising. With the new idea of basketball on a national scale, business opportunities were introduced on a global scale. The establishment of the Euroleague (1958) followed in the footsteps of the American model, where players from around the world were able to play in the national and global spotlight. The establishment of the Euroleague illustrated the international affinity for the sport, and the industry was able to grow in rapid fashion. A game that once was about raw talent and hard work transformed itself to a big business and a money making machine. This essay will discuss three ways in which the sport has been commodified: the commodification of athletes, the commodification of College (NCAA) Basketball, and the

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