Should College Football Be Banned?

Intelligence Squared U.S.

Intelligence Squared <<pop: http://intelligencesquaredus.org/>> is a program dedicated to hosting intelligent discussion about relevant topics, from financial issues to cultural critique to moral dilemmas. Based on the success of debates in London, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded as a way to present respectable, well-reasoned arguments from opposing sides of an issue. The debate follows a set format, at the end of which the audience votes for, against, or undecided on the proposition that was debated. In this video excerpt*, journalist Malcolm Gladwell and Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger defend the controversial proposition that college football should be banned against two journalists who are also former players, Tim Green and Jason Whitlock.

* The full Intelligence Squared debate is available at Fora.tv <<pop: http://fora.tv/2012/05/08/Ban_College_Football>>.

Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates, May 18, 2012, www.iq2us.org

Analyzing the Writer’s Technique

After watching Should College Football Be Banned? <<pop: video pick-up from http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/WebPub/English/americanow10e/epages/Chapter%206/AmerNow_Chap6_Gladwell_clearSkin_3/AmerNow_Chap6_Gladwell.html>>, answer the

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questions below. Then submit your responses.

41. In this “highlight reel” of the debate, all of the debaters are arguing about the same clearly defined, narrow issue of whether college football should be banned, but each has a different position and approach to the issue. What claim does each debater make, and what is each debater’s approach?

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Possible Answer: Malcolm Gladwell claims that college football should be banned because of the harm it causes the brain and approaches the issue from a scientific perspective. Tim Green defends football on the grounds that it teaches valuable lessons that shape youth into better people and approaches the issue from a position of personal integrity. Buzz Bissinger claims that football should be banned because it corrupts the higher education system and privileges sports over education; he approaches the issue from a moral standpoint based on the case of Joe Paterno and Pennsylvania State University. Jason Whitlock claims that higher education is based on principles of the free market, and argues that, by extension, college football should not be banned but that the market system should determine whether it continues to exist; his approach is both practical and logical.

Your answer will differ from this one in the way it is written, but it should include roughly the same information.

42. What needs and values did the debaters appeal to in order to make their claims? Use examples from at least two of the arguments made in the video to support your answer.

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Possible Answers: Tim Green, a former NFL defensive end, appeals to the audience’s American values of hard work and determination when he says “it’s how much you can take and keep on going.” He also appeals to a value of education and of teaching youths these values to make them better people. Buzz Bissinger, a former football coach, also appeals to the value the audience places on education by suggesting that education is not supported when college football coaches earn five to fifteen times as much as the college president.

Thinking Critically about Writing Arguments

After watching Should College Football Be Banned? <<pop: video pick-up from http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/WebPub/English/americanow10e/epages/Chapter%206/AmerNow_Chap6_Gladwell_clearSkin_3/AmerNow_Chap6_Gladwell.html>>, answer the questions below. Then submit your responses.

43. Tim Green and Jason Whitlock were both football players, and Buzz Bissinger is a journalist and author whose book Friday Night Lights (1990) inspired a hit movie and a beloved television series, both of which celebrate football. Do these men’s backgrounds support their arguments or make them biased? Consider each of their arguments and use specific details from the video as evidence.

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Possible Answer: Tim Green and Jason Whitlock may be biased because they were both football players and then sports journalists. Since they spent so much of their careers playing football or writing about football—and therefore are financially supported by the existence of football—they might feel the need to defend the game to justify their careers.

44. Evaluate how effectively the debaters support their positions. Is the evidence they supply reliable? Would including other evidence have made each debater’s position stronger? Do the debaters commit fallacies? Do they respond to alternative positions? Evaluate at least two of the debaters’ arguments in the video.

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Possible Answer: Malcolm Gladwell’s descriptive comparison of the effects of hitting a brick wall is compelling, but because he does not cite the source of this research, the audience cannot be sure the information is reliable. Jason Whitlock’s comparison of football to the capitalistic giant McDonald’s presents the fallacy of a red herring (distracting the audience from the main issue by raising an irrelevant point). Just because McDonald’s may have contributed to Americans’ poor health does not mean that football is not harmful—or that college football should be subject to the rules of capitalism.