Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth, (Hardcover)

One hot basketball player. One cool new sneaker. For a company like Nike, the combination can equal millions of dollars in profits. That's why the shoe companies are engaged in a frantic full-court press to find and sign the next generation of hoop stars-before the competition does. The result: America's playgrounds, high schools, and junior high schools have become corporate battlegrounds for the hearts, minds, and feet of young athletes. This shocking expose shows how money is driving the amateur basketball world, even attempting to control coaches, teams, and whole universities -- and how young men and women with a little talent and a dream are being tempted to sacrifice their future for glittering promises and a new pair of shoes.