Trouble in Footballistan.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 February 2014
• Author: Clinton, Kate

Full disclosure: I come from a football family. My dad was able to afford college thanks to a full football scholarship.

There my mild-mannered father was known as "Stone-Crusher." My two older brothers played football from Pop Warner to many a high school Friday Night Lights.

During the O. J. Simpson saga, I lost all interest in professional football. In a connubial irony, my otherwise peaceable partner is a rabid, fact-filled, full-throated, foul-mouthed football fanatic. I always hope the children across the hall are not waiting for the elevator outside our door after a blown coverage. Meanwhile, I do the Sunday crossword puzzle, or write this column.

It has not been a good decade in Footballistan. More sports writers are revealing the plantation mentality of college sports...