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Annotated Bibliography

What Happened To The NFL And FIFA?

Tristan Wall
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
March 16, 2016

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Assael, Shaun, Brett Forrest, and Vivek Chaudhary. "The FBI VS. FIFA, The Exclusive Story of
How the Feds Took down FIFA." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 14
Mar. 2016.
This article published on by ESPN examines the long and on going process of the FIFA
corruption scandal. The article is not so much an opinion piece but more of a summation
of what has been happening in the worlds largest corporate soccer organization. The
authors excellently take the reader through the process step by step, making the
complicated charges and arrests that have been made over the past year or so easy to
understand. The article also gives a large amount of background information to help the
reader understand where all these problems have arisen. Its main focus is on the greed of
a few of the main officials being prosecuted at the moment. It speaks about FIFA
executives and leaders stealing and using the capital gained by the company for their own
personal gain. Because of the nature of the article, there is no clear stance so to say, other
than informative. The authors are condemning FIFA and the officials actions yes,
however, they are not arguing one point. They are simply putting forward facts and tying
them together so that the public may have a better understanding of what is happening. I
will use this source as a central reference point for my paper that I can build off of and
relate to other potential sources. It is from ESPN, one of the worlds leading sports
reporting agencies, making it very credible and reliable. The article has provided me with
much needed background information and understanding.
Jennings, Andrew. "Investigating Corruption in Corporate Sport: The IOC and FIFA."
International Review for the Sociology of Sport 46.4 (2011): 387-98. Irs.sagepub.com.
Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

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This article is from the Journal, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, a peer
reviewed journal about major sporting organizations around the world. In this article in
particular, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and FIFA are examined from a
civilian reporter type of view. The author of the article, Andrew Jennings, talks about the
history of corruption in the IOC and FIFA and the people involved. What sets this piece
apart from most others is the way it is attacked. Jennings, more so than other articles on
the subject, analyzes on how the corrupt officials actions have consequences on the
public following them. This is extremely useful because instead of the main focus being
on sheer logistics and policy, the reader is able to get a more civilian/by-stander point of
view from what is being written. The article is very much biased against the current and
ex-leaders of the IOC and FIFA and their actions. Some parts of the article are even
aggressive and call some of the officials moral nature into question. The main focus of
the piece is to enlighten the reader and update them on who has been running these large
sporting committees and shed light on the history of systematic greed and corruption
running through them. I plan on using this source in my paper to help emphasize the
influence these corporations have on their followers and supporters and the wrong doing
they have bestowed on so many people over the past few decades. This article is both
scholarly and opinionated while keeping a professional and poise tone.
Martelle, Scott. "What FIFA and the NFL Have in Common: A Credibility Problem."
Latimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Feb. 2016
This article from the Los Angeles Times is an opinion piece about what problems the
NFL and FIFA have in common. The article is largely focused on the systematic effort to
cover their own tracks with biased investigations run by none other than the large

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corporations themselves. Another main focus that the article takes aim on is how the NFL
should have learned from FIFAs mistakes of investigating their own scandals. What the
author is trying to accomplish is to highlight that perhaps there is a pattern of regular
abuse of internal power in these large sporting organizations. The article is an opinion
piece that focuses not so much on condemning FIFA and the NFL but rather on how they
can improve going forward. Because it is an opinion piece, one could easily call its
credibility into question. However, the fact that it is an opinion piece is why I find it
interesting. The problem the public is facing with these corporations is very much one of
opinion and discussion. This means that the article makes up for in social relevancy what
it lacks in credibility. I will use this source in my paper but not frequently. I plan on using
it as a reference point when offering suggestions on how to avoid problems like the ones
faced today in the future and so on. I believe that it will be a good indicator of public
opinion on the matter and how people have responded to both of the scandals and
investigations mentioned. The article also provides good logistical analysis.
Waldron, Travis. "'League Of Denial' Documentary Details How NFL Covered Up Concussion
Crisis-And How Little It Cares Now." Thinkprogress.org. Think Progress.org, 9 Oct.
2013. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
This article is what some would call a movie review of sorts. However, it uses the
documentary, League Of Denial, to help get the point across and emphasize the efforts
that the NFL has gone to to protect their name and the sport. The article specifically takes
on the issue of concussion problems in ex-players but its focused more on the bigger
picture. That the NFL has gone to extreme lengths and measures to cover this issue up
and that they may have and might do so in the past and future. At least thats what the

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article seems to be alluding to. This article is critical to the central focus of my paper
because it proves that on at least one occasion, the NFL has put the lives of their
employees in danger for the sake of profit and reputation. The articles main focus is to
raise questions and critique the NFLs intense effort to cover this up. The author, Travis
Waldron, provides useful statistics about CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) and
those who have succumb to it in recent years since its discovery. He also provides
excellent examples from the documentary to help back up the central talking points of the
article. The article as a whole is not an opinion piece. Instead it takes on the profile of an
analytical and skeptical essay about a movie. The piece also calls out the NFL on its sins,
so to speak, in a variety of ways with out having a condemning or accusatory tone. The
movie is used as the reference point and conversation starter when discussing and
presenting the facts about the NFL and their want to cover the concussion problem up.
This being said, the article has a very dark tone and should not be taken lightly. I will use
this article as the one of the main reference points when discussing the NFL and its flaws.
Its neutrality and passiveness will be exceedingly useful when the time comes to draft
my paper.