The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "athletes" ...
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HBO: NCAA Head Games
Five years into football’s concussions crisis, one group of athletes may be in more danger than any other: college football players. That’s because while leagues from the NFL down to Pop Warner have sharply reduced contact in practice to limit the amount of hits to the head, the NCAA has yet to mandate any rules. A six-month Real Sports investigation found that, over the course of a year, the average college football player is exposed to 70% more hits to the head than an NFL player. All these hits can add up and make it harder for the brain to function and do the work of being a student. In other words, young men going to college purportedly to improve their minds are often doing precisely the opposite—they are damaging them. Once these athletes leave college they’re on their own to deal with the potential consequences. The NFL provides long-term medical care for its football players. The NCAA does not.
Tags: broadcast; college football; athletes; concussions; health; NFL; NCAA; medical care
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Unfair Game
Texas high school athletics rules prohibit students from transferring from district to district for athletic purposes, but that hasn’t stopped coaches and administrators from openly flouting the rules to assemble state championship-caliber teams as part of an underground recruiting system that puts athletics over academics. WFAA investigative reporter Brett Shipp's reports showed how improper recruiting helped Dallas' Kimball Knights build back-to-back state champ basketball teams, and how former Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders' new school, Prime Prep Academy, also drew in blue-chip players against the rules.
Tags: High school athletics; sports; coach; recruiting system; state champion team
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Ending PERS Secrecy
The Oregonian discovered that while most 30-year employees at the University of Oregon were receiving a public pension averaging $54,000 a year, a former University of Oregon coach and athletic director was receiving $41,000 per month.
Tags: Pensions; University of Oregon; Employee; Coach; Athletic Director
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ESPN Outside The Lines: AAU Investigation
Uncovering allegations of child molestation and other forms of sexual abuse by Robert Dodd, longtime president and CEO if Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), eventually resulting in the firing of Dodd from the organization.
Tags: sexual abuse; sex offender; aau; athletic; amateur; union; robert dodd;
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"Fiesta Bowl Under Fire" "BCS The Money. The Games"
Discovery of violations of state and federal campaign finance laws at the Fiesta Bowl and widespread financial mismanagement, including employees being reimbursed for taking luxurious out-of-town trips and visits to strip clubs. The investigation of the BCS found that public universities lose money playing in BCS games; bowls spend heavily on gifts for schools' top athletic officials; pay for the highest executives at the BCS bowls more than doubled since they reunited in the late 1990s; and three of the top bowls accepted large government subsidies even as their revenue and assets have grown.
Tags: BCS; Fiesta Bowl; college; football; fraud; financial mismanagement
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Concussion Crisis
The stories examine the seriousness of concussions among athletes in youth and professional sports. Safety inadequacies in hundreds of thousands of football helmets have led to brain trauma and more.
Tags: football; football helmets; NFL; brain damage; Lou Gehrig's
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How Student Fees Quietly Boost College Sports
The investigation found that many college and universities had not been disclosing how much of the student fees was going toward the athletic budgets. In some cases, student fees for athletics can account for as much as 23% of the total mandatory tuition and fees charge.
Tags: university athletics; college sports; Division I; state schools; tuition
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Trouble in Jayhawk Nation
A look into the University of Kansas' athletic program reveals a corrupt system. The Star reveals that the university's athletic director was paid an exorbitant salary and also uncovers connections between university officials and the felon who illegally resold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of basketball tickets.
Tags: University of Kansas; athletic department; ticket resale; basketball; travel expenses; salary
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East of St. Louis School District 189 investigation
This investigation into East St. Louis School District 189 shows misuse of funds and highlights questionable decisions at administrative levels for both academics and athletics. About 7,500 students attend classes in the district that has received constantly failing grades when compared to educations achievement statewide. The district receives millions in federal "Title 1" money because more than 90 percent of its students live blow the poverty line. However, this investigation revealed questionable use of those taxpayer funds. In September, the story took a turn and focused on the champion East St. Louis Flyers football team that was eventually kicked out of the state playoffs despite having an undefeated recored. In these stories, questionable practices by district officials regarding strict residency rules were revealed.
Tags: Title 1; academics; athletics; school; students; low-income; taxpayer; East St. Louis Flyers; football; School District 189; corruption; finance; FOI
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"NCAA - College Athletic Fees"
In this months-long report, USA Today analyzed hundreds of "financial reports" that college athletic programs are "required to release to the NCAA." They found that many schools are relying more on student fees to finance sports programs (without student's knowledge). The investigation also reveals a growing "unrest" at many universities in response to the financial "divide between sports and academics."
Tags: Football Bowl Subdivision; Coalition of Intercollegiate Athletics; Big East Conference; University of Cincinnati; Nebraska State; Louisiana State; Atlantic Coast; Big Ten; Big 12; Pacific-10; Southeastern