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 "football" ...
-
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
-
OSU Scandals
An investigation of a football coach from OSU that covered up NCAA violations and knowingly allowed star atheletes to play in games even though he knew they may be ineligible for competition. The university attempted to dismiss Tressel's violation as a minor oversight and suspended him for two games.
Tags: NCAA; OSU; Ohio State University; Football; College
-
ESPN, Outside the Lines: Painkiller Misuse Numbs NFL Pain
The story examines the degree to which current and former NFL players used and misused prescription pain medications.
Tags: painkillers; drugs; NFL; football
-
"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
-
ESPN Outside the Lines: Gambling & Youth Football
"This investigation discovered rampant gambling on young boys playing football in the highly competitive South Florida Youth Football league."
Tags: gambling; youth football; sports; ethics; broadcast
-
Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity
"Scoreboard, Baby" chronicles the 2000 University of Washington football team, the last squad from the school to go the Rose Bowl. Based on exhaustive reporting, the book shows how a community's blind embrace of a football team compromised judges, prosecutors, police agencies, a proud university and the media.
-
ESPN Outside the Lines:What's Lurking in Your Stadium Food
Health department inspection reports for food and beverage outlets at stadiums and arenas home to Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League, and National Baseball Association teams showed that more than half of them had been cited for a "critical" or "major" health inspection.
Tags: sports; stadium; arena; stadium food; health; safety; food preparation
-
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
-
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
-
"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