Robert Lipsyte once said that one of his goals as a writer is to put sports in the proper perspective: "If we write more truthfully about sports, perhaps we can encourage kids to relax and have fun with each other--to challenge themselves for the pleasure of it, without self-doubt and without fear."

In yesterday's USA Today column, he seems to have flown in the face of his own advice. Rather than encouraging student-athletes to play for the love of the game, he expresses a coldly cynical viewpoint that suggests all Division I basketball is played by pseudo-students competing for a handful of spots in the NBA, encouraged by one Machiavelli or another.

One suspects that Lipsyte is doing exactly what he accuses Division I programs of doing -- being callously cynical with regard to audience. Columnists -- even those as well-known and highly regarded as Lipsyte -- thrive on controversy and sensationalism; increased readership means increased advertising revenues. Talk about cynicism.

Division I basketball is an easy target if you only exploit the negative -- if you fail to mention the high graduation rate and the parade of players who have carved out successful careers in professional arenas other than the NBA.

What Lipsyte did was no different than what the mayhem printed on the front pages of newspapers across the nation, and broadcast as lead stories on the nightly news. You would think we live in a nation of unrelenting tragedy.

Every once in a while there's a "feel-good" story somewhere on page 12 of the local paper, or in the closing minutes of a broadcast. But those kinds of stories don't sell papers. They just bring smiles, as do the success stories of thousands of Division I athletes who never even dreamed of playing in the NBA.

Why not more smiles?

Dear Mr. Lipsyte,

There I was, hovering just above the scattered clouds on my Nelson 1040 Superbroom, looking for the Golden Snitch.

By pure chance, I was spelling Harry for this "once-in-a-lifetime" event -- a special charity contest between Gryffindor and Slytherin for Bronx Children's Charities.

Appropriately, the contest was being held in the airspace above Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium have been deemed unacceptable because of its proximity to LaGuardia Airport, and its landing approaches.

What would have happened if the Golden Snitch chose to slide under the wing of an incoming 757? Good theater perhaps, but it could have been broom here, broom there, and seeker Phil here, there and everywhere.

Anyway, there I was with more than 50,000 cheering fans of all ages craning their necks toward the darting players. We were down by 120 points.

"Dodge that blodger!"

"There it is!"

"Over there!"

Then I spotted it, just a shining dot sitting innocently between two of the bulbs in one of the light towers along the right field line.

I went into an slow circular descending approach. The Slytherin seeker took little notice of me, apparently assuming I was in a search pattern. Then, when I was within a hundred yards of the target, I pulled out all the stops, speeding my Nelson 1040 straight toward the target.

The Slytherin seeker spotted my sudden dash -- too late.

I swooped down, darted straight between the two bulbs and snatched the Golden Snitch. One-hundred-fifty points, and the game, to Gryffindor.

"Gryffindor wins!"

"Gryffindor wins!"

The Stadium erupted into a single roar. A wide smile spread across my face as I landed near second base. My teammates mobbed me, and then we slowly circled the Stadium on our brooms, the Golden Snitch held high in my right hand for all to see.

Then I glanced to my left and spotted the "D" train pulling into the station to take me to school.

Well, maybe someday I can play Quidditch in college -- and then, who knows?

Personally, this is the first time that I've heard this comparison between Harry Potter and the NCAA. However, I do believe and agree with what is being said. I, myself, am an avid Harry Potter reader and fan. I know of quidditch and how it is related to the story and the rest of the school there. I do believe that quidditch and NCAA sports, such as basketball are comparable.
I thought that the example given by Lipsyte of the fact that the whole idea of a poor child making it big as a star student-athlete was an excellent one compared to Harry Potter and his troubles and fame. I also thought that the idea of how people clamor over the fact that Harry Potter and the other series deal with witchcraft and what not, when the NCAA is dealing with corruption and gambling and what not all the time, yet no one seems to mind that at all. If we are going to have a mindframe about one idea, then shouldn't that go for all??I would have to agree with Lipsyte though and his argument because of the fact that everyday reality is becoming more and more of a fantasy, or at least with the parallels of so.

Robert Lipsyte's analogy is very cogently presented. It is great to see the NCAA exploring every avenue to seem relevant to today's youth. Developing a blog - the realm of folks supposedly not on the company payroll - is a perfect example. Let's talk about the etymology and history of the wonderfully successful propoganda term student-athlete in the near future in a blog, eh?

Josh--for shame,

You want USA today to censor such a highly regarded columnist like Bob Lipsyte, just because you consider it "heresy." Please Lipsyte has seen more in college athletics than you ever will and I am sorry Josh--but there are many more problems than you care to acknowledge.

A few knuckleheads?? You came up with a few names that have done well, but what about the thousands who have been exploited? Received a bogus education, if any at all (Dexter Manley, Chris Washburn, Kevin Ross, etc, etc). At schools I worked at--athletes could not read or write when they were in their senior year. But--ah yes, they are getting exposure to college and maturing. Excuse me while I throw up. A major divsion I athlete for the most part is getting a watered down education, coddled through academic eligiblity mills, and in academic programs hiding behind the Buckley amendment so the embarrasment won't be public. Yes many people, students, and myself enjoy watching the competition, but in the spectrum of a university (as the Orzag report proved) there is no connection to more applications, more fund raising dollars, prestige of university etc. Yes the student body can be rallied for an athletic event, but P. Diddy, Matt McCounahey, and Bon Jovi will do the same thing--so what is your point??

Yes Josh there are those athletes who trudge to class at 8:00 am (as they should--you make it sound like the second coming of Christ, but after all they are students). Let's not forget there are those that are being woke up, walked to class by adult coaches, monitored by a vast array of advisors and tutors whose sole job is eligibility maintenence--lest they get fired (see Georgia Tech). Is that a college experience? Is that gaining life skill to succeed and be a productive citizen? Is that truly what higher education is all about?

Yes many university's athletes do graduate at a higher level than the general student body. It should be much higher--but what are they graduating in, how much of their work was done for them, how many advisors, tutors, faculty, et al were threatened with their livelihoods if Jock A didn't remain on the field??

Again Josh, I admire your idealism--but pull your head out of the sand. These scandals we read about literally every day--which nowhere near scratch the surface of what is really going on, are really happening. You somehow just have a problem admitting it.

Again, please join us at the Drake Group conference to hear some of the pre-eminent names in athletics and college athletic research to discuss what is really happening, based on facts and data, not just some pie in the sky ideal that you are hanging on to.

I really do hope to see you there. You need another point of view--even if it is "heresy" that you are trying to suppress. This is America after all.