Oh, look, another sports movie. A coach on a losing streak who can't let go of his ex-wife compromises his ethics to boost his team into a better position. Wait, no, that was Slap Shot.
A basketball coach on a losing streak (Nick Nolte) who can't let go of his ex-wife (Mary McConnell) compromises his ethics by allowing a greedy alumnus (J.T. Walsh) to bribe incoming athletes into joining his university team. That's better.
I don't understand sports. I mostly see the appeal for people in playing. Some people really like physical activity and they enjoy competing against others of the same caliber. I can sort of, maybe, see the appeal of watching sports. I like watching the Olympics. There is something fascinating about seeing the top tier of humanity perform at the highest level of their ability. I do not understand the rabid fanaticism where people replace their entire personality with a sports team. I do not understand gambling culture. This seems to be the slimy underbelly of all sports. I had to google what point shaving was. And I still don't really understand "covering the spread" as anything but a subculture of addicts rhapsodizing about their poisons.
Fortunately, this movie really isn't about basketball. It's about money and morals. College athletes are prohibited from making money off their performances, while universities rake in millions of dollars. In order to get the best players, and therefore more money, the unofficial practice is to bribe high school kids with much more than scholarships. Cars, cash, help for their families, whatever they want under the table in exchange for approximately four years of unpaid labor. Unfair, unethical, and particularly disgusting considering the racial and socioeconomic factors. Rich white dudes profiting off the unpaid labor of predominantly people of color is not a great look in the 21st century. And don't get me started on the number of crimes, especially sexual assaults, swept under the rug from a college system designed to protect their investments. This is where the gambling part comes in. Because now you know these athletes have a price. What's a little extra to get them to fix a couple of games? What's wrong with using a little leverage against a player whose mom got a new house?
This is the same director who did The French Connection and The Exorcist. The movie underperformed commercially and was critically panned. I wouldn't call it the greatest sports movie ever made but it does have a point to make about basketball and the intersections of money and power. It's currently streaming on Hulu.
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