Out Of Bounds by Jeff Benedict
I just finished reading Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA’s Culture of Rape, Violence & Crime by Jeff Benedict. It tries to give its readers a taste of the NBA culture of crime and lawlessness. Did you know that “four out of every ten NBA players have a police record involving a serious crime?” I didn’t–until I read Out of Bounds.
The book claims to be divided into three sections: Sexual Liberties, Above the Law, and Bad Heroes. In actuality, it’s really just one continuous section. The theme of Out of Bounds never changes. It’s all about how NBA players commit sexual and physical violence due to a basketball culture that gives immature men everything they want and never says “no.” The book also explains how NBA players get preferential treatment in the US justice system, often avoiding charges or simply doing community service for crimes that would put an average citizen behind bars for life.
It’s an eye-opener for sure, but I am only giving it a three-star rating: :3star:. There are a few problems with the book. First, its material is repetitive. We see the story case by case by case, with little explanation or variance in the narrative. Hearing about NBA players committing violent crime is only interesting if it serves something higher. Second, there’s a lack of explanation for the crimes themselves. I feel as if Out of Bounds is just a photogallery of crime. I wonder why? Why do they commit crime they know they will be caught for? Why do they spurn authority and order? Why do they have a predelection for crime in the first place? Why does the NBA allow it? Instead, all I get is a picture of how these crimes go on and on. This, I think, is the most serious academic failure of the book. Otherwise, it’s an entertaining and informative read.
Another resource in evaluating this book is its own website from Harper Academic.
This entry was posted on Sunday, December 26th, 2004 at 11:20 pm and is tagged with rape violence, immature men, academic failure, nba players, physical violence, police record, preferential treatment, eye opener, three star, violent crime, actuality, justice system, variance, star rating, own website, photogallery, crimes, liberties, heroes, citizen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback.