Unsportsmanlike Conduct

"Few subjects are as difficult, or as important, as this one, and Jessica Luther handles it flawlessly. We have to demand that schools take better care of our kids; it's that simple. Luther gives us the tools to do so, breaking down exactly where we are, how we got here, and--most importantly--how t [...]
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"Few subjects are as difficult, or as important, as this one, and Jessica Luther handles it flawlessly. We have to demand that schools take better care of our kids; it's that simple. Luther gives us the tools to do so, breaking down exactly where we are, how we got here, and--most importantly--how the system can change."
--Rachel Nichols, ESPN anchor
"In painstaking and passionate detail, Jessica Luther challenges those of us who have become seduced by the emotion and ritual of sport to stop being willfully ignorant about the significant problem of sexual assault and sexual violence. Sports, for many of us, always have been characterized as a lighthearted escape from the problems that dominate 'real life, ' but this book reminds us that our ability to compartmentalize and rationalize these terrible crimes has cost us our collective humanity."
--Jemele Hill, ESPN columnist
""Unsportsmanlike Conduct" is an important book by an important writer. Jessica Luther's place as both sports fan and empathetic observer make her perfect to explore the shameful ways universities and their athletic programs address sexual assault, as no one could say she doesn't love football. She just loves people more, as she should, and this book is an important mirror to make us question how sports became more important to the world than the women who make life possible."
--Bomani Jones, ESPN host and analyst
"Luther uses the language and framework of college athletics--a playbook--to demonstrate the industry's systemic problems with sexual violence. This book should be handed to every incoming freshman, and left on the seats of stadiums across the country. A must-read for athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists, and fans alike."
--Katie Nolan, host of Fox Sports' "Garbage Time"
"Jessica Luther is one of the most important voices on gender issues in sports. And this book does not disappoint: it is essential reading for anyone who hopes to better understand the intersection of gender and our sports landscape."
--Kate Fagan, EspnW
The latest from Akashic's Edge of Sports imprint.
Football teams create playbooks, in which they draw up the plays they will use on the field. If all goes well, the large amount of work that goes into a single play suddenly looks like a natural flow of bodies moving in unison that results in the movement of the ball down the field or the successful stop of the other team's offense.
Playbooks are how teams work and why they win.
This book is about a different kind of playbook. Over the last three years, sexual assault on college campuses has been a hot topic as people are wondering aloud and often about it, especially when it involves star football players. "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" explores that playbook: the one coaches, teams, universities, police, communities, the media, and fans seem to follow whenever a college football player is accused of sexual assault. It's a deep dive into how different institutions--the NCAA, athletic departments, universities, the media--run the same plays over and over again when these stories break. If everyone runs their plays well, scrutiny dies down quickly, no institution ever has to change how it operates, and the evaporation of these cases into nothingness looks natural. In short, this playbook is why nothing ever changes.
"Unsportsmanlike Conduct" unpacks this societal playbook piece by piece, and not only advocates that we destroy the old plays, but also suggests we replace them with ones that will force us to finally do something about this issue.