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PAS Explores Sports and Society


From endorsements to scandals to salaries and trades, our fascination with athletes extends far beyond their plays on the field. How does sport shape society, and vice-versa? And how does this affect the college-athlete experience?

Distinguished sports journalists, agents and executives addressed these timely questions during the 47th-annual Public Affairs Symposium. The four-day event shed light on the most controversial sports topics of our time, examined the student-athlete experience at Dickinson College and offered guidance and inspiration to those hoping to break into the competitive field of sports business.

Kicking off with an illuminating panel of top Dickinson student-athletes and coaches (Ian Mitchell '10, Amanda West '10, Abby Larson '10, Matt Beamer '11, Alison Risser, field hockey coach and Paul Richards, head coach of women's and men's swimming) who spoke of the Dickinson student-athlete experience, the symposium presented an all-star lineup of high-profile sports professionals who addressed some of the most intriguing sports issues of our time.  [story continued below]


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  • Investigative reporters Lance Williams (left) and Mark Fainaru-Wada speak about their experiences breaking, and becoming a subject of, sports news. Credited with exposing the steroid-use scandal, the journalists were issued subpoenas to testify before a grand jury to reveal their sources. The subpoenas were later dropped.
    Mark Fainaru-Wada
  • Leon Rose '83, agent for Lebron James and Allen Iverson (shown above), runs the basketball division of Creative Artists Agency. He said Dickinsonians who enter the business of professional sports benefit from the problem-solving skills and creative thinking that they cultivated at Dickinson.
    Leon Rose '83
  • Kelly Wolf '82, senior director of athletic and property marketing at Octagon Athletics and Personalities (shown above), explained that she not only negotiates players' employment and endorsement deals, but also helps manage athletes' personal lives, so the players can keep their eyes on the ball, figuratively and literally. "We've bought engagement rings and planned weddings. We help them buy cars and houses, pay their bills because they are never home, and be sure they can be responsible for themselves [when their careers end]," she said.
    Kelly Wolf '82
  • Adam Katz '81, who merged his company with Wasserman Media Group in 2006, says that he was inspired to become a sports agent as a youth, when he met Pittsburgh Pirate Dock Ellis.
    Adam Katz '81
  • From left: Adam Katz '81, sports agent for Sammy Sosa and other professional athletes; Kelly Wolf  '82, senior director of athletic and property marketing at Octagon Athletics and Personalities; Leon Rose '83, sports agent for Lebron James and Allen Iverson; Scott Cohen '91, New York Jets assistant general manager; and Kerry Waller (standing), professor of international business and management, who was the event's moderator.
    Distinguished Alumni
  • A standing-room-only crowd of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members attended the Sports and Society events, which included panel discussions and lectures about the intricacies of modern American sports.
    Standing Room Only
  • Author James Shulman discusses the balance between athletics and educational mission. According to The New Yorker, his book on the subject, which he co-authored with William G. Bowen, is "one of the most important books on higher education published inthe last 20 years."
    James Shulman
  • Lance Williams (center) speaks with students and other audience members after his lecture about steroid use, the biggest scandal in modern sports.  Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada (far right) have co-authored a book about their experiences in reporting the scandal. Separately, they have written about the influence of sports agents, bogus business ventures undertaken by athletes, the California cocaine trade, Oakland's Black Panther Party, among other scintillating topics.
    Lance Williams
Investigative reporters Lance Williams (left) and Mark Fainaru-Wada speak about their experiences breaking, and becoming a subject of, sports news. Credited with exposing the steroid-use scandal, the journalists were issued subpoenas to testify before a grand jury to reveal their sources. The subpoenas were later dropped. Prev ImageNext Image

[PAS, continued.]
Journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, who broke the steroid-use scandal, spoke of their experiences; author James Shulman, a noted expert on the role of sports in higher education, presented his view of this complex topic; and a panel of Dickinson alumni who have fashioned careers as sports agents offered a tantalizing, insider’s view of lives lived under the glare of professional-stadium lights.

Participating alumni offered career advice to students, spoke about their own experiences at Dickinson and paid homage to the professors and coaches who helped them succeed on the sports field, in class, and later in life. For example, Scott Cohen '91, assistant general manager of the New York Jets, noted that he honed vital creative thinking and problem-solving skills when he was a student at Dickinson.

"The foundation we received here helped us with the rest of our lives," agreed Leon Rose '83, a sports agent for Lebron James and Allen Iverson. "I wanted to be a basketball coach because I had people here who instilled [positive] things in me. What motivated me to coach is what makes this job so special."

The symposium was sponsored by Student Senate, the Poitras-Gleim family, the athletics and admissions departments and the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues.

Photos by A. Pierce Bounds '71
Text by MaryAlice Bitts
Sherri Kimmel contributed to this story.