Sport Industrial Complex

The notion of the sport-industrial complex was born out of a warning issued in President Eisenhower’s Farewell Address. In this well-known speech, Eisenhower introduced the idea of the military-industrial complex to the public... a term many people recognize but few have deeply considered. He cautioning against "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex," which had been established during World War II and swelled throughout the Cold War, with the potential to stretch indefinitely. "This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience," Eisenhower explained. "The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government."

Where are we now, almost 50 years since Eisenhower's warning? How has it changed and grown over time? What aspects have been hidden from public oversight by Congress or active citizens? How does it impact us and how are we implicated (complicit) in its structure?

And what, if anything, does this really have to do with what I want to study?