Usually, when we think about the Ivy League, it's closely associated with the highest degree of prestige. Some of the best institutions in the entire world reside within the Ivy League, and they have well-deserved reputations for excellence that, in most cases, have been forged over centuries. The Ivy League consists of eight different universities from the American Northeast: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale.
Usually, when we think about the Ivy League, it's closely associated with the highest degree of prestige. Some of the best institutions in the entire world reside within the Ivy League, and they have well-deserved reputations for excellence that, in most cases, have been forged over centuries. The Ivy League consists of eight different universities from the American Northeast: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale.
With some of the most popular shows on cable TV, plus the brand recognition of a magazine that's more than 125-years-old, just about everyone has either heard of National Geographic or watched at least one of their many shows. And National Geographic is one of the most popular educational networks in the world, so you'd think everything would be squeaky clean, right? If it's educational, then it must be completely on the up-and-up!
Golf isn't known for being a scandalous sport. Even though we're talking about famous, unbelievably rich people, they generally tend to live quieter lives than those who play other things. And fans are certainly known to be much calmer and less hooligan-like than people who watch other sports. But there are always exceptions. And against this more sedate background, those who go off the rails stand out even more.
Back in 2020, the Boy Scouts of America were in the headlines for a terrible reason: They were facing so many claims from former Scouts who had been sexually abused and assaulted that the organization filed bankruptcy. At the time, the Scouts' vice president of communications, Effie Delimarkos, issued a statement (via NPR) explaining the move: "We did so with the dual objectives to help compensate victims for what they experienced... But we also did so so that we can continue the mission of scouting." In July of 2021, the organization announced it had settled with more than 60,000 claimants for $850 million. Then the scandal got even bigger.
One part a culturally sanctioned non-deadly form of combat, one part highly competitive celebration of the world's most physically advanced, talented, and trained specimens, and one part lucrative form of deeply compelling and unscripted entertainment — there really isn't anything as dramatic or universally enjoyed as sports. Every day of the year, the best in the world at basketball, football, golf, tennis, baseball, and other pursuits put their bodies and brains to the test in pursuit of glory, perfection, and money. As such, that makes sports intense and complicated. There are a lot of moving parts, with a lot of people and stakes involved. Scandals and controversies are almost guaranteed to spring up, and modern technology makes the news of them spread instantly around the world.
