Red Card

The World Cup is here, but what function does a worldwide tournament play in an increasingly belligerent police state, with Donald Trump at the helm? Publishing on the eve of the soccer World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, this concise, power-packed philippic provides a critical take on the dark underbelly of the beautiful game at its most storied moment. At the heart of this analysis by acclaimed sportswriter and scholar Jules Boykoff, who himself played soccer professionally, is the concept of sportswashing, where political leaders use sports to stoke nationalism and legitimize themselves on the world stage, deflecting from chronic problems at home. Step forward the recipient of the newly cast FIFA Peace Prize, Donald J. Trump, a titan unrivaled in squeegeeing every drop of personal wealth and prestige from hosting the competition. In this, he is ably assisted by a governing body of global soccer dripping in patronage and corruption. In these pages Boykoff demonstrates that it is possible to simultaneously treasure the skills and athleticism displayed on the pitch while lamenting their exploitation by malevolent powerbrokers for whom love of the game means nothing next to turning a buck or harvesting prestige. And, as Red Card so skillfully shows, this bait and switch is not confined to soccer. Precisely the same legerdemain will be used to distract and enrich when the Olympic Games come to Los Angeles two years from now.

The World Cup is here, but what function does a worldwide tournament play in an increasingly belligerent police state, with Donald Trump at the helm? Publishing on the eve of the soccer World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, this concise, power-packed philippic provides a critical take on the dark underbelly of the beautiful game at its most storied moment. At the heart of this analysis by acclaimed sportswriter and scholar Jules Boykoff, who himself played soccer professionally, is the concept of sportswashing, where political leaders use sports to stoke nationalism and legitimize themselves on the world stage, deflecting from chronic problems at home. Step forward the recipient of the newly cast FIFA Peace Prize, Donald J. Trump, a titan unrivaled in squeegeeing every drop of personal wealth and prestige from hosting the competition. In this, he is ably assisted by a governing body of global soccer dripping in patronage and corruption. In these pages Boykoff demonstrates that it is possible to simultaneously treasure the skills and athleticism displayed on the pitch while lamenting their exploitation by malevolent powerbrokers for whom love of the game means nothing next to turning a buck or harvesting prestige. And, as Red Card so skillfully shows, this bait and switch is not confined to soccer. Precisely the same legerdemain will be used to distract and enrich when the Olympic Games come to Los Angeles two years from now.

She's All That meets She's the Man in this New Adult sports romance about a British bad boy rugby player who's forced to start over in America and finds an unlikely ally in the coach's daughter when she offers him a deal he can't resist. Leaving it all on the field is one thing. Giving his all to love? Terrifying. British bad boy Cillian "Kill" Cairney is ruthless on the rugby pitch. After getting a permanent red card from his team in London, the only team that will have him is an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. But the guys hate him, his coach doesn't trust him, and worst of all? His starting position is in the hands of his coach's fiery, rugby-obsessed, very off-limits daughter. Not only does he have to earn his coach's respect, but Kill has to earn Rory's--and nothing has ever seemed more difficult. That is, until she approaches him with a proposition that could benefit them both . . . Rory St. James has spent all her life immersed in rugby. Which is . . . part of the problem. She's tired of being friend-zoned. She wants to get the guy, and to do that, she needs the frustratingly charming Cillian to teach her. But the more time they spend together, the more lines begin to blur. In a game where trust and loyalty are tested, who will be the winner? Or will love be the final red card?

She's All That meets She's the Man in this New Adult sports romance about a British bad boy rugby player who's forced to start over in America and finds an unlikely ally in the coach's daughter when she offers him a deal he can't resist. Leaving it all on the field is one thing. Giving his all to love? Terrifying. British bad boy Cillian "Kill" Cairney is ruthless on the rugby pitch. After getting a permanent red card from his team in London, the only team that will have him is an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. But the guys hate him, his coach doesn't trust him, and worst of all? His starting position is in the hands of his coach's fiery, rugby-obsessed, very off-limits daughter. Not only does he have to earn his coach's respect, but Kill has to earn Rory's--and nothing has ever seemed more difficult. That is, until she approaches him with a proposition that could benefit them both . . . Rory St. James has spent all her life immersed in rugby. Which is . . . part of the problem. She's tired of being friend-zoned. She wants to get the guy, and to do that, she needs the frustratingly charming Cillian to teach her. But the more time they spend together, the more lines begin to blur. In a game where trust and loyalty are tested, who will be the winner? Or will love be the final red card?