Black Market: An Insider's Journey into the High-Stakes World of College Basketball

Written by Merl Code

Narrated by James Shippy

From a former college basketball player and Executive at Nike, a "riveting" (Sports Illustrated) insider's account into the business of college basketball exposes the corrupt and racist systems that exploit young athletes and offers a new way forward

For Merl Code, basketball was life.

In college he played point guard for Clemson before turning pro. Later, when he pivoted to marketing, he found himself thrust into a startling world of profit-driven college basketball programs. He realized that the NCAA's amateurism rules could be used to exploit young athletes, and athletes of color in particular.
 
Now, for the first time, Code will share his side of the explosive story of college basketball's dark reality—a system that begins with young talent in AAU programs and culminates at the highest levels of the NBA.
 
Propulsive, urgent, and eye-opening, Black Market exposes the truth to offer a more just way forward for both colleges and athletes. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harlequin Audio
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781488213205

Merl Code

Merl Code served as a director at Nike and consultant for Adidas. He is a former professional basketball player and played Division I basketball for Clemson University. He lives in South Carolina with his family. Black Market is his first book.

Reviews for Black Market

[Hebert Espinosa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book provides an interesting report on the inner works, behind-the-scenes stories of how a young basketball talent might quickly be lured and sucked into corporate interests, especially those of Nike and Adidas. Stories of watching a star unfolding right before your eyes, combined with betrayal, greed, and any other thing that anybody will find in a highly competitive business are told in a very concise and understandable way. That was an enjoyable and enlightening listen.

[Shawn Hazel · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I learned a lot about things that go on with athletic wear companies. However, the author did a lot of ‘patting himself on the back’ for things he has done. That got old. But, I agree that he was probably a scapegoat regarding the accusations and the judgement. The’ big guns’ usually get away with things