[A] wise, engaging and frankly overdue survey of a crucial moment in sports history ... The stroke of honesty that guides Black Ball is its insistence that our perceptions of race affect how we view the game, and that you simply can’t divorce sports from the times in which they are played — and the audiences for whom they’re played ... Black Ball is a timely read at a moment when professional athletes are more outspoken than ever on social issues, and when it’s clear that sports and society are inextricably linked.
An authoritative history ... Runstedtler, who combines an academic historian’s depth of knowledge with a novelist’s sense of story and character, cuts through McKay’s cardboard ... Hers is more than a basketball book, just as her subjects were more than basketball players.
A scholarly look at 1970s pro basketball and how the NBA became synonymous with being a Black league ... lthough she could have provided more historical background on Black labor movements, Runstedtler makes a convincing argument that Black players’ successful labor battles should be considered part of the long freedom struggle of Black Americans ... Deeply researched, and grounded in Black thought from the period, relying in particular on Black Sports magazine as an essential resource ... Overall, Black Ball is an intriguing look at professional basketball in the 1970s.
A compelling history of the league, and the origins of what we today call player empowerment ... Runstedtler’s feat is showing that the public narratives that emerge about the N.B.A. do not simply come from what fans see on the court, or even what players do in their free time.
A compelling argument. But in making her case, Runstedtler at times seems to minimize real issues ... The book is built around an impressive review of newspaper and magazine articles, as well as scholarly papers. Throughout, Runstedtler places the struggles of NBA players into a wider racial context. The technique frequently produces valuable insights, but at times, her broader assertions feel forced ... A more nuanced analysis probably would have emerged had Runstedtler taken a more journalistic approach and sought the observations of NBA figures from the era the book covers. But even without those recollections, Black Ball is instructive reading for anyone interested in the rise of the modern NBA.
All this Ms. Runstedtler records with the grace of a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sky hook ... Ms. Runstedtler’s argument—that the modern NBA was created "largely because of the efforts of African American players who challenged the status quo"—is ultimately persuasive.
Valuable ... But the action on the court is not the book’s focus, or even interest. Black Ball is a book about the legal and financial arrangements of the league ... A dry and academic book. But Black Ball’s density has its rewards ... Runstedtler mentions that she spent three seasons in the late 1990s as a cheerleader for the Toronto Raptors. This is the only bit of autobiography in this otherwise rigorously researched and sourced book, but it was a kind of ghost in the machine. I kept wondering why she wasn’t drawing on the experience more.
The writing is crisp and detailed, and the author skillfully manages social panorama, legal issues, and racial history to produce a compelling and well-researched tale. A strong, engaging look at a poignant, neglected aspect of pro sports.
Runstedtler’s superior storytelling, buoyed by expert research, casts a new light on the league’s complex history. This savvy reappraisal of the NBA’s tumultuous evolution soars.
