For years, basketball obsessives have followed the exploits of Bronny James, the oldest son of NBA star LeBron James and an impressive athlete in his own right. LeBron has said he wants to end his career playing next to his son, a somewhat far-fetched idea that has nevertheless fueled speculation that teams will draft Bronny to recruit his still formidable father. As a high school player, Bronny was the subject of YouTube highlight reels, ESPN coverage, and endless media speculation about his professional future. His decision to play college basketball at the University of Southern California garnered national headlines, as did his frightening July collapse during a practice session. The amount of attention devoted to one teenage basketball celebrity suggests that youth sports culture is alive and well. The truth is very much the opposite. In fact, Bronny James’s nascent career highlights many of the problems that have contributed to declining youth participation in team sports, from a social media landscape that encourages passivity to a sports-industrial complex increasingly geared toward grooming elite athletes. TRUMPISM 2.0: INSIDE THE FORMER PRESIDENT'S PLANS FOR A SECOND TERM The rise of the participation trophy is a common conservative gripe, but handing out a few more blue ribbons may actually be in order. Youth involvement in team sports has been on the decline since at least the late 2000s. This gradual slide was accelerated by the pandemic, which severely...