Fallacies In Hoops Dreams

Basketball is rapidly becoming the most popular sport in the United States with the National Basketball Association expects to bring in five billion in revenue this season. Basketball for many is seen as a game but for other it’s seen as a hope in which they can free themselves from endless cycle of poverty. That is exactly what is depicted in the documentary Hoops Dreams by Steve James who follows two young boys name Arthur Agee and William Gates. These two young boys live in the inner city of Westchester, Illinois where crime, drugs, and gang violence are prominent however, with dreams to play for the National Basketball Association they see basketball as a way to escape the area. They are picked up as basketball prospects for St. Josephs, …show more content…
One occasion an illogical fallacies is used is when Arthur’s parents are told the half-truth of the scholarship to St. Joseph’s. His parents were told that Arthur that they wouldn’t have to pay for Arthur’s tuition to St. Josephs. However, what they didn’t know was Arthur would be receiving a partial scholarship to the school and if he had produced results for the basketball team then he would receive a sponsor for the rest of his tuition. For Arthur’s case, he was wasn’t providing good enough results because he wasn’t physically growing unlike his teammates which deemed him unworthy enough. On the other hand, William Gates was given this opportunity and went on to excel as a basketball player. Another instance an illogical fallacy was used was Coach Gene told Arthur that he would do whatever it takes to get them into the best college possible if they blindly followed his directions. More so, Coach Gene’s real agenda was to win more than anything else. Because this was not the case for Arthur, Coach Gene could have kept Arthur at St. Josephs if he found him a sponsor similar to what he did for William. The filmmaker showed the appeal to logic with providing information to find logically flawed answer from the school and Coach