Now they're no better than those childhood beauty pageants.
Go ahead and recoil at the comparison. But swap the sequins and sashes for shin guards and shoulder pads, and how is Honey Boo Boo any different from a kid traveling the country for combines and tournaments five, six, even seven years before he or she can accept a college scholarship, if one is offered?
"It's certainly not being done to the benefit of the kids. This kind of thing is in the interest of everyone but the kids," said Mark Hyman, an assistant professor at George Washington's sports management program and author of several books on the dysfunction of youth sports.
