By Ken Reed
A ton of kids are simply being priced out of sports. And many are alienated by a coaching structure that emphasizes winning.
The twin forces of WAAC (win-at-all-costs) and PAAC (profit-at-all-costs) continue to damage the integrity of pro, college and high school sports.
But they have also severely […]
By Ken Reed
We recently wrote about the sad state of youth sports in America. The problems we touched on are all adult-based, driven by win-at-all-costs (WAAC) and profit-at-all-costs (PAAC) ethos.
The overall situation is even worse than what we discussed in that piece. HBO’s Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel recently had an […]
By Ken Reed
The twin forces of WAAC (win-at-all-costs) and PAAC (profit-at-all-costs) continue to damage the integrity of pro, college and high school sports. But they have also severely damaged youth sports. An area that used to be a bastion of innocence no longer is.
There’s too much adult in youth sports and it’s hurting […]
By Ken Reed
The brain wasn’t designed to withstand repetitive blows to the head.
That’s a problem for the games of football and hockey, in which blows to the head — sometimes vicious in their impact — are all too common.
On the hockey front, legendary goalie Ken Dryden is working hard to make his […]
By Ken Reed
A sedentary lifestyle is worse for you than smoking.
That’s the conclusion of a new study published recently in the journal JAMA Network Open. Researchers at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic studied the activity levels of 122,007 patients from 1991 to 2014.
They found a “clear connection” between a healthy, longer life […]
Guest Column
By Gerry Chidiac
Former South African president Nelson Mandela said, “Sport has the power to change the world.”
This may seem a preposterous statement when we look at the greed, corruption and division that often makes the headlines in the world of sport. We read of doping scandals, owners not taking responsibility for […]
By Ken Reed
From a spiritual perspective, I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful to watch in sports than a team seamlessly working together as a group.
I once saw it described as a “commitment to the Oneness.” I like that.
Helping a teammate — and in doing so, helping yourself and the team […]
By Ken Reed
As a kid, I picked my sports idols based on how far and how dramatically they hit home runs (Reggie Jackson), how cool-sounding their names were (Roman Gabriel, Bob McAdoo), how sweet their uniforms looked (Roger Staubach), and how many championships they won (Bill Russell).
So, given the shallowness of my […]
By Ken Reed
As a sports policy analyst, I’ve learned a lot more about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) than I ever expected to. Actually, at this point, I’ve learned more than I want to know.
CTE is a terrible degenerative disease, and it takes an immense toll on those that are stricken, as well […]
By Ken Reed
Sports have been a passion of mine since I was seven years old. It’s a true love affair. But as a sports columnist, I – like most other sports columnists – tend to focus on the negatives of SportsWorld.
We identify what’s wrong – in our not very humble opinions – and […]
- Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues. - Ken Reed's Author Page on Amazon
- League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.