NHL a Mess
By Ken Reed
The NHL work stoppage continues — and unlike the NFL labor dispute that seemed to be non-stop news — nobody cares.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and his league’s owners are in deep trouble. Hockey is a fringe sport in the United States and the fact the NHL is poorly run makes things worse. NHL TV ratings historically have hovered around those of bowling. Several sports economists believe it’s a dying league. A lost season would be disastrous for the NHL, as the sports world, including the media, would discover that they simply don’t miss big league hockey.
NHL owners claim that more than half their franchises are losing money. Who knows what the truth is. We do know that in 2004-05, the owners won the work stoppage battle with the players. Owners got the salary cap to control player salaries they were after, along with a larger percentage of hockey revenue. Their goal is to reduce the players’ share of revenue even more this time.
Owners incessantly talk about their financial concerns but as Paul Brownfield wrote in a recent New York Times essay, nobody talks about the league’s concussion problem.
“For all the NHL’s discussion of economic viability and cost certainty, it’s worth noting that neither the players nor the owners are saying much of anything about the biggest threat to the league’s stability: concussions,” wrote Brownfield.
Even if this work stoppage ends in time to play games this season, the NHL brass must make protecting their players’ brains priority one from this point forward, or the league will become increasingly marginalized.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #22 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Rethinking Sports Fandom with Author Craig Calcaterra – We discuss Calcaterra’s new book “Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game” and explore new ways to be a fan in the year 2022.
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Episode #21 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Chatting About a Broken Game With Baseball Writer Pedro Moura – Moura is a national baseball writer for Fox Sports. We discuss how and why the game of baseball is broken, what factors caused it, and offer a few thoughts on how to “fix” a great game.
Episode #20 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Youth and High School Sports Based On What’s Best for the Athlete’s Holistic Development – We chat with long-time youth, high school and college basketball coach Jim Huber.
Episode #19 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Capturing the Spirit of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with Anika Orrock – We discuss the hoops AAGPFL women had to jump through to play the game they loved as well as the long-term impact and legacy they have in advancing sports opportunities for girls and women.
Episode #18 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking about the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and the Lia Thomas Controversy with Nancy Hogshead-Makar – Hogshead-Makar is a triple gold medalist in swimming, a civil rights attorney and CEO of Champion Women.
Episode #17 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking Sports With Legendary New York Times Sports Columnist Robert Lipsyte – We chat about Lipsyte’s amazing career and some of the athletes he covered.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
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.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
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.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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