Weekly Morsels: A Few Things That Might’ve Slipped Through the Cracks
By Ken Reed
Hockey Championship Ends in Tie for Safety Reasons
This year’s state high school championship hockey game in Ohio was declared a 1-1 tie after seven overtime periods for safety reasons.
The decision was made after conversations between Dan Ross, commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and the athletic directors from both schools. Ohio high school rules don’t allow for shootouts which are used to end prolonged ties at many levels of hockey, including the Olympics and NHL.
“During the conversations, the safety and health of the kids rose to the top, and that made the decision very easy,” Ross said.
At the time of the decision, the fans and players wanted to keep playing but some feelings mellowed after a couple days of reflection.
“I was upset they stopped the game,” said David Marsh, a participant in the game. “I wanted to keep playing. That changed today. I realized I’m a state champion.”
The administrators made the right call. Now they need to work on putting a shootout in the state rules in order to prevent a similar situation in the future.
Companies Trying to Develop Impact Sensors for Brain Safety
Reebok and other companies are working hard to develop impact sensors that could eventually be commonplace in collision sports like hockey, football and soccer. The sensors measure the force of an impact to the head.
The question is do they do any good?
Experts say the new tools are imprecise and insufficient by themselves to indicate a concussion. The other major problem with relying too much on these sensors is the fact that an impact that leaves one player concussed may have little effect on another. Also, younger athletes can respond to hits in a different way than adults because their necks aren’t as strong. The whiplash effect of a hit that would be relatively mild for an adult can result in a concussion for a 13-year-old.
“There is not a known threshold for concussions,” said Kevin Guskiewicz, an exercise and sports science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who studies concussions. “Parents are going to buy a product that’s potentially going to protect their kid, but it can be very misleading. The science hasn’t evolved to the point where we can interpret these metrics.”
That’s the big issue here. Corporate marketers will sell these devices as making collision sports safer. It’s similar to what some football helmet manufacturers have done in the past with safety claims for their helmets. Those claims have been threatened by lawsuits and the testimonies of medical experts.
Parents and coaches beware. First of all, these sensors don’t prevent the collisions that lead to concussions; and second, the readings may give players, coaches and parents a false sense of confidence.
— 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.
Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and others.
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More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
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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