Posts by: League of Fans
League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast
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One of America’s best sportswriters, Joe Posnanski, joins us for this episode. Posnanski has twice been named the best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors. He’s also written for The Athletic […]
By Ken Reed
College football’s barons still can’t figure out how to have a real playoff format.
It’s a classic sports example of ineptitude: 154 years after the first college football game was played, college football fans are stuck with a 4-team invitational tournament whose participants are chosen by a dozen or so suits in […]
Girls Hit the Hardest
By Ken Reed
ACL injuries among high school athletes have grown 26% over the past 15 years, according to new research developed by the National ACL Injury Coalition.
The National ACL Injury Coalition reviewed injury data for 12 major girls and boys sports over five three-year periods from 2007 to […]
Researchers Find Conclusive Evidence That Repetitive Head Impacts Cause CTE
By Ken Reed
When it comes to brain trauma and CTE in sports, the research is showing that we’ve put too much emphasis on concussions.
For a long time, parents, coaches, players, members of the media and some doctors have blamed concussions for causing chronic […]
Thankfully, his coaching style is going away
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
“It’s time to do away with coaching by humiliation and fear. When college coaches choose to coach this way and win, then coaches at all levels feel they have to emulate this behaviour. This results in an environment with […]
By Ken Reed
John Wooden was fond of saying “Sport doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”
Building character should be a high priority for youth sports coaches. Unfortunately, too many youth sports coaches operate with a win-at-all-costs (WAAC) mindset. Developing strong character traits in their athletes are a secondary consideration, if they are considered at […]
By Ken Reed
There has long been a fairly popular perception that schools should be about “the life of the mind” and that physical activities in general, and physical education in particular, should have nothing to do with the learning process.
Given all the research data showing a positive relationship between exercise and the […]
By Ken Reed
“It’s time to do away with coaching by humiliation and fear. When college coaches choose to coach this way and win, then coaches at all levels feel they have to emulate this behavior. This results in an environment with an enormous rippling effect with harmful social consequences … As parents and citizens, […]
The profit-at-all-costs ethos is eroding the true purpose of sport
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
I recently chatted with a group of sports fans about the state of sports. Each of them was disillusioned by SportsWorld today.
The primary reason cited was that they see sports being driven more and more […]
By Ken Reed
I coach a middle school girls basketball team. Practice for the season starts in a week. As such, I’ve been doing some preparation and planning for the season.
In doing that, I came across some old wisdom that I think is very applicable to athletes of all ages today. It comes from […]
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #32 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Prolific Author Joe Posnanski Joins the Show – Posnanski is one of America’s best sportswriters and has twice been named the best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors. We chat about his new book, “Why We Love Baseball,” his new Substack newsletter called Joe Blogs, and we cover topics including how baseball treats its fans, MLB’s numerous rule changes this past season, how the sport can become more fan-friendly, the greatness of Negro Leagues champion Buck O’Neil, and much more.
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 #31 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Foul Ball Safety Is Still an Important Issue at Ballparks – Our guests are Jordan Skopp, founder of FoulBallSafety.com and Greg Wilkowski, a Chicago based attorney. We discuss the historical problem of foul balls injuring fans and why some teams are still hesitant to put up protective netting in some minor league and college baseball parks.
Episode #30 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The State of College Athletics with Dr. David Ridpath: Problems and Potential Solutions – Ridpath is a sports administration professor at Ohio University and a member of The Drake Group, a college sports reform think tank.
Episode #29 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Honorable Tom McMillen Visits League of Fans’ Sports Forum – McMillen is a former All-American basketball player, Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman. We discuss the state of college athletics today.
Episode #28 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Chat With Mano Watsa, a Leading Basketball and Life Educator – Watsa is President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. We discuss problems in youth sports today.
Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
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.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
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.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books
