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"Special Features"
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
November 11, 2013
The ongoing debate over the Washington Redskins nickname is tiresome.
It’s tiresome because it’s inevitable that the team name will be changed, no matter what Washington team owner Dan Snyder says. It’s just a matter of time. Clearly, Snyder’s contention that the […]
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
October 23, 2013
Two excellent documentaries about the concussion crisis in football, The United States of Football and League of Denial, have recently come and gone. oth films garnered some attention from the general public. But instead of spurring a national discussion about the safety […]
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
October 11, 2013
The 40th anniversary of Title IX has come and gone. The year-long celebration in 2012 of the landmark law was definitely called for. Girls and women have made tremendous strides in this country as athletes since 1972.
But the battle for equal opportunity […]
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
October 1, 2013
The fall is a busy time of year for youth sports. If you take a short drive on a weekday evening — or just about any time during a weekend — within a few miles you’re sure to find boys and girls […]
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
September 23, 2013
Ironically, in his defense of the name “Redskins,” ESPN columnist Rick Reilly may have given fuel to those fighting to get the NFL’s Washington franchise to drop its controversial nickname.
Reilly, one of the most well-known sports columnists in the United States, […]
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
September 13, 2013
The ongoing debate about whether or not fighting should be part of hockey often seems to just go in circles. No doubt there’s plenty of passion on the issue. Both the fighting advocates — who contend fighting is a necessary, self-policing, aspect of […]
Good Sports, Bad Sports is a regular feature from League of Fans highlighting recent, often underreported, news stories that positively or negatively impact sports & society.
By Shawn McCarthy
Just a Good Sport in this edition: author/sportswriter Robert Lipsyte for serving an 18-month term as ESPN ombudsman and telling it like it is.
Good […]
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
September 6, 2013
Why do you play sports? Why do you watch sports?
When you ask both kids and adults these questions, the answer is usually some variation of “It’s fun!”
Yet if a visitor from another galaxy watched how we act on our sporting fields, […]
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
August 31, 2013
Following this Labor Day weekend, virtually all of the nation’s students in grades K-12 will be back in school. Unfortunately, fewer of them will be participating in physical education classes and intramural sports programs.
It’s mind-boggling that at a time when overweight and […]
Good Sports, Bad Sports is a regular feature from League of Fans highlighting recent, often underreported, news stories that positively or negatively impact sports & society.
By Shawn McCarthy
In this edition, 19 U.S. states/territories are Good Sports for lowering obesity rates among preschoolers for the first time in decades. Keith Olbermann is a Good […]
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #33 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Ken Reed Announces His Retirement and Chats With League of Fans Founder Ralph Nader – Ken and Ralph talk about the history of League of Fans and the reasons it was created. They then move into a discussion of a variety of contemporary sports issues that League of Fans has been working on in recent years. Ken and Ralph end by talking about the need for sports fans, athletes, and other sports stakeholders to get involved in the sports reform movement and be activists and change agents on issues important to them, whether that be at the local, state, or national level.
Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and others.
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More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify and others.
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.
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.
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
