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"Special Features"
“Hats off to the World Series Champions, the Washington Nationals. Unmatched in baseball history were their comebacks. Five times in the Playoffs they faced extinction. Five times they won those games. In their final must win seventh game, they were being shut out with only one hit into the 7th inning, behind 2-0, and they […]
An Unsurpassable Sterling Record of Stamina!
By Ralph Nader
July 10, 2019
I’ve always been fascinated by stamina. Lou Gehrig was my boyhood hero, and not just because of his batting average, clutch hitting, and dignified comportment. From 1925 to 1939 he played 2,130 ballgames in a […]
Guest Column
By Gerry Chidiac
In our age of enormous salaries for professional athletes and overpriced tickets to sporting events, there are many reasons why the Toronto Raptors winning the National Basketball Association championship is worth celebrating.
Behind all of the hype, the team succeeded because they were built on solid principles.
[…]
Ken Reed, League of Fans’ sports policy director, appeared on radio and national TV after another parental brawl at a youth sports game. In this case, the players were 7 year olds, the umpire was 13 and it involved a controversial call.
“It’s another example of youth sport parenting gone wild,” according to Reed. […]
A League of Fans Special Report
May 2019
Baseball has an injury problem. It’s a big one. And an expensive one.
As but one recent example – albeit an extreme one – the New York Yankees had 13 players on the injured list by the end of April, just one month into […]
Ken Reed, League of Fans’ sports policy director, appeared on The Morning Show on Wisconsin Public Radio earlier this week. The conversation centered around the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the issue of fair compensation for big-time college athletes. Reed talked about the need for economic justice for college athletes who provide the product in […]
January 31, 2019
President Thomas J. LeBlanc
George Washington University
1918 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
Dear Dr. LeBlanc,
I am writing this letter on the 100th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s birth. That fact intensifies my disappointment in learning that George Washington University is planning to drop the […]
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 […]
Maybe. But Today’s Game Isn’t as Compelling or Entertaining
By Ken Reed
It’s a perennial baseball topic: Were the players from the past better or worse than today’s?
It’s a fun topic, often debated in offices, sports bars and on radio talk shows — especially come World Series time.
There are points to […]
By Ken Reed
John Gagliardi, an educator, innovator, and the winningest college football coach of all-time died this past weekend.
For most of his career, Gagliardi was the head coach at NCAA Division III St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He retired in 2012 with a record of 489-138-11, including 30 conference titles, and four […]
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #6 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Need for Quality Physical Education in Our Schools is Greater Than Ever – The guest is Clayton Ellis, a SHAPE America board member, former national physical education teacher of the year, and one of our nation’s leading advocates for getting our young people to be more physically active.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor.
Follow on Facebook: @SportsForumPodcast
More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
Episode #5 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Youth Sports with Positive Coaching Alliance Founder Jim Thompson – Thompson started Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) in 1998 to help create a movement to transform the culture of youth sports from “win-at-all-costs” to a positive, character-building experience.
Episode #4 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Biggest Issue in Sports Today? Brain Trauma – The guest is Patrick Hruby, a journalist who has done extensive research and in-depth writing on the topic of brain trauma in sports, most notably football.
Episode #3 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Styles with Sports Sociologist Jay Coakley – The guest is veteran sports sociologist Jay Coakley, a former college athlete who went on to earn a Ph.D. in Sociology from Notre Dame.
Episode #2 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: College & High School Athletics: Where Do We Go From Here? The guest is John Gerdy, a former college athlete and NCAA and SEC administrator who became a sports reformer later in his career.
Episode #1: The inaugural episode of League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast. The topic is Title IX and equal opportunity in sports. The guest is long-time Title IX and civil rights activist Donna Lopiano.
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.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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.
Books
