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"Sport At Its Best"
By Ken Reed
Kamaiu Johnson was on a path likely heading nowhere.
He’d dropped out of school by age 13. His father had skipped town and his family was loving but poor. At times, Johnson lived with as many as nine other family members in a cramped two-bedroom apartment.
“I was so lost in life,” […]
By Ken Reed
Kevin B. Blackstone had a terrific piece in The Washington Post recently about creative ways stadiums and arenas — usually funded entirely, or in large part, by taxpayer dollars — have been used for positive social impact activities. Even privately built stadiums and arenas are typically the beneficiaries of publicly-funded roads, […]
By Ken Reed
When we see great acts of sportsmanship we tend to say, “That’s nice” and get back to focusing on who won the competition.
Yes, sportsmanship is “nice” but in the big picture sportsmanship – how you play the game – is the most important thing. It’s the essence of sports at […]
Despite what Vince Lombardi said, if winning’s the only thing in sports, you’re going to be miserable a lot of the time
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
From time to time while flipping through a magazine or surfing the Internet, you’ll run across a list of Best Sports Quotes. These lists […]
By Ken Reed
I’m sure it wasn’t easy but Ireland’s national lacrosse team did the right thing last week.
Ireland’s team withdrew from the World Games 2022 international lacrosse tournament so a Native American team, the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team could play in the tournament. The Iroquois team qualified by finishing third in the […]
By Ken Reed
Don Shula was an old school football coach but he was a progressive thinker in many ways, and not just from a football strategy perspective.
When it came to treating female reporters as equals, he was on the right side of history long before his peers.
In the early 1980s, NFL teams […]
By Ken Reed
The coronavirus pandemic, the seemingly endless Covid-19 news coverage, and the attitudes and behavior of some of our politicians during this challenging time can certainly be depressing.
However, there is a ton of positive stuff happening right now, if one takes time to look for it. Since our focus at League of […]
Guest Column
By Gerry Chidiac
The word competition often draws to mind hard-nosed athletes and coaches who will do anything to win. We imagine the tough business executive who will eliminate all adversaries to make the greatest profit.
But in fact, the win-at-all-costs attitude brings only short-term success. In order to win in the long […]
By Ken Reed
One of the greatest, and most memorable, sports-related quotes comes from Nelson Mandela:
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can […]
By Ken Reed
It’s the season of sacrifice, of helping and serving others, of gifts and acts of kindness that can never be repaid.
Former MLB commissioner, Fay Vincent, recently shared a personal story in that vein, a story filled with the human spirit.
Vincent fell off the ledge outside his dorm window […]
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #8 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: How Can We Save College Sports From Overcommercialization and Professionalization? – The guest is Dr. David Ridpath, a sports business professor and past president of the Drake Group, whose mission is to defend academic integrity in higher education from the corrosive aspects of commercialized college sports.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Anchor.
Follow on Facebook: @SportsForumPodcast
More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
Episode #7 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Brain Trauma and CTE Risk in Sports With Dr. Ann McKee – Dr. McKee works in the field of neuropathology and has demonstrated that “mild” repetitive head trauma can provoke chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a devastating neurodegenerative disease.
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, one of our nation’s leading advocates for getting our young people to be more physically active.
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.
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
