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"Sport At Its Best"
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 […]
By Ken Reed
Having been involved in sports for five decades, I’ve seen some great inspirational stories, both on and off the playing fields and courts.
There have been some fabulous comeback stories, in which athletes were thought to have had their careers cut short due to injuries suffered while playing only to come back […]
By Ken Reed
Earlier this week, I wrote about disgraced track coach Alberto Salazar being banned for four years for using performance-enhancing drugs with his athletes and attempting to tamper with doping controls.
Salazar was caught due in large part to the courage of two-time Olympic athlete Kara Goucher, who blew the whistle on […]
By Ken Reed
As sports policy director at a sports reform organization, I usually write about problems and issues in sports — and what we can do to address them. But today, I’m taking a break from that project to celebrate the beauty of sport at its best.
Monday night’s men’s basketball championship game […]
By Ken Reed
In the latest (December 17-24) issue of Sports Illustrated, the “Sportsperson of the Year” issue, there’s a feature called “A Sportsperson Will … Inspire.” It provides great reading about courage, strength, sportsmanship and the human spirit. The section includes 11 stories/vignettes written by SI staffers.
It starts out with a stirring account of […]
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 […]
Sports Forum Podcast
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 and got to know well, like Muhammad Ali, as well as his relationships with fellow sports journalists like Bob Costas and Howard Cosell.
Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and others.
Follow on Facebook: @SportsForumPodcast
More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
Episode #16 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Andrew Maraniss: Outstanding Author of Books That Focus On the Intersection of Sports, History and Social Justice.
Episode #15 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking Sports Psychology with Dr. Tim Rice. We discuss the growth of sports psychology at all levels, the positive impact that a number of high profile athletes have had by opening up, and the importance of everyone involved in sports caring for the whole athlete, mind and body.
Episode #14 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Making Sense of the Injury Pandemic in Major League Baseball – Gary McCoy is a strength, conditioning and high performance coach who has worked with several Major League Baseball organizations.
Episode #13 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Conversation With Long-Time MLB Exec Dan Evans About What’s Right With Baseball and What Could Be Better – Evans is a former general manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers and is currently a consultant for Go the Distance Baseball, which owns the Field of Dreams movie site.
Episode #12 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Fun Chat With Dan Gutman, Author of the Baseball Card Adventure Series for Kids
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
