By Ken Reed

Major college sports programs mimic professional sports. They are revenue-generating and profit-making machines.

In a recent Forbes article by Chris Smith, just how rich our country’s top 25 college football programs are was revealed.

“So much for amateur athletics — the sport’s 25 most valuable programs combine to earn an average […]

By Ken Reed

In a recent Washington Post commentary, Dr. Robert Cantu, clinical professor of neurology and neurosurgery and co-founder of the CTE Center at the Boston University School of Medicine, and Mark Hyman, professor of sports management at George Washington University, suggested the following Surgeon General’s Warning be placed on all youth football helmets […]

Pressure From Coaches Jeopardizes Athletes’ Health

By Ken Reed

John Gerdy is one of my favorite sports reformers. He has an extensive background in many aspects of sports. His essays on various sports issues are always well thought out and supported.

In the September issue of his newsletter Quick Hits, John has a compelling […]

By Ken Reed

A survey of 3,500 former NFL players, conducted by Harvard researchers, revealed NFL players are six times more likely to suffer from a variety of cognitive problems than members of the general public.

“These guys are such fantastic athletes, but a significant percentage of them are doing serious damage to themselves,” […]

By Ken Reed

Too many sports fans view athletes as robots designed to play games for their entertainment.

They sit in the stands, or on their sofas, a cold beer in their hands, and yell at injured players for being “too soft” and “not tough enough.” They think jocks should just “suck it up” […]

By Ken Reed

The latest episode of Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel on HBO looks at the shocking number of high school football players who have died as a result of heat stoke resulting from intense football practices, often conducted during periods of intense heat.

The sad part is that all of the […]

By Ken Reed

As part of a lawsuit alleging that Major League Baseball (MLB) owners are not complying with minimum wage laws, minor league players won a victory in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday when it was ruled that the class-action suit could proceed. The appellate court’s ruling reversed a […]

By Ken Reed

By all accounts, Maxim Dadashev was a terrific young man. Now he’s dead. At 28. Because of a boxing match.

Dadashev died late last month after taking a beating during a boxing match in Oxon Hill, Md. He collapsed shortly after leaving the ring and was rushed to a nearby hospital. […]

By Ken Reed

There are folks in a couple other professions out there besides football player and hockey player that have to think about the dangers of blows to the head: baseball catchers and umpires.

For both catchers and home plate umpires, foul tips that go off a hitter’s bat and straight into the face […]

By Ken Reed

Back in 2006-07, 384 NHL games featured at least one fighting major, which was 31.2% of all games.

During the 2018-19 season, there were fewer than 200 games with a fighting major, the first time in the modern era the total had dropped that low.

There are several reasons for the […]