By Ken Reed
On the eve of the 2014 World Cup, Pope Francis recorded a video message that was broadcast on television across Brazil.
It should also be broadcast on television in every country across the globe.
Francis focused on sport as a tool to promote peace and solidarity around the world. In particular, he […]
By Ken Reed
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) created a powerful anti-Redskins commercial that ran during the NBA finals. I’ve written about it before but it deserves to be revisited due to its extended reach during the NBA Finals.
The video is intended to get people thinking, make them uncomfortable, and […]
Continue Reading →: Powerful Native American Message Airs During NBA Finals
By Ken Reed
Proponents of early specialization for young athletes are finding it harder and harder to support their case.
In a three-year longitudinal study at Loyola University in Chicago, highly specialized young athletes (focused on one sport for more than 8 months a year) had a 36 percent increased risk of suffering a serious […]
Continue Reading →: More Evidence Against Specialization Trend in Youth Sports
By Ken Reed
The long-awaited Ed O’Bannon class-action antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA finally got underway this week. O’Bannon and his fellow plaintiffs are after an injunction that would prohibit the NCAA from limiting the compensation Division I football (bowl subdivision) and men’s basketball players can receive in exchange for their college sports participation.
This […]
Continue Reading →: O’Bannon Trial Could Be Most Important Sports Case Ever
By Ken Reed
The Huffington Post
June 10, 2014
This baseball season marks the 75th anniversary of New York Yankees great Lou Gehrig’s retirement from baseball.
On May 2, 1939, Gehrig voluntarily pulled himself out of the Yankees’ lineup after 2,130 consecutive games. At the time, he was suffering from unexplained […]
This provocative guest submission by Thomas Babson, et al, deserves widespread dissemination and consideration. There has been an awful lot written (including here), about the issue of brain injuries in contact sports, primarily football and hockey. However, this is the first piece that persuasively focuses on the important role of the game referees in preventing […]
By Ken Reed
I’ve written several times in the past that the Redskins nickname is dead in Washington. It’s not a question of if, but when.
But thanks to Redskins’ owner Dan Snyder, that time could come sooner than later.
As Colin McGowan wrote in a recent SportsOnEarth column, “It’s genuinely astounding that […]
Continue Reading →: Snyder Inadvertently Putting a Fork in His Team’s Racist Nickname
By Ken Reed
Legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino joined 14 other former football players in filing a federal lawsuit against the NFL last week. Marino’s involvement will raise the profile of the concussion issue. And, according to HLN legal analyst Danny Cevallos, Marino’s name recognition and reputation will probably push any payout higher.
[…]By Ken Reed
President Barack Obama, concerned about concussions in youth sports, hosted a conference on youth sports safety at the White House on Thursday.
He called for more research on concussions in young athletes and said a new attitude is needed when it comes to head injuries.
“We have to change a culture […]
Continue Reading →: Obama Hosts Summit On Youth Sports Safety
By Ken Reed
The trend in the NFL and NBA is to draft college athletes well before they have had a chance to graduate. In basketball, more and more college players are turning pro after their first or second season. In the NFL, there’s been a big jump of players turning pro after their junior […]
Continue Reading →: Philadelphia Eagles Targeting College Graduates