By Ken Reed
Spurred by the patronage of Nelson Mandela, Laureus Sport for Good is a non-political sport-based organization founded in 2000 that uses sport as a powerful and cost-effective tool to help children and young people overcome violence, discrimination and disadvantage in their lives.
The organization has created the Laureus Sport for […]
By Ken Reed
If you move your body, you’ll feel better — physically and emotionally. The research is undeniable.
According to a comprehensive new review of scientific research, physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than leading medications, or counseling efforts like psychotherapy, for reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. The benefits were found […]
By Ken Reed
The gulf between the economic haves and have-nots continues to grow in youth sports world.
Parents of youth sports athletes are now spending between $30 billion and $40 billion annually on youth sports activities, according to research by the Aspen Institute.
However, kids in impoverished areas are often being left on the […]
League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast
[Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and others]
In this episode we talk with Mano Watsa, President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world, with over 150 camps in 30+ U.S. states and Canada. Mano leads a unique organization […]
By Ken Reed
The NCAA won’t let go.
In their minds, NCAA executives view the grossly outdated amateur model (one that that Olympics dropped ages ago) as the only way to conduct college athletics.
It seems the NCAA’s only strategy at this point is to beg Congress for an antitrust exemption so they can continue […]
By Ken Reed
I attended two youth basketball games this week and the behavior of a significant percentage of the fans (mostly parents and other relatives of the players) was embarrassing.
They were so intent on having the bigger number on the scoreboard when the final horn sounded that their behavior became despicable.
Yelling at […]
By Ken Reed
The Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event of the year in the United States, and arguably the biggest event of any type.
Not only does the Super Bowl crown the NFL champion for a given season, it’s a music showcase, a consumer marketing bonanza and the highest-rated TV program of the […]
By Ken Reed
Boston University’s CTE Center has reported finding Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of 345 of the 376 (91.7%) former NFL players they have studied to date.
CTE can only be diagnosed after the victims have died. Families that donate the brains of their loved ones to the CTE Center […]
Rowman & Littlefield, the publisher of League of Fans’ sports policy director Ken Reed’s impactful book How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan, released a new updated paperback version of the book, including a new introduction, today. The paperback also has a revised action plan and resources section. The foreword was written by Ralph […]
It needs to be actively policed in order to protect consumers
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
I’m a proponent of legalized sports gambling. I think it’s a better alternative than the shady sports gambling world we’ve had for decades.
That said, I am strongly against the excessive – and, in […]
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #29 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The Honorable Tom McMillen Visits League of Fans’ Sports Forum – McMillen is a former All-American basketball player, Olympian, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Congressman, and has a long involvement with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport (now called the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition). We discuss the state of college athletics today, given the pressures of NIL, the transfer portal, sports gambling and huge media contracts. McMillen then provides great perspective on the poor state of physical fitness our young people are experiencing today.
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More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Google Podcasts; PocketCasts; & Anchor
Episode #28 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: A Chat With Mano Watsa, a Leading Basketball and Life Educator – Watsa is President of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. We discuss problems in youth sports today.
Episode #27 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Kids’ Sports: How We Can Take Back the Game and Restore Quality Family Time In the Process – Linda Flanagan is author of “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports and Why It Matters.” We discuss how commercialized and professionalized youth sports are hurting kids and their families.
Episode #26 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: How Can We Fix Youth Sports? – John O’Sullivan is Founder and CEO of Changing the Game Project and author of “Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids.”
Episode #25 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Physical Education Should Be a Critical Component of K-12 School Design – Michael Horn is co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.
Episode #24 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Mental Health and Athletes: Ending the Stigma – Nathan Braaten and Taylor Ricci are the founders of Dam Worth It, a non-profit created to end the stigma around mental health at colleges and universities through sport, storytelling, and community creation.
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.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
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.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books