According to a Washington Post survey, more than one in three former NFL players said they experienced five or more concussions during their careers. Moreover, three out of four players who experienced at least three concussions while playing report experiencing continuing symptoms from those concussions today — in some cases, decades after [...]]]> By Ken Reed

According to a Washington Post survey, more than one in three former NFL players said they experienced five or more concussions during their careers. Moreover, three out of four players who experienced at least three concussions while playing report experiencing continuing symptoms from those concussions today — in some cases, decades after playing their last game. (See “Do no harm: Retired players endure a lifetime of hurt”)

“The most severe consequence of an NFL career is head trauma that can lead to brain disorders as well as a host of mental health issues,” wrote Sally Jenkins, Rick Maese, and Scott Clement in the Post article about the survey.

Then there’s the consequences from all the injuries and surgeries most players deal with during and after their football careers. A University of Michigan study of 1,063 former NFL players conducted in 2009, found that eight of 10 former players reported suffering from pain that lasts most of the day. That’s 80% with pain 24/7!

How many high school and college players going out for football this August will be aware of these health-related stats on concussions and chronic pain from football?

Very few. And a big reason that’s the case is that college and high school administrators, coaches, trainers and team physicians don’t tell them.

A UCLA Entertainment Law Review article on the concussion issue published last year, concluded the NCAA has failed to adequately educate and protect college athletes.

“The NCAA’s concussion management plan really only says that every member school has to have its own concussion management plan,” says Joseph Siprut who has filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA claiming negligence in the area of brain trauma. “In practice, that’s led to complete disaster. A lot of schools simply don’t do a good job of addressing the issue. There’s no consistency. If there were more effective measures in place, it would certainly help student-athletes. Failure to do so is negligence.”

Many NFL, NCAA, and high school players (and their parents) would undoubtedly choose to continue playing football after presented with all the facts about the short-and-long-term consequences of football participation.

But they should at least be able to make that decision after all the information is presented to them.

It’s time for full disclosure to football players at all levels.

–Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

The NFL is facing major concussion-related litigation in the coming months. The NHL might not be far behind. (See “NHL Concussion Litigation — The Boogaard Family Strikes First”.)

The family of former NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NHL, claiming the NHL was grossly negligent [...]]]> By Ken Reed

The NFL is facing major concussion-related litigation in the coming months. The NHL might not be far behind. (See “NHL Concussion Litigation — The Boogaard Family Strikes First”.)

The family of former NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NHL, claiming the NHL was grossly negligent on multiple fronts. In particular, the Boogaard family’s lawyers claim the NHL failed to warn NHL players about the dangers of concussions, most notably the dangers of playing through concussions.

The lawsuit could be the impetus for additional lawsuits filed on behalf of former players suffering from the aftereffects of brain trauma incurred while playing hockey.

It could also eventually lead to fighting being banned once and for all in the NHL. (Can you believe that in 2013 we’re still talking about whether or not fighting should be banned in hockey?)

Thomas Demetrio, a lawyer representing the Boogaard family said, “This League needs to adapt and change so that a preventable tragedy like this never happens again. This lawsuit will unearth the failed policies that have led to the demise of so many NHL Fighters and bring to light the need for meaningful change in the NHL so that families, like the Boogaards, can rest easier knowing that their loved ones are safe.”

Here’s hoping this Boogaard suit ends up carrying that kind of clout.

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the concussion front, Patrick Hruby has written an excellent piece about the NFL curiously keeping discredited doctor, Elliot Pellman, in the fold. (See “The Wrong Man for the Job”) You may recall that Pellman, who at one time headed up the leagues committee on concussions, once said concussions in professional football “are not serious injuries,” and that “many [concussed] players can be safely allowed to return to play on the day of injury.” Pellman continues to advise the NFL on medical issues.

Just when you think the NFL is slowly crawling out of its cave on the brain trauma issue you read an excellent piece like Hruby’s.

–Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

In research to be published this summer in the International Journal of Sport Communication, negative tactics, including verbally aggressive language, were found to be less effective in motivating athletes than coaches with a more affirming style.

“This study shows that extra amounts of verbal aggression in the coach-athlete relationship is a negative [...]]]> By Ken Reed

In research to be published this summer in the International Journal of Sport Communication, negative tactics, including verbally aggressive language, were found to be less effective in motivating athletes than coaches with a more affirming style.

“This study shows that extra amounts of verbal aggression in the coach-athlete relationship is a negative thing — it’s not productive, and many athletes find it to be unacceptable,” says Joseph P. Mazer, an assistant professor of communication studies at Clemson University and the lead author of a report on the research.

The key finding from the study is that verbally aggressive language doesn’t work as a motivator, even in sports environments where athletes have been conditioned to expect it. Players said coaches who used profanity and other berating language went too far.

The new study comes in the aftermath of the firing of Mike Rice, formerly the men’s basketball coach at Rutgers. Rice was fired for his abusive coaching style.

“Coaches, in many ways, are teachers,” says Mazer. “And if we hold teachers to high standards with respect to communication, we need to do it for coaches as well.”

– Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

Frederick Douglas once said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” It’s a great quote. However, most of the time, demands — even of the loud variety — won’t do the trick.

People in power, especially those with economic power, don’t change the models that have given them an advantageous position without being [...]]]> By Ken Reed

Frederick Douglas once said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” It’s a great quote. However, most of the time, demands — even of the loud variety — won’t do the trick.

People in power, especially those with economic power, don’t change the models that have given them an advantageous position without being forced to. Historically, one of the best ways to force change in America has been through lawsuits. Right now, the NCAA is facing a doozy of a lawsuit. One that could change the entire system of big-time college athletics.

Obannon v. NCAA is an antitrust lawsuit filed in 2009 by a former UCLA All-American basketball player named Ed O’Bannon and a few other former college athletes. Basically, the suit claims that the NCAA shouldn’t be allowed to profit from athletes’ names and images without sharing royalties with the athletes (e.g., from video games, TV broadcasts and rebroadcasts, promotional videos, etc.). The suit also wants current and future athletes to be able to make licensing deals of their own. It’s a scary deal for the NCAA, made scarier for college power brokers by the fact O’Bannon’s legal team is arguing that the case deserves class-action status. If a judge grants class-action status in this case (a judge is scheduled to rule in June), the NCAA would be liable for claims brought not just by O’Bannon and his fellow plaintiffs but by potentially all former college athletes.

Most college sports observers are focusing on the potential class-action status and the financial ramifications that could result from that. To me, the most intriguing aspect is the prospect of college athletes being able to make their own licensing deals with sponsors. I like that. I also like allowing athletes to get paid for autograph signing appearances, and even allowing gifts from boosters or anybody else. Why not? Every other student on campus has those rights. Every other American has those rights.

It’s really not that outlandish of a concept. The old Olympic amateurism model was eventually broken down. Olympic athletes can now benefit from their talents. The AAU predicted that all hell would break loose in the Olympic movement if amateur athletes started to receive financial rewards. In reality, the Olympic transition from the amateur model has been pretty smooth and the Olympic Games have never been more popular.

Author and civil rights historian Taylor Branch calls the NCAA plantation system a modern-day civil rights issue.

“College athletes are citizens and their rights are being deprived by the NCAA in a way that’s basically collusion,” says Branch. “The NCAA system is not only unjust, it’s unstable.”

Here’s hoping the O’Bannon case goes a long way toward eradicating this unjust system.

– Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

Two of the most active advocates for social justice and human rights in the NFL have been released within a month of each other.

Punter Chris Kluwe, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, and Linebacker Brandon Ayanbadejo, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens have been cut this NFL offseason. Kluwe and Ayanbadejo were outspoken [...]]]> By Ken Reed

Two of the most active advocates for social justice and human rights in the NFL have been released within a month of each other.

Punter Chris Kluwe, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, and Linebacker Brandon Ayanbadejo, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens have been cut this NFL offseason. Kluwe and Ayanbadejo were outspoken champions of LGBT rights and marriage equality. Kluwe also spoke out on player safety issues and was vocal about the lack of punters in the NFL Hall of Fame.

The reasons for their releases aren’t clear but their outspokenness undoubtedly was part of the equation given the NFL’s “be seen not heard” culture. This is especially true for Kluwe, who was coming off one of his best NFL seasons statistically. Last season, Kluwe, an eight-year veteran, averaged 45.0 yards per punt (his career average is 44.4 yards) with a career-best 39.7 net average. Ayanbadejo is a 10-year NFL vet who has been primarily a backup linebacker and special teams standout. There were no obvious signs that his level of play had deteriorated in 2012, but he drew a lot of media attention for his work campaigning for the successful ballot measure in Maryland legalizing same-sex marriage last year.

“As athletes, we have an opportunity to be role models,” said Kluwe after the Vikings cut him. “And I think we have a platform to do a lot of good in the world by taking advantage of the opportunity to speak out on important societal issues. I’d hate to think that would be considered a major distraction on equal footing with all the arrests that go on around the league.

“I’ve always spoken for myself. I’ve never said anything denigrating about coaches or players or management or whatever. It’s simply speaking up on things I feel strongly about.”

Who knows what really went into the firings of these two NFL social justice role models. Maybe the cuts truly were based on their performance on the field.

But I seriously doubt it.

I do know that the NFL needs to come out of the Stone Age on social issues, and realize that the league’s players are citizens, too — not just employees expected to operate like robots.

– Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

Sportsworld, perhaps the last bastion of pure unadulterated homophobia in American culture, had its closet door kicked slightly ajar Monday when NBA player Jason Collins became the first active, openly gay athlete to come out in one of the four major American team sports leagues.

In a poignant letter in Sports [...]]]> By Ken Reed

In a poignant letter in Sports Illustrated, Collins writes about his journey and the reasons he decided to come out when he did.

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport, ” wrote Collins. “But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. … Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start.”

Here’s hoping Collins’ coming out helps give more gay and lesbian athletes — of all ages and abilities — the courage to come out and be true to themselves. It’s a shame that we live in a culture in which homosexuals — especially gay and lesbian athletes — feel they need to suffocate who they truly are in order to fit in. Collins had finally had enough of constantly censoring what he said or did in order to be accepted. He says he now wants to live the rest of his life being “genuine and authentic and truthful.”

“No one wants to live in fear,” wrote Collins. “I’ve always been scared of saying the wrong thing. … It takes an enormous amount of energy to guard such a big secret. I’ve endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie. … I’m much happier since coming out to my friends and family. Being genuine and honest makes me happy.”

There is some beautiful and powerful writing on the Web regarding Collins’ announcement.

Consider this from Jim Thompson, founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance:

“Positive Coaching Alliance is about Better Athletes, Better People, and no one can become their best if they can’t embrace who they are as a person. The very best athletes, the best performers in any profession, effectively put much of their energy toward accomplishing their goals. If one of your goals is to hide who you actually are, there is less productive energy available to put toward goals that can help yourself, your team and our world, which badly needs the creative energy of all people.”

Then there was this from the Washington Post‘s Sally Jenkins:

“Bravery takes a lot of forms, physical being just one, and a particularly unappreciated brand of it is social courage, which is the courage to risk your place in the society you move in. … Colliins didn’t play it safe. He found the inner resolution to go forward — and in doing so made it safer for others.”

Dave Zirin wrote the following in his blog for The Nation:

“The significance of this moment cannot be overstated. Homophobia becomes eroded when straight people actually have a family member or friend come out of the closet and then have to confront their own prejudice. Now in the NBA we have Jason Collins saying, ‘Pro basketball is a family. And pretty much every family I know has a brother, sister or cousin who’s gay. In the brotherhood of the NBA, I just happen to be the one who’s out.’”

Patrick Hruby had this eloquent take in a sports roundtable discussion for The Atlantic:

“Put yourself in Collins’s shoes. It’s not hard. Anyone who has ever been afraid of rejection — which is to say, everyone — can relate. Sexuality is irrelevant. … Imagine the lack of joy, the sheer inescapable loneliness, a lifetime seeking support with a finger planted on the censor button, wondering if anyone will embrace you for being, you know, you. Now realize how utterly unnecessary all of that should be. How unnecessary all of that actually is.”

That pretty much nails it.

It won’t be easy for Collins, but he believes he can count on his future teammates being supportive.

“A good teammate supports you, no matter what,” wrote Collins.

That sentence takes on greater significance when one realizes that we are all “teammates” while we’re living on this big blue ball.

“I want people to pull together and push ahead,” summarized Collins.

I’ll second that. The road will be rocky. And it definitely won’t happen if most of us just sit on the sideline. We need to speak up and take action to ensure that gay and lesbian athletes are treated as equally and fairly as their heterosexual teammates and opponents.

Let me suggest a couple first steps: 1) Go see the movie 42, about Jackie Robinson’s breaking of baseball’s color line. There are numerous lessons about the importance of standing up to injustice in that film. 2) Sign the pledge at Athlete Ally. According to the organization’s website, an Athlete Ally is “any person — regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity — who takes a stand against homophobia and transphobia in sports and brings the message of respect, inclusion, and equality to their athletic community. Athlete Allies include competitive and recreational athletes as well as coaches, parents, teachers, league officials, sports fans, other sports participants and advocates.”

Let’s get busy pulling together and pushing ahead.

– Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

Moviegoers applaud at the end of 42 – the emotional tale about Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in Major League Baseball – as well they should. It’s an inspiring story of the triumph of social justice.

But as people file out of theaters across the country, there’s also a palpable sense [...]]]> By Ken Reed

Moviegoers applaud at the end of 42 – the emotional tale about Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in Major League Baseball – as well they should. It’s an inspiring story of the triumph of social justice.

But as people file out of theaters across the country, there’s also a palpable sense of hope; hope that the things said, and behaviors displayed, in 42 are a thing of the past.

From a civil rights perspective, society has certainly evolved for the better, relative to the America Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey had to deal with in 1947.

Nevertheless, we’re still fighting civil rights battles on multiple fronts today. Institutional racism remains a reality in organizations of different types and sizes. And while Title IX has given girls and women opportunities in the world of sports that were unthinkable 40 years ago, females still fall well short of equality on all pertinent Title IX metrics. In the pro sports world, the number of minorities in management and ownership positions remains miniscule.

Moreover, the civil rights issue of the day is the battle for equal rights for gay Americans.

Progress in this area is being made on several fronts, including marriage equality. Yet, within our four major professional sports leagues, the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, a locker room culture of Stone Age machismo continues to proliferate around the topic of gay athletes.

To date, no active gay athlete has come out in our major pro sports leagues. None have felt comfortable enough with the current environment. Who can blame them, given the homophobic climate surrounding pro sports teams today?

During the lead up to this year’s Super Bowl, San Francisco 49ers defensive back Chris Culliver said he was against having a gay teammate in the locker room. Moreover, he said that if the 49ers did have any gay players, they should leave. In 2012, Maryland state delegate Emmett Burns, Jr. wrote an open letter to Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, asking that the owner require Ravens’ linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo to stop publicly supporting marriage equality for gays. Last season, Los Angeles Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant was fined for calling a referee a “f—— f—–.”

Not quite the neighborhood welcoming committee.

Another consideration for any gay athletes who currently play in one of the Big Four leagues and are thinking about coming out is the behavior of sports fans – especially those with beers in their hands. Fans are notorious for being verbally abusive at games, and occasionally throwing items on the field. They feel their game ticket gives them license to say and do what they want. As such, can you imagine what the first openly gay athlete may have to endure?

The release of 42 at this particular time is valuable in at least three important ways: 1) for younger generations, it’s a great educational experience about a pivotal time in our history (and a nice review for the rest of us); 2) it powerfully displays the ugliness of discrimination; and 3) perhaps most importantly, it’s the perfect primer for every American as we approach a landmark development in our culture: the first openly gay active professional athlete in a major American team sport.

Hopefully, when that first gay athlete does comes out, the fact 42 will have been seen by millions of Americans prior will help us avoid repeating the type of disturbing incidents that characterized Robinson’s first season in Brooklyn.

As Edmund Burke famously said, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”

Undoubtedly, it will take courage, on the part of all of us, to not stand passively on the sideline if we witness discrimination against the first openly gay athlete – or athletes – in team sports.

“The greatest commandment in the Bible,” said Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, in his 2011 commencement speech at Washington University, “is ‘Thou shall not stand idly by.’ Which means when you witness an injustice, don’t stand idly by. When you hear of a person or a group being persecuted, do not stand idly by. When there is something wrong in the community around you — or far away — do not stand idly by.”

Let us all vow to not stand idly by and allow the hideous way human beings treated fellow human beings in 42 to happen again when an NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB player chooses to come out publicly.

– Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

“Dropping the Ball” on Room for Debate asks the question: “Should more undergraduate schools follow in the footsteps of Spelman College and consider dropping intercollegiate sports programs?”

Intercollegiate athletics can be expensive.

Some schools [...]]]> League of Fan’s Sports Policy Director, Ken Reed, is featured on The New York Times‘ Room for Debate Opinion Page.

“Dropping the Ball” on Room for Debate asks the question: “Should more undergraduate schools follow in the footsteps of Spelman College and consider dropping intercollegiate sports programs?”

Intercollegiate athletics can be expensive.

Some schools spend up to six times as much per athlete as they do to educate each student, and have costs that increase at least twice as fast as academic expenses, according to a recent study.

How can schools keep this up? Spelman College has decided not to, opting to spend its sports budget on a wellness program instead.

Should more colleges consider dropping or rethinking their competitive sports programs?

Check out the answers here.

Soon after the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy, we had media individuals and organizations (not to mention bloggers and tweeters across the country) lining up to jump to the conclusion that the case was a clear act of terrorism backed by a terrorist organization. In particular, all Muslims were stigmatized as potential terrorists [...]]]> By Ken Reed

Soon after the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy, we had media individuals and organizations (not to mention bloggers and tweeters across the country) lining up to jump to the conclusion that the case was a clear act of terrorism backed by a terrorist organization. In particular, all Muslims were stigmatized as potential terrorists in the case.

The New York Post was one of the worst offenders, quickly running a headline saying, “Authorities ID Suspect as Saudi National in Marathon Bombings ….” The story was completely erroneous, but the person in question had his name and picture placed in the paper. The Post also wrongly identified two other people as suspects in the case.

Other “journalists” surmised all kinds of political reasons for the actions of the Tsarnaev brothers, who are allegedly responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings. In many cases, it appeared the top concern of these people was to push their own political agendas. The fact is, we don’t know what the motivation was in this case. We do know that, at this point, Boston officials believe the Tsarnaev brothers were acting alone.

“All of the information I have is they acted alone, these two individuals, the brothers,” said Mayor Thomas Menino on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.

Whether or not you agree with President Obama’s politics or not, here’s hoping we can all agree with the cautious approach he asked for in his remarks following the capture of the youngest Tsarnaev brother.

The President criticized some of the news coverage surrounding the attack and the investigation and asked Americans not to rush to judgment on the case, including possible motives. Obama said nobody should be judged solely on their background. He noted that “in this age of instant reporting, tweets and blogs, there’s a temptation to latch on to many bits of information, sometimes to jump to conclusions.”

Whether this case turns out to be an extensively planned plot, orchestrated by a sophisticated terrorist group, or not, there are still many lessons to be learned by the media — and all of us really — about the dangers of rushing to judgment. The Boston Marathon case has left individuals unfairly accused, and Muslims as a whole smeared with collective blame.

That’s a shame and a sizable portion of the media and blogosphere need to take responsibility. They also need to begin exhibiting more self-discipline in their work.

– Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans