By Ken Reed
FIFA’s World Cup games are watched by millions of people around the world. That’s impactful as the games excite and inspire fans, especially the young variety. As a result, more children are likely to play soccer, or play more often, which will benefit their physical and mental health.
However, in the […]
Guest Column
By Gerry Chidiac
It is said that when you point the finger at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you. The 2022 Men’s World Cup has been characterized by a lot of finger-pointing.
Statements made by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino in defense of the […]
By Ken Reed
The Qatar World Cup has been tainted from the beginning. There have been widespread allegations of corruption and bribery involving Qatar officials and FIFA executives. The U.S. Justice Department concluded that Qatar was chosen as the host of the World Cup in part due to bribery.
To start with, it’s […]
Stop acting as PR agents for the sports leagues
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
The mainstream sports media continues to avoid any serious examination of important social, cultural and economic issues in SportsWorld.
Any reporting on sports policy issues is typically done at a very superficial level. At best, […]
By Ken Reed
The mainstream sports media continues to avoid any serious examination of important social, cultural and economic issues in SportsWorld.
Any reporting on sports policy issues is typically done at a very superficial level. At best, reporters identify the symptoms and then move on to lighter fare. And it’s typically not the […]
By Ken Reed
We are a couple days from the start of one of the biggest spectacles in sports, soccer’s World Cup, hosted by Qatar.
Soccer is truly a global sport and its fun to see so many countries competing in this sporting event.
The World Cup spotlight will shine on some of the […]
May even be destined to become an Olympic sport one day
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
Pickleball, kind of a combination of tennis and ping pong, is the fastest-growing sport in the United States. The state of Washington, in fact, has declared it the state sport.
Based on different reports, […]
By Ken Reed
Pickleball, kind of a combination of tennis and ping pong, is the fastest growing sport in the United States. The Washington state has declared it the state sport.
Based on different reports, there are somewhere between 5 million and 8 million pickleball players (or “picklers” as some of those in the sport […]
By Ken Reed
The low-pressure, neighborhood youth sports recreation league is nearly a thing of the past.
According to Linda Flanagan, author of a new book called “Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports,” the core issue is that when gobs of money started flowing into youth sports “kids’ […]
By Ken Reed
High school basketball teams are starting to practice in preparation for the 2022-23 season. But fewer girls will be playing this year.
Nationally, basketball has gone from the number one sport for girls in high school to the fourth most popular girls high school sport over the course of two decades.
[…]
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #33 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Ken Reed Announces His Retirement and Chats With League of Fans Founder Ralph Nader – Ken and Ralph talk about the history of League of Fans and the reasons it was created. They then move into a discussion of a variety of contemporary sports issues that League of Fans has been working on in recent years. Ken and Ralph end by talking about the need for sports fans, athletes, and other sports stakeholders to get involved in the sports reform movement and be activists and change agents on issues important to them, whether that be at the local, state, or national level.
Listen on Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and others.
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More Episodes on Apple Podcasts; Spotify and others.
Episode #32 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Prolific Author Joe Posnanski Joins the Show – Posnanski is one of America’s best sportswriters and has twice been named the best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors. We chat about his new book, “Why We Love Baseball,” his new Substack newsletter called Joe Blogs.
Episode #31 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Foul Ball Safety Is Still an Important Issue at Ballparks – Our guests are Jordan Skopp, founder of FoulBallSafety.com and Greg Wilkowski, a Chicago based attorney. We discuss the historical problem of foul balls injuring fans and why some teams are still hesitant to put up protective netting in some minor league and college baseball parks.
Episode #30 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: The State of College Athletics with Dr. David Ridpath: Problems and Potential Solutions – Ridpath is a sports administration professor at Ohio University and a member of The Drake Group, a college sports reform think tank.
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. We discuss the state of college athletics today.
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.
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
