By Ken Reed
Well, we’ve reached college football’s bowl and playoff season and college football — as we’ve long known it — didn’t collapse due to N.I.L. (name, image and likeness) deals college athletes are now allowed to make.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has long argued that the foundation of college sports MUST […]
By Ken Reed
The Staten Island Yankees, Tri-City Valley Cats, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and Norwich Sea Unicorns have sued Major League Baseball (MLB) for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The teams’ complaint alleges that MLB orchestrated an agreement among its clubs to eliminate 40 minor league teams (out of 160) in a cost-cutting move. […]
American society loves football so much it avoids hard discussions about the sport’s safety
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
We found out recently that a bright young man with a big heart and promising future died because of football.
Twelve-year National Football League veteran and three-time pro bowler Vincent Jackson, […]
By Ken Reed
We found out this week that a bright young man with a big heart and promising future died, because of football.
Twelve-year NFL veteran and three-time pro bowler, Vincent Jackson, who died at age 38 in February, had stage 2 CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) his family announced Thursday.
CTE is a […]
By Ken Reed
Simone Biles is on the cover of Time magazine for being named “Athlete of the Year.” That’s not surprising. The surprise is why she received that honor.
Going into the Tokyo Olympic Games, Biles was a big favorite to win multiple gold medals. She didn’t do that. In fact, she barely participated […]
By Ken Reed
A week ago, Chatfield High School was playing Erie High School in a barnburner of a Colorado Class 4A state football championship game.
Erie sophomore quarterback Blake Barnett had rallied his team from a 34-20 deficit with two touchdowns in the 4th quarter. During those scoring drives, Barnett had made some […]
League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast
[Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor and others]
Andrew Maraniss is a great storyteller. He writes sports books but not your stereotypical odes to star athletes. His books, while easy to read, have depth. They educate you and make you think about […]
By Ken Reed
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has decided to suspend its tennis tournaments in China over how Chinese government leaders are treating star doubles tennis player Peng Shuai following Shuai’s recent social media post accusing China’s former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her. The social media post was pulled down by […]
By Ken Reed
Denny Doyle loves football and the Roman Catholic Church but he doesn’t think they should be connected. He strongly believes the church should stop sponsoring Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) football because of the risk of brain injuries (youth players are particularly vulnerable to concussions), as well as the legal risks to […]
By Ken Reed
LeBron James got off to a slow start as socio-cultural activist. He stayed away from any political-socio-cultural-economic issues, despite urgings from League of Fans and others to use his immense platform for good.
However, in recent years, he’s not only begun to regularly speak out on issues (see
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.
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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
