By Ken Reed
A report from the Commission On the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics was released last week. The report, titled “Passing the Torch: Modernizing Olympic, Paralympic & Grassroots Sports In America” had several recommendations. Probably, the most noteworthy recommendation was the following:Congress should allow USOPC to focus on high performance […]
By Ken Reed
The mind is the last frontier in sports. Since the beginning of competitive athletics, sports coaches and trainers have focused almost solely on the physical development of athletes. In the last couple decades, data analytics and technological advances have taken center stage when working with athletes. But athletes aren’t robots and […]
By Ken Reed
In a couple weeks, the Kansas City Current will open a $117 million, 11,500 seat stadium, which will be called CPKC Stadium. It will be one of a few stadiums in the world constructed specifically for female athletes. The stadium is designed to expand to a 20,000 seat capacity.
[…]
“I think if exercise were a drug, it would be the most powerful drug ever invented on the planet.” — Mark Hyman, M.D.
By Ken Reed
In 2015, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges put out a report calling exercise a “miracle cure.” This wasn’t a conclusion based on one or two […]
By Ken Reed
Today’s National Hockey League (NHL) is built more on skill and speed than physical hits, and that’s a good thing. It’s a safer game for players. And it’s a more athletic game with a lot less fighting and cheap shots.
“The new-age player, definitely there’s more emphasis on the skill […]
By Ken Reed
Over-the-top adults (parents and coaches) in youth sports is a topic we regularly address at League of Fans.
Australian Open tennis champion Jannik Sinner, during his victory speech, addressed this issue indirectly by thanking his parents for not putting pressure on him as a young athlete and allowing […]
Studies have found that every year of playing football increases the risk of developing CTE by 30 percent
By Ken Reed
Originally published by Troy Media
Nothing seems to slow the popularity of football, even the growing mound of research about how dangerous the game is to the human brain.
[…]
By Ken Reed
It can be reasonably argued that University of Iowa star hoopster Caitlin Clark is the biggest thing in basketball this season — male or female.
Clark is the all-time leading scorer in college women’s basketball history, passing Washington’s Kelsey Plum this week. She’s the Steph Curry of the women’s college […]
By Ken Reed
Neurologist Adina Wise has written a compelling article about the paradox that is our country’s growing viewership of football while at the same time more of us than ever understand the strong link between playing football and the devastating disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
First, the evidence regarding CTE: […]
By Ken Reed
Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board’s regional director in Boston ruled members of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team are employees and granted them the right to unionize.
It was just the latest instance of college athletes gaining more civil and economic rights.
Sure, the ruling will be […]
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
