Anger and deep frustration over racism are appropriate responses. Setting fires, breaking windows and looting aren’t
America is clearly broken. We Americans have struggled from the beginning of the nation to live up to our ideals. From our Pledge of Allegiance: “… with liberty and justice for all. …” From our Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. …” From our Constitution:…
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how connected and interdependent we truly are as a global community
I’ve been blessed with many great sports experiences in my life. Since I was seven years old, I’ve loved playing and watching sports. I enjoy many aspects of sports but what I love the most is the camaraderie. More specifically, it’s the sense of fulfilment that comes from being part of something bigger than myself,…
The man who is trying to give college athletes their due inexplicably doesn't appear in Chicago Bulls documentary
Sonny Vaccaro is to basketball what Marvin Miller was to baseball. They both have had a profound impact on their games; they both fought valiantly for athletes’ rights; and each of them had to deal with a power establishment that tried to rub them out. The latest example is ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary about…
Major League owners need to climb up from behind their wallets and take a hard look at what’s best for the game
Minor league baseball teams, like millions of other small businesses in North America, are in trouble. Big trouble. Unlike their Major League Baseball colleagues who typically get about half their revenue from media rights deals, minor league teams are almost exclusively reliant on ticket sales and in-stadium concession and merchandise revenues. MLB teams could play…
The coronavirus is certainly testing us all. In times like this, it’s natural to look for guidance in dealing with challenges. Wise guidance can come from all areas of life, including the world of sports. I recently came across some wisdom from two sports figures that I think is applicable to the situation we’re in.…
Fans, players and the game deserve a stronger punishment for this blatant disregard of basic fair play and sportsmanship
To Robert D. Manfred Jr. Major League Baseball Commissioner Dear Mr. Manfred: With Major League Baseball on hiatus due to the coronavirus, you have time to revisit the Houston Astros cheating scandal. The Houston organization – and the team’s players in particular – are getting off easy when it comes to punishment for a long-standing…
The emergency NHL goalie did what every sports fan wishes they could do every time they watch the best of the best play
I can’t get enough of the highly improbable David Ayres story. A 42-year-old kidney transplant recipient – and until recently a Zamboni driver for a minor league hockey team – who hadn’t played in a hockey game, at any level, for five years, enters a National Hockey League game in the second period, stops eight…
Sport, at its best, is a co-operative activity in which competitors on both sides play with honour in a mutual quest for excellence
The Houston Astros have a strange way of saying they’re sorry for cheating and tainting the game of baseball, including the World Series. Last week, the Astros staged what was supposed to be an apology press conference for using an elaborate high-tech scheme (well, except the banging on the trash cans part) to illegally steal…
Just allow college athletes to benefit from their names, images and likenesses, like Olympic athletes do
On the same day that NCAA president Mark Emmert was testifying in front of U.S. Congress about how terrible it would be if college athletes were allowed to earn money from their names, images and likenesses – like any other college student or U.S. citizen for that matter – Michigan State was giving Colorado football…
The late basketball legend became a model husband, father, citizen and businessman. But a dark incident in Colorado can't be forgotten
I was walking off the tennis court last Sunday when I saw several texts saying Kobe Bryant had been killed in a helicopter crash. My first reaction was disbelief, then shock, then sadness. As I got in my car, I wasn’t sure why I was so sad. While I definitely respected his athletic ability and…
Baseball suspensions and fines should reverberate through all sports, down to children's athletics. Cheating is a social ill that needs to be addressed
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred handed the Houston Astros severe penalties for cheating this week. Manfred suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for a year each for their role in using electronic equipment to steal the signs of opponents. He also fined the organization $5 million and stripped the Astros…
Leaders must fully incorporate social, cultural and environmental considerations – not just economic ones – in their decision-making
One of the greatest, and most memorable, sports-related quotes comes from Nelson Mandela. “Sport has the power to change the world,” said Mandela. “It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create…
There is no room for abusive coaches in sports, yet Nike seems intent on ignoring critics – including athletes and its own employees
Nike executives have decided it’s okay to reopen a renovated building named after disgraced track coach Alberto Salazar and put images of him all over the inside of the building’s walls. This despite the fact that longtime coach was banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for encouraging his athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. And despite…
Head-first tackles, helmet swinging and devastating hip injuries all add to a game’s growing reputation for chaos
A couple incidents from last week’s football action have garnered a lot of media and fan attention: Myles Garrett’s bonehead use of Mason Rudolph’s helmet as a weapon and the terrible hip injury to Alabama’s star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. First, the Garrett situation. Twitter-verse is afire with emotional chatter about banning Garrett from the National…
The win-at-all-costs, profit-at-all-costs culture at Nike must be cleaned up for good
Alberto Salazar is a former world-class distance runner and coach. If the allegations brought by multiple female athletes claiming he physically, mentally and emotionally abused them while under his direction are true, he’s also a pig. Thanks to the courage of elite athletes (and whistleblowers) Kara Goucher and Mary Cain, Salazar and his illegal and…